10 Animators to Watch 2018

“Poles Apart”

Baeza has a list of acting credits that goes back to 1994, but, like the cliche, what she really always wanted to do was direct. And armed with a degree from the U.K.’s National Film and Television School, she turned that cliche into reality.

But first she had to audition to get into the highly selective directing animation program  (Nick Park of “Wallace & Gromit” fame is an alum). “They take eight people every year,” she says, adding that applicants must submit an animated piece, then complete a series of tasks. “It’s really intense.”

But it paid off: her graduation short, the stop-motion “Poles Apart,” won an animated short film BAFTA this year.    

“I’ve always made textiles and characters out of felt or wool and have a love for creating characters out of textiles,” she says of her stop-motion shorts.

Baeza’s interest in directing goes back to when she was a university student. “You look back on your life and see a pattern, and when I was there I was always wanting to make films,” she says. “Always wanting to be involved in storytelling becauses that’s what I love. That’s what drew me behind the camera.”

Her next project is the stop motion/live action hybrid “The Toymaker’s Secret,” a script by her husband, Alex Garland, that follows an American family who move into a Victorian house in London and come to think it’s haunted.

“It felt a little bit left of field when we came up with this project,” she says. “We talked a lot about doing a hybrid — blending animation with live action because of the nature of the story in which traditional Victorian toys are [main characters]. It’s a nice departure for him [Garland]. He loved the idea of making a movie for the whole family to appreciate.”

Expect the film to be peppered with her trademark combo of quirkiness and charm. “I love absurdity and I love a backdrop of reality. And it’s all around us every day — there’s absurdity all around us. And out that come quite interesting characters.”

— Carole Horst

“Vivo”

Downing grew up loving comic books, watching Saturday morning cartoons, and drawing on walls with a crayon, but he never considered animation as a career. Then, he saw Disney classic “Aladdin” and animated thriller “Akira” for the first time and realized he could make a living as an animator.

Downing is a key story artist on upcoming Sony Pictures Animation feature “Vivo,” which boasts songs penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda and is set to bow in 2020. In the film, a monkey with a passion for music and adventure travels from Havana to Miami. Downing says his involvement with the film happened “organically,” as he was working on another Sony film and given the opportunity to jump on the Miranda project.

Downing describes the film as being in the “early days.” As a storyboard artist, Downing says he uses the script to create visuals and “get the story moving along.”

He adds: “We’re basically providing the map, the blueprint. We try to edit it all together with sound and things so we can actually see how it plays. Notes come out of that [and] we do the whole process again.”

Prior to working on “Vivo,” Downing spent time creating his digital comic book called “The Book of Mojo.” The comic features a diverse group of characters. Downing says about five years ago he realized he wanted to promote diversity through his work. “I’m a dad with two daughters, and I didn’t know how much the power of imagery can affect people,” he says. “I think it’s great for everyone to have somebody that looks like them that they can aspire to be.”

Continuing his relationship with the production group, Downing is now developing a separate project with Sony Pictures Animation based off an original idea.

— Ariana Brockington

“The Lego Movie Sequel”

Gum is building on a stellar career, which includes winning an Emmy for her work on Amazon’s “Tumble Leaf,” with a turn as co-director of “The Lego Movie Sequel” alongside director Mike Mitchell. She came to this project from “The Lego Batman Movie,” for which she was head of story.

She has a strong background in stop-motion animation, but fell into that just out of college as a way to make her own movies economically. “When I graduated, it became clear that it was going to be challenging to hire crews and shoot live-action, so I stumbled into stop-motion.” She had studied fine arts photography and film and combined those skills to make her first short film. “I would take my photographs and turn them into cut pieces, so one day I said to myself, ‘What if I made my cut-paper pieces come to life?’ I kind of taught myself stop-motion. I made my first short film completely crudely out of cut paper in my basement and it kind of went from there.”

Someone saw her portfolio after she moved from San Francisco to L.A. and suggested that she check out Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and “Robot Chicken.” “That was my first job in stop-motion and I stayed in it for 10 years.”

Gum has found that her animation tends to cross over to her live-action work. “I find that my animation influences my live-action,” she says. “It gives it this magical realism.”

Whether it’s animation or live-action, Gum wants to keep making movies. “I love directing and creating so much,” she says. “I have a lot of stories left to tell.”

— Terry Flores

“Big City Greens”

Chris Houghton describes his childhood self as a “weird, kind of frog-looking kid.” After growing up in rural Michigan, he and his brother Shane experienced a culture shock when they moved to Los Angeles, where they joined the animated TV industry. Their journey from country boys to Hollywood artists inspired their latest animated series, Disney’s “Big City Greens.”

