Kirk Wise is an American film director, animator and screenwriter best known for his work at

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

. Wise has directed Disney animated films such as ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'', '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', and '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire''. He also directed the English-language translation of

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...

's '' Spirited Away''. He frequently works with Gary Trousdale and

Don Hahn Donald Paul Hahn (born November 26, 1955) is an American film producer. He served as a producer for the Disney films '' Beauty and the Beast'' (1991, the first out of three animated films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture) ...

Career

Wise graduated from Palo Alto High School and went on to study character animation at

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

. Early in his career, Wise worked as an animator on Disney's '' Sport Goofy in Soccermania'' (1987), '' The Great Mouse Detective'' (1986) and '' The Brave Little Toaster'' (1987), as well as

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...

'' episode "Family Dog". Returning to

Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

, he began work on '' The Great Mouse Detective'' (1986) as an assistant animator, but eventually joined the story department, where he was reunited with former CalArts classmate, Gary Trousdale. After working as storyboard artists on '' The Rescuers Down Under'' and '' The Prince and the Pauper'', Wise and Trousdale were responsible for helming the celebrated ''

'' (1991), the first animated feature to be nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

. Wise, a known fan of

, was brought in by Disney to supervise the North America release of '' Spirited Away'' along with

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter ( ; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, a ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
Kirk Wise at Filmbug
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Kirk 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American animated film directors American animated film producers American storyboard artists American voice directors Animators from California California Institute of the Arts alumni Film directors from San Francisco Film producers from California Living people Palo Alto High School alumni Walt Disney Animation Studios people Universal Animation Studios people Year of birth missing (living people)