The Academy Award-winning ‘Big Hero 6’ director gets brought on to create, develop, and produce an original animated feature.
Skydance Animation has closed a deal to add Academy Award-winning director Don Hall (Moana, Big Hero 6) to the studio’s growing roster of talent and creatives. Under the terms of the deal, Hall will create, develop, and produce an original animated feature for the studio. No project details were announced.
Hall is best known for his work on Moana, Big Hero 6, Winnie the Pooh, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Strange World. He began his career at Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he worked on several animated features, including Tarzan, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Chicken Little, before rising to the position of Head of Story on Meet the Robinsons and The Princess and the Frog. In 2011, the studio promoted Hall to director of Winnie the Pooh, where he worked with classic Disney characters in the traditional hand-drawn style. Upon completion of that project, he began work on Big Hero 6, which combined his childhood love of Marvel Comics with Disney animation. The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. In 2016, he reunited with the directors of The Princess and the Frog to co-direct the Academy Award-nominated Moana. While at Disney, Hall also worked as part of the studio’s prestigious Story Trust and creative leadership team, contributing to many of its recent hit releases, including Frozen, Zootopia, Tangled, and Wreck-it Ralph, as well as serving as executive producer on the Disney+ series Baymax! Hall graduated from the University of Iowa, earning a B.F.A. in Drawing and Painting, and from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he earned a B.F.A. in Character Animation.
Skydance Animation develops and produces high-end feature films and television series with full production capability across two studios in Los Angeles and Madrid. The studio’s inaugural short film, Blush, had its world premiere as part of 2021 Tribeca Film Festival’s animated shorts program and is now streaming globally on Apple TV+. In 2022, the company premiered its first animated feature, Luck, for Apple TV+.
Skydance Animation has a multi-year partnership with Netflix to develop and produce feature films for the streamer. The first film of the multi-picture deal will be Spellbound, directed by Vicky Jenson, which will be released later this year, followed by Pookoo, directed by Nathan Greno. Future films include Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird, and an untitled “Jack and the Beanstalk” project directed by Rich Moore. The animation studio’s television slate includes WondLa, which premieres June 28 on Apple TV+.
Source: Skydance Animation
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
