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"What would I do if I were me...?"
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Mark Louis Dindal (born May 1960)[1] is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor, who is famous for having directed three animated films, Cats Don't Dance (1997), The Emperor's New Groove (2000), and Chicken Little (2005).[3] He worked in many Disney projects as an effects animator, and also led the special effects for several films, such as The Little Mermaid (1989) and The Rescuers Down Under (1990). Steven Universe: The Movie (2019) ADR Loop Group
Early life[]
Dindal was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1960.[4]
Growing up, Dindal was influenced by Disney films and Warner Bros. Saturday cartoons.[5] One of his earliest influence was Disney's The Sword in the Stone, which he remembers his grandmother taking him to see when he was three years old.[5] It also helped that his dad took art as a hobby and taught Dindal to draw while growing up in Syracuse, New York.[6]
During his teen years, Dindal attended Jamesville-DeWitt High School, where he attended most of the art classes that the school had to offer, along with making comic strips and short films.[7] Dindal learned animation at CalArts.[4] He began working at Disney in 1980.[4]
Career[]
Effects Animator at Disney (1980-1988)[]
His early work included The Fox and the Hound (1981), The Black Cauldron (1985), Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), The Great Mouse Detective (1986), and Oliver & Company (1988),[4] each following a very similar animation style in all the films. This style consisted of similar backgrounds with delicate animation and complex character effects, which was well received.
Leaving and Returning to Disney (1986–1992)[]
After these projects, Dindal briefly left Disney to work on several projects for varying studios, including BraveStarr and The Brave Little Toaster. He returned to the studio in 1987 and got his first head role as a visual effects supervisor for The Little Mermaid (1989).[4] He later worked as head animator for the film The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and worked as an effects animator on the animated film Aladdin (1992).[4]
Dindal as Director (1991–2000)[]
Dindal’s first time in the director’s chair was for a short, 1940s style wartime propaganda segment for the 1991 superhero film, The Rocketeer. Working with a crew of 3 other animators, Dindal took inspiration from Disney wartime cartoons like Victory Through Air Power and Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series.[8]
Dindal's feature-length debut was Cats Don't Dance, which was released in 1997, three years before The Emperor's New Groove was released in 2000.[4] In Cats Don't Dance Dindal voiced Max. The film won the Annie Award for Best Animated Film and Dindal was nominated for directing. The Emperor's New Groove was initially expected to be a Disney musical feature called Kingdom of the Sun. However, the idea did not work out, so Dindal, along with Chris Williams and David Reynolds changed the script to a comedy. During the six-year production, he started to work on Cats Don't Dance, a Turner Broadcasting (since merged into Warner Bros.) animated musical production.
Chicken Little (2005)[]
Dindal worked on Chicken Little (2005), another Disney production, which needed a large animation team. Dindal voiced Morkubine Porcupine and Coach in the film. The film was nominated to several Annies, though Dindal was not nominated as a director. During the film's production, DisneyToon Studios produced Kronk's New Groove as a direct-to-video feature. As Dindal was working on Chicken Little at the time, he did not have a position on the staff. Later, Dindal created the TV series The Emperor's New School (2006–2008).
