Simon Finlay Wells (born 1961) is an English film director of

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

and live-action films. He is the great-grandson of author

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

, and is best known for directing '' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'' (1991), '' Balto'' (1995), and ''

The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Produced by DreamWorks Pictur ...

'' (1998).

Early life and education

Born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, he attended

The Perse School The Perse School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging Day school, day and, in the case of the Perse, a former boarding school) in Cambridge, England. Founded i ...

and

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

where he studied audio-visual design. Upon graduating he found a job at Richard Williams's studio where he animated commercials and other projects. Wells later supervised the animation on ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

''.

Career

Wells began his film career by joining Richard Williams Animation, where he served as a supervising animator on ''

''. After the closing of Richard Williams Animation, Wells became a member of

Amblimation Amblimation was the British animation production subsidiary of Amblin Entertainment. It was formed by Steven Spielberg in May 1989, following the success of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988), and after he parted ways with Don Bluth due to crea ...

, a studio owned by

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 ...

, where he served as director on their only three films: '' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'', '' We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'' and '' Balto''. Wells was set to direct a sequel to '' Casper'', but the project was cancelled. After the closing of Amblimation, Wells joined DreamWorks where he worked as storyboard artist on many animated projects, and also directed ''

'' which was nominated for an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

. In 2002, Wells directed his first live-action film, a

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of his great-grandfather's book ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...

''. Wells went back to DreamWorks Animation, where he continued as a story artist for films such as '' Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'' (2002), ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Sti ...

'' (2004), ''

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

'' (2005) and ''

Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Features. The film was directed by Sam Fell and David Bowers, from a screenplay by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keen ...

'' (2006). In 2011 he co-wrote and directed ''

Mars Needs Moms ''Mars Needs Moms'' is a 2011 American animated science fiction comedy film co-written and directed by Simon Wells, produced by ImageMovers Digital and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Berkeley Breathed book of the same title, the ...

'' using motion-capture technology during the filming.

Filmography

Director * '' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'' (1991) * '' We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'' (1993) * '' Balto'' (1995) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2011) (Also writer) Story artist * '' Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'' (2002) * '' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

Over the Hedge ''Over the Hedge'' is a 2006 American animated heist comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG. Based on the comic strip of the same name, the film was directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick from a screenplay by Len Blum, ...

'' (2006) * ''

Shrek the Third ''Shrek the Third'' (also known as ''Shrek 3'') is a 2007 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Chris Miller and co-directed by Raman Hui from a sc ...

'' (2007) * ''

Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American martial arts comedy media franchise that started in 2008 with the release of the animated film '' Kung Fu Panda'' produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily v ...

'' (2008) * ''

The Croods ''The Croods'' (also known as ''Crood Awakening'') is a 2013 American animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco, both of whom a ...

'' (2013) * ''

Kung Fu Panda 3 ''Kung Fu Panda 3 '' is a 2016 animated martial arts comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation, China Film Group Corporation, Oriental DreamWorks and Zhong Ming You Ying Film, and formerly distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the third ...

'' (2016) * ''

The Lego Ninjago Movie ''The Lego Ninjago Movie'' is a 2017 animated martial arts film, martial arts comedy film, based on the toy/kit line Lego Ninjago, of the same name and the Ninjago (TV series), TV show starring the same characters. Directed by Charlie Bean (anim ...

'' (2017) * '' The Croods: A New Age'' (2020) * '' Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' (2022) * '' Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken'' (2023) * '' Kung Fu Panda 4'' (2024) Additional story artist * ''

Antz ''Antz'' is a 1998 American animated adventure comedy film directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson from a screenplay written by Todd Alcott and the writing team of Chris and Paul Weitz. It was produced by DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks An ...

'' (1998) * ''

The Road to El Dorado ''The Road to El Dorado'' is a 2000 American animated musical adventure comedy film directed by Eric "Bibo" Bergeron and Don Paul, from a screenplay by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, as well as additional sequences directed by Will Finn and ...

'' (2000) * ''

Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 animated adventure comedy film directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park and written by Karey Kirkpatrick from an original story by Lord and Park. Produced by Pathé and Aardman Features in partnership with DreamWork ...

'' (2000) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

Shark Tale ''Shark Tale'' is a 2004 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks. The film was directed by Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, and Rob Letterman, from a screenplay written by Letterman and Michael J. Wilson. The film features the vo ...

'' (2004) * ''

Kung Fu Panda 2 ''Kung Fu Panda 2'' is a 2011 American animated martial arts comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and written by the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berge ...

'' (2011) * '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'' (2019) * '' Ultraman: Rising'' (2024) Other credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Simon Alumni of De Montfort University English animators English film directors British animated film directors English expatriates in the United States 1961 births People educated at The Perse School Mass media people from Cambridge Living people Place of birth missing (living people) British storyboard artists DreamWorks Animation people Simon