Brenda Chapman
| Brenda Chapman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Illinois |
| Occupation | Animator Director |
| Years active | Mid-1980s–present |
Brenda Chapman is an American animator and film director. In 1998, she became the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major studio, DreamWorks Animation's The Prince of Egypt.[1]
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[edit] Life and career
A native of the state of Illinois, Chapman studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). During her summer breaks, she began her professional career working in syndicated television animation. After graduating with a BFA in character animation, she was a story trainee on Disney's animated film The Little Mermaid. She was one of several key story artists on Disney's Beauty and the Beast, where she worked closely with future Disney director Roger Allers to define many of the key sequences and motifs used in the film. She later served as head of story for the Disney animated feature film, The Lion King.
Chapman also worked in story and development for other Disney animated films such as The Rescuers Down Under and The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Fantasia 2000. She joined DreamWorks Animation at its inception in the fall of 1994.
Chapman was one of a team of three directors who worked on 1998's The Prince of Egypt, along with Steve Hickner and Simon Wells. She became the first woman to land a directing role in an animated feature by a major studio;[1] three others had helmed independent efforts before her (Lotte Reiniger of The Adventures of Prince Achmed, Joy Batchelor of Animal Farm, and Arna Selznick of The Care Bears Movie).[1][2]
She also worked on Chicken Run, and several projects in development while at DreamWorks.
Chapman moved to Pixar in 2003, where she had a brief stint on Cars before beginning development on and directing Brave. Chapman conceived the project and was announced as the director of the film, making her Pixar's first female director,[3] but in October 2010 she was replaced by Mark Andrews following creative disagreements,[4] but remains on staff at Pixar[5] despite rumors to the contrary.
Other credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Shrek, WALL-E, Ratatouille, Up and Toy Story 3.
She is married to director Kevin Lima (Enchanted).
[edit] Filmography (as director)
- The Prince of Egypt (1998)
- Brave (2012) (co-director, screenwriter)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Mallory, Michael (2000-03-19). "Move Over, Old Men; Disney's fabled favorite artists weren't alone in the male-ruled animation world. Now women are in key jobs, and they aim to stay." (Registration required to read article). Los Angeles Times: p. CALENDAR 8. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/51240202.html?dids=51240202:51240202&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+19%2C+2000&author=MICHAEL+MALLORY&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=COVER+STORY%3B+Move+Over%2C+Old+Men%3B+Disney%27s+fabled+favorite+artists+weren%27t+alone+in+the+male-ruled+animation+world.+Now+women+are+in+key+jobs%2C+and+they+aim+to+stay.&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ Beck, Jerry (2005). The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago Reader Press. p. 48. ISBN 1-55652-591-5.
- ^ Powers, Lindsay (October 14, 2010). "Pixar announces first female director". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pixar-announces-first-female-director-28289. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
- ^ Sperling, Nicole (May 25, 2011). "When the glass ceiling crashed on Brenda Chapman". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/25/entertainment/la-et-women-animation-sidebar-20110525. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ Griffin, Andy. "Interview Part II: Brave". Pixar Portal. http://www.pixarportal.com/blog.php?id=brenda-chapman-interview-part-two-brave. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
[edit] External links
- Brenda Chapman at the Internet Movie Database
- Biography of Brenda Chapman @ filmbug.com. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
