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Award-Winning Animation Director Jerry Rees Joins Wild Brain
By Staff
Mar 9, 2006, 08:29
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Wild Brain, a leading independent animation studio, has announced that feature animation, live-action and multi-media director Jerry Rees has joined the company to helm multiple animated feature films. Rees will work closely with Dan Rounds, Wild Brain’s head of feature development.
Rees is an experienced industry veteran in multi-media formats, having directed more than a dozen Disney Theme Park attractions. His most recent projects include Euro-Disney’s “Cinemagique,” for which he was honored with a Themed Entertainment Association Award for Best Attraction; “Disneyland – The First 50 Magical Years” starring Steve Martin; and Disney/MGM Studios’ “Back To Neverland” featuring Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite.
“Jerry is one of the most extraordinary animation writer/directors in the industry today” states Charles Rivkin, chief executive officer of Wild Brain. “Wild Brain is recognized as a haven for brilliant independent animation artists and we are thrilled to welcome Jerry to the team.”
Rees, who from the age of 16 was mentored as an animator at Disney Studios by one of Walt Disney’s “nine old men,” was awarded a Disney scholarship and became teacher’s assistant for the inaugural class at California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts). He began his career as a Disney animator on “The Fox and the Hound,” working up to visual effects supervisor on the pioneering CGI film “Tron.” He also teamed up with fellow Cal Arts alum Tim Burton to co-write and co-direct the cult classic featurettes “Doctor of Doom” and “Luau.” Rees went on to write and direct the Emmy-nominated animated feature “The Brave Little Toaster,” and direct Neil Simon’s live-action script, “The Marrying Man,” both for Disney, as well as produce animation for Warner Bros.’s “Space Jam.”
“I’ve always admired Wild Brain’s creative heritage and out of the box thinking,” says Rees. “Wild Brain is a rare example of a truly artist-friendly studio and I can’t think of a more stimulating place to keep pushing the envelope.”
Rees’s hiring comes after Wild Brain announced last week its deal to join forces with pop-culture powerhouse, Kidrobot.
Wild Brain is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
About Wild Brain
Wild Brain, Inc. (www.wildbrain.com) is an award-winning animation studio that develops and produces content for the global film, television and commercials markets. Founded in 1994, Wild Brain’s client list includes the biggest names in media and entertainment: Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Oxygen. Wild Brain is the top U.S. producer in the animated commercials sector, with a client list that includes Nike, Coca-Cola, Ford, Nabisco, Sony, McDonald's, Target, Nestlé, The Wall Street Journal, Chevrolet, Mattel and Levi Strauss, among others. The company has animated some of the best-known icons in advertising, from the Hershey’s Kisses to the KFC Colonel and more. Renowned for blending traditional animation methods with state-of-the-art tools, the work of the studio’s talented artists has garnered nominations and awards from every major design and animation organization in the industry. Syntek Capital AG and Valence Capital Partners, prominent European and U.S. private equity firms, are Wild Brain’s principal shareholders.
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