The Houghton brothers started drawing long before they began working for Disney, beginning as comic-book artists, with Shane writing and Chris illustrating. They have since contributed their drawings and stories to comics including “The Simpsons” and such kids shows as Disney’s “Gravity Falls” and Nickelodeon’s “Harvey Beaks.”

“What we’ve learned from mainly working in kids entertainment is, when we write honestly and write things that we find funny, kids really respond to it,” Chris says. “Kids are smart, and they don’t want to be talked down to.”

Still, “Big City Greens” marks a breakout for the duo, since they created the series, while Chris voices its main character. The show follows the Greens, a country family grappling with their recent move to the city, but it may as well be titled “Big City Houghtons.” Many of the characters — from the spunky Grandma to the trucker dad  — are based on their real family.

“We wanted to take a lot of things from our childhood and from that moving experience and tie it into a family sitcom,” Chris said.

But the Houghtons aren’t limiting themselves to 2D animation. As their careers evolve, they hope to bring their sibling dynamic to 3D animation and film.

“It was so exciting and fun and empowering to just be doing this two-man storytelling machine,” Shane said. “Now we’re very lucky and very gracious to be doing this — kind of the same thing, but on a much larger scale.”

— Christi Carras

“The Swashbuckling Adventures of Capitán Calavera”

“Being from Puerto Rico, I’d have to say that home, ‘Indiana Jones’ and probably my unrequited childhood dream of becoming a Goonie have been injected into this little baby,” says animator Lopez of series “The Swashbuckling Adventures of Capitán Calavera,” which she created.

After climbing the ranks from intern to production assistant to color stylist working on shows at Nickelodeon including “Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness,” “The Fairly OddParents” and “Harvey Beaks,” Lopez is now set to helm the CG-animated, 20-episode pirate adventure series that infuses a Spanish-language and -culture curriculum.

In researching for her show, Lopez traveled home to Puerto Rico in addition to St. Augustine, Fla., and New Orleans for inspiration. “But there wasn’t really a standout Latino pirate within the library of pirates within pop culture. And I felt like, if this show is going to be inspired by my upbringing, then I should make sure that Spanish is present in this project as well as the influences that come from Latin Caribbean culture.”

The Nick series following 8-year-old pirate Robi Montes as he faces such nefarious villains as Bonnie Bones does not have a definitive release date yet.

Lopez credits her first foray in animation to Disney World. “They had this attraction which is now closed called ‘The Magic of Disney Animation,’ and I was fascinated by seeing these actual animators working and their tchotchkes on their desks. I just thought: ‘Oh, my God, that’s what I need to be doing. My ideas and my stories have an outlet through that.’”

— Tara Bitran

“The Burden”

Of all the forms of animation, stop-motion is the one you can teach yourself, as filmmakers ranging from Todd Haynes to Wes Anderson have demonstrated. Still, it takes an artist to create the distinctive puppets that make these miniature worlds come to life — which is how Swedish director Lindroth von Bahr found her way into stop-motion.

After studying prop making and set design, Lindroth von Bahr pitched in on others’ projects. Her work appears in “Las Palmas” (the viral short, starring a drunken baby) and David Bowie’s “Blackstar” music video (whose costumes she helped create). But it’s a trio of stop-motion short films, designed and directed by Lindroth von Bahr, that have provided an outlet for her unique, absurdist sensibility.

In “Tord and Tord,” an anthropomorphic fox comes home to his apartment to find a rabbit with the same name living there. In “Bath House,” half a dozen creatures wreak havoc in a neighborhood spa. And in “The Burden,” which plays like a Busby Berkeley musical by way of Kafka, a menagerie of fish, rats, dogs and monkeys sing and dance about the meaninglessness of modern existence.

“I’ve worked with animal puppets for all of my three films,” says Lindroth von Bahr, who operates practically as a one-woman show, dedicating roughly 2½ years to each of her shorts. “On ‘The Burden,’ I wanted to shed some light on unpaid work, existential anxiety, our littleness in the universe, so I decided to work with animals that are very common as lab animals for medical research.”

A festival sensation, “The Burden” has won nearly 40 awards, including the Cristal Award for short at the Annecy animation festival. For her next project, she’s tempted to try a new format, perhaps even a feature or TV series. “I would be very interested in seeing how far you can take the stop-motion genre, like maybe a thriller or a darker, more adult genre,” she says.

