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Friday, December 21, 2018

Henry Selick - my 442nd choice to be given the Disney Legend award

Director, producer and stop-motion animator Henry Selick is my 442nd choice to be given the Disney Legend award. He is best known for directing the stop-motion animation films The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), James and the Giant Peach (1996).


After his academic studies, he went to work for Walt Disney Studios as an "in-betweener" and animator trainee on such films as Pete's Dragon and The Small One. He became a full-fledged animator under Glen Keane on The Fox and the Hound. During his time at Disney, he met and worked around the likes of Tim Burton, Rick Heinrichs, Jorgen Klubien, Brad Bird, John Musker, Dan Haskett, Sue and Bill Kroyer, Ed Gombert, and Andy Gaskill. Years later, he claimed he learned a lot to improve his drawing, animation, and storytelling skills from Disney legend Eric Larson. He also worked as a designer of the alien in the Disney live-action film The Watcher in the Woods.

In 2010, Selick joined with Pixar and The Walt Disney Company in a long-term contract to exclusively produce stop-motion films. This not only returns Selick to his original roots, but also reunites Selick with numerous former friends and co-animators. His new studio, called "Cinderbiter Productions", is self-described as "a new stop motion company whose mandate is to make great, scary films for young 'uns with a small, tight-knit crew who watch each other’s backs."

Selick and Cinderbiter's first film under this deal, a project called ShadeMaker, was set to be released on October 4, 2013. In August 2012 it was reported that Disney had stopped production on the project, saying that due to "a creative and scheduling standpoint, the pic wasn't where it needed to be to meet its planned release date." Selick now has the option to shop the project to another studio.

In 2011, The Shadow King was green-lit for production. After spending a reported $50 million, and due to unspecified concerns over future costs and benefits, Walt Disney Pictures canceled the project in August 2012, allowing Selick to shop the project to other studios.
 

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