Post-Disney (2006–present)[]
In March 2006, a day after the DVD release of Chicken Little, Dindal and producer Randy Fullmer left the company because they were reportedly tired of dealing with then-WDFA head David Stainton.[9] Over the span of three years, Dindal was attached to direct several live-action films, including Sherlock's Secretary[10] and Housebroken,[11] both for Walden Media, and a film adaptation of the children's book Kringle for Paramount Pictures.[12]
In December 2010, Dindal was directing at DreamWorks Animation the animated film Me and My Shadow, based on his own pitch that would've combined both computer and traditional animation.[13] In January 2012, he was no longer directing the film[14] and was replaced by story artist Alessandro Carloni as director, and the film has been in development limbo since 2013.[15]
In July 2014, he provided illustrations for the documentary film Restrung, centering on colleague Randy Fullmer on his career at Wyn Guitars from 2006. On November 12, 2018, it was announced that Dindal will direct an animated Garfield feature for Alcon Entertainment, with pre-production beginning the following month in Los Angeles.[16] In March 2019, Dindal was involved as a story artist and helped design the characters, Gus and Cooper,[17] for the 2019 Nickelodeon film, Wonder Park. That same year, it was announced that Dindal, along with Pixar veteran Teddy Newton, will develop a film based on the Funko pop figures for Warner Animation Group.[18]
In November 2021, it was announced that Garfield was picked up by Sony Pictures Releasing for a worldwide release (excluding China), and will star Chris Pratt as the titular role. The film will also reunite Dindal with New Groove screenwriter David Reynolds, who's writing the script.[19] In August 2022, the film was scheduled to be released on February 16, 2024.[20]
Unrealized projects[]
- Original version of Cats Don't Dance - long before Dindal was attached as director, Cats Don't Dance was initially a live-action/CG-animated hybrid film that would have involved Michael Jackson as producer, star, and musical consultant. By 1994, Jackson left the project entirely (for Turner Feature Animation; 1993).
- Kingdom of the Sun - an epic retelling of The Prince and the Pauper in the vein of The Lion King. The story was rewritten in 1998 as a smaller comedy titled The Emperor's New Groove (for Walt Disney Feature Animation; 1994).
- Original version of Chicken Little - the original version of Chicken Little would have followed an overreacting, doom and gloomy female chicken, that went to summer camp to build confidence so she would not overreact, as well as to repair her relationship with her father. At the summer camp, she would uncover a nefarious plot that her camp counselor was planning against her hometown. The plot was completely reworked, when David Stainton became the new head of Walt Disney Feature Animation in 2003 (for Walt Disney Feature Animation; 2001).
- Sherlock's Secretary - a live-action film about a man who resides at the infamous home of Sherlock Holmes, who receives a letter requesting the help of Holmes. The man's life changes when he decides to take on a case himself (for Walden Media; 2006).
- Kringle - a film adaption based the book under the same name that tells the untold story of Santa Claus (for Paramount Pictures; 2007).
- Housebroken - a live-action comedy film about a newly wed's talking pets, who must adjust to living together under one roof. Along with directing, Dindal would also polish the script, originally written by Made of Honor screenwriter Adam Sztykiel. The last update was in 2011 when the film would be rewritten by George Lopez executive producers Paul Kaplan and Mark Torgove (for Walden Media and 20th Century Fox; 2009).[21]
- Me and My Shadow - (for DreamWorks Animation; 2010)
Personal life[]
Dindal is the father of two daughters, who were the inspiration for his original Chicken Little pitch.[2]
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Animator | Other | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Fox and the Hound | No | No | Uncredited | No | Effects assistant animator |
| 1982 | Luau | No | No | Uncredited | No | |
| Fun with Mr. Future | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 1983 | Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore | No | No | Uncredited | No | Effects animator |
| Mickey's Christmas Carol | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animator / Breakdown and inbetween artist (uncredited) | |
| 1985 | The Black Cauldron | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animator / Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| 1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animator / Breakdown and inbetween artist (uncredited) |
| 1987 | Sport Goofy in Soccermania | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animator |
| The Brave Little Toaster | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animation consultant | |
| Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night | No | No | Yes | No | Special effects animator | |
| 1988 | BraveStarr | No | No | Yes | No | |
| BraveStarr: The Legend | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animator | |
| Oliver & Company | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animator / Breakdown and inbetween artist (uncredited) | |
| 1989 | The Little Mermaid | No | No | Yes | Yes | Visual effects supervisor / Storyboard artist (uncredited) / Breakdown and inbetween artist (uncredited) |
| All Dogs Go to Heaven | No | No | Uncredited | No | Special effects animator | |
| 1990 | The Prince and the Pauper | No | No | No | Yes | Storyboard artist |
| The Rescuers Down Under | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animator | |
| 1991 | The Rocketeer | No | No | Yes | No | Director: Nazi Invasion segment |
| 1992 | Frozen Assets | No | No | Yes | No | Animation sequence producer |
| Tom and Jerry: The Movie | No | No | Yes | No | Effects animator | |
| Aladdin | No | No | Yes | Yes | Effects animator / Storyboard artist (uncredited) | |
| The Little Mermaid | No | No | Yes | Yes | Effects animator (2 episodes), storyboard artist (1 episode), effects consultant (1 episode) | |
| 1993 | Happily Ever After | No | No | Yes | Yes | Special effects animator / Voice of Goons (uncredited) |
| 1994 | The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure | No | No | No | Uncredited | Storyboard artist |
| 1995 | Balto | No | No | No | Uncredited | |
| 1996 | Space Jam | No | No | Uncredited | No | Effects animator |
| 1997 | Cats Don't Dance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Story, storyboard artist, storyboard supervisor, character designer, voice of Max |
| 1999 | The Iron Giant | No | No | Uncredited | No | Effects animator |
| 2000 | The Emperor's New Groove | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Story / Voice of Cat Yzma (uncredited) |
| 2002 | Ice Age | No | No | No | Uncredited | Storyboard artist |
| The Sweatbox | No | No | No | Yes | Himself, documentary | |
| 2005 | Chicken Little | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Story / Character designer / Voice of Morkubine Porcupine & Coach / Storyboard artist (uncredited) |
| Kronk's New Groove | No | Uncredited | No | No | Based on characters created by | |
| 2006-2008 | The Emperor's New School | No | Yes | No | No | Writer, creator |
| 2009 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | No | No | No | Uncredited | Storyboard artist |
| 2014 | Restrung | No | No | No | Yes | Illustrator, documentary |
| 2016 | Sausage Party | No | No | No | Uncredited | Storyboard artist, visual effects |
| 2019 | Steven Universe: The Movie | No | No | Yes | Yes | ADR Loop Group artist
(Uncredited) |
| 2020 | Scoob! | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Voice of Sleep App Voice / Character designer / Story artist / Storyboard artist (uncredited) |
| 2024 | The Garfield Movie | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Voice of Sleep App Voice / Character designer / Story artist / Storyboard artist (uncredited) |
| Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation | No | No | No | Uncredited | Storyboard artist | |
| No Time to Spy: A Loud House Movie | No | No | No | Uncredited |
Internet[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | TAG Blog[1] | Himself |
| 2015 | Lights, Camera, Austin[22] | |
| 2020 | Happily Ever After Hours[8] | |
| 2021 | Disney Movie Insider Presents[23] |
Awards and nominations[]
Nominations[]
- Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a Feature Production for Cats Don't Dance (Annie) (1997)
- Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production for The Emperor's New Groove (Annie) (2001)
- Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production for The Emperor's New Groove (Annie) (2001)
- Best Animated Feature for The Emperor's New Groove & Chicken Little (Annie) (2001; 2006)
- Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature for The Emperor's New Groove & Chicken Little (Satellite Award) (2000; 2005)
- Best Animated Feature for Chicken Little (Critics' Choice Movie Awards) (2005)
Won[]
- Best Animated Feature for Cats Don't Dance (Annie) (1997)
Collaborators[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hulett, Steve. "The Mark Dindal Interview -- Part I", June 13, 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Joseph Andrew Taylor (November 9, 2020). "Disney's 'Chicken Little': Inside the Troubled History of the Studio's First CGI Feature". Collider. https://collider.com/disney-chicken-little-history-explained/. "Regarding the origins of Chicken Little, “I have two daughters, so I immediately went to a father/daughter story,” Dindal said."
- ↑ Lanpher, Dorse A. (October 19, 2010). Flyin' Chunks and Other Things to Duck: Memoirs of a Life Spent Doodling for Dollars. iUniverse. pp. 176–. ISBN 978-1-4502-6099-2. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedChickenLittleNotes - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Strike, Joe (November 1, 2000). "Mark Dindal's Place in the Sun". Animation World Network. http://www.awn.com/animationworld/mark-dindals-place-sun.
- ↑ "Mark Dindal biography". tribute.ca. http://www.tribute.ca/people/mark-dindal/5712/.
- ↑ "Happily Ever After Hours with Director and Filmmaker Mark Dindal". The Walt Disney Family Museum. https://www.waltdisney.org/education/talks/happily-ever-after-hours-director-and-filmmaker-mark-dindal.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Alex Reif (December 18, 2020). "WDFM Event Recap: Mark Dindal Talks About Directing "The Emperor's New Groove" and "Chicken Little"". Laughing Place. https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2020/12/18/wdfm-mark-dindal-event-recap/.
- ↑ Hill, Jim (October 5, 2006). "A special "No nudes is good news" edition of Why For". Jim Hill Media. http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2006/10/06/6091.aspx.
- ↑ "Mark Dindal to Direct 'Sherlock's Secretary'". MovieWeb. August 11, 2006. http://www.movieweb.com/mark-dindal-to-direct-sherlocks-secretary.
- ↑ "Dindal draws 'Housebroken'", Variety, October 12, 2009.
- ↑ "Paramount gets tough with Santa myth", Variety, February 27, 2007.
- ↑ DreamWorks Animation (December 10, 2010). "DreamWorks Animation Pioneers Groundbreaking Combination of CG and Hand-Drawn Animation Techniques in Me and My Shadow for March 2013" (Press release). PR Newswire. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dreamworks-animation-pioneers-groundbreaking-combination-of-cg-and-hand-drawn-animation-techniques-in-me-and-my-shadow-for-march-2013-111662249.html.
- ↑ Kit, Borys. "DreamWorks Animation Sets Voice Cast for 'Me & My Shadow' (Exclusive)", January 31, 2012.
- ↑ "DreamWorks Animation Pushes Back Release for 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman'", The Hollywood Reporter, February 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Mark Dindal To Direct All-Animated 'Garfield' Feature For Alcon". Cartoon Brew. November 12, 2018. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/mark-dindal-to-direct-all-animated-garfield-feature-for-alcon-166468.html.
- ↑ Keyframe Magazine (March 2019). "WILD AND WONDERFUL". The Animation Guild. https://keyframemagazine.org/2019/03/01/wild-and-wonderful/.
- ↑ Fleming, Mike (September 16, 2019). "Warner Bros Animation Plans Funko Film Based On Collectible Figures". https://deadline.com/2019/09/funko-film-warner-bros-animation-collectible-figures-1202735840/amp/.
- ↑ Grobar, Matt (November 1, 2021). "'Garfield': Chris Pratt To Voice Title Character In Alcon Entertainment's Animated Film". Deadline. https://deadline.com/2021/11/garfield-chris-pratt-to-play-title-character-in-alcon-animated-film-1234865972/.
- ↑ Keltie Duncan (August 4, 2022). "'Garfield' Gets 2024 Release Date, New Character". Cartoon Brew. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/garfield-gets-release-date-new-character-219463.html. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
- ↑ "Paul Kaplan and Mark Torgove are HOUSEBROKEN". The Tracking Board. February 1, 2011. https://www.tracking-board.com/paul-kaplan-and-mark-torgove-are-housebroken/.
- ↑ "Interview: Mark Dindal, director, "The Emperor's New Groove"". Lights, Camera, Austin. June 4, 2015. http://www.lightscameraaustin.net/mark-dindal-june-2015.html.
- ↑ Disney Movie Insider (January 27, 2021). "Disney Movie Insiders Presents... The Emperor's New Groove". Megaphone. https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/ESP7721801191?selected=ESP8658133265.
External links[]
- Mark Dindal on IMDb
- Mark Dindal's Place in the Sun by Joe Strike at Animation World Network.
- Mark Dindal on Tumblr
| Films directed by Mark Dindal |
|---|
| Cats Don't Dance (1997) | The Emperor's New Groove (2000) | Chicken Little (2005) | Enatacho (2006) | Valentiopinside (2016) | Eve (2018) | The Little Beadies (2022) |