— Peter Debruge

“Victor and Valentino”

Molano’s animation “Victor and Valentino” is in production at Cartoon Network, but the story began around 2002 as his college thesis. But since it was the early 2000s, Molano’s idea existed on one disc that was scratched and seemingly gone forever. While working at Titmouse animation studio, Molano heard Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network and other studios were looking for pitches from artists. He thought, “Why don’t I dust off my old idea, ‘High Noon in Mexico,’ give it a new coat of paint, and pitch it.”

Molano created a pilot and two storyboards before Cartoon Network ordered it to series. Molano says he appreciates that the network didn’t “micromanage” him or try to change his vision.

“Victor and Valentino” tells the story of two half-brothers who discover supernatural happenings in their town. In addition to being the creator, executive producer, writer and showrunner, Molano also voices Victor, the more rambunctious brother.

“It’s easy for me to get into character now because I know him so well,” Molano explains. “Actually, Victor and Valentino were both based on me when I was a kid.”

Molano was able to create his show the way he envisioned it, with Latin American mythology and supernatural elements.

Molano says he has always been inspired by the great myths of the world, but his favorites are about pre-Hispanic indigenous people such as the Aztecs, Olmecs and Mayans. “These stories are so cool and particular and they’re not talked about at all compared to, say, Greek and Roman myths. That’s mostly why I wanted to do it because I feel like it’s hidden treasure.” Molano always includes Mesoamerican myths in his artwork because they encourage him to think on an “epic” scale.

— Ariana Brockington

“The Loud House”

After falling in love with animation as a college student at California Institute for the Arts, Rynda quickly went on to land a role as art director on “The Loud House.” The Nickelodeon show, which follows the everyday life of a young boy living with his 10 sisters, is now in its fourth season, and sees Rynda taking on the role of creative director when the show returns.

The series has been celebrated for its cultural and ethnic diversity, which, she says, is “a way for a broad range for viewers to connect to the show,” pointing out that many young “Loud House” fans love choosing their favorite characters to identify with. “To me, it’s really important that the characters stay true to who they are, so that’s something that I always look for.”

In her new position as creative director on the show, she will be helming some episodes, and aims to infuse issues that are important to her as a woman into the new season. “As a female director, there are definitely things that I’m looking at with more of a critical eye,” she says. “I think things like acting I may be more sensitive to as a woman, so I’m definitely a little bit more focused in that way. I’m trying to pick episodes to direct that really reflect that point of view.” 

As for her future ambitions, Rynda says she is looking to expand her resume into more directorial projects, but admits she’s not one to plan too far ahead on her next move. “Kind of in the way I got into animation, I just love jumping into something and proving to myself that I am up for that challenge.” 

— Kirsten Chuba

“Bao”

Shi doesn’t look like other Pixar directors — just 28 years old, she’s not white, nor male — but her short “Bao” fits beautifully into the studio’s oeuvre, and the company’s so-called Brain Trust so loved one of her other original ideas that they’ve invited her to develop it into a feature.

Not bad for a semi-recent Sheridan College grad who was selected for a 2011 story internship at Pixar, then hired on to work as a story artist on “Inside Out.” You can see her contributions in the scenes where Joy drags Sadness through the mind, and when the characters first meet Bing Bong.

Two years into the job, Shi started developing “Bao” as a possible hand-drawn, Miyazaki-style short she intended to made on the side. At one point, Shi approached “Inside Out” director Pete Docter for advice, and he encouraged her to pitch “Bao” as an official Pixar short, insisting that she fight to keep the twist.

“I wanted to do a modern fairy tale, like ‘The Little Gingerbread Man,’ but a Chinese version,” says Shi, who was inspired by her upbringing as an only child raised by immigrant parents in Toronto. In “Bao,” a mother wrestling with empty-next anxieties hatches a fantasy in which one of her handmade dumplings comes to life. “Food is how my mom expressed her love to me. In Chinese culture, you don’t say, ‘I love you.’ You say, ‘Have you eaten yet? You look skinny! Eat more!’”

Even after the project was greenlit, Shi spent her days doing storyboards for “Toy Story 4,” devoting nights and weekends to working on “Bao.” The short premiered last month at the Tribeca Film Festival and will be attached to “The Incredibles 2” in June, but Shi is already hard at work on her next project: Last fall, she was invited to pitch three feature projects. One got the go-ahead, putting Shi on the path blazed by Peter Sohn, who went from making “Partly Cloudy” to directing “The Good Dinosaur” at Pixar.

Shi credits Docter (who executive produced “Bao”) with being her champion at what has proven to be her dream job. “He’s been kind of like our fairy godfather,” Shi says.

— Peter Debruge

“Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2”

Thompson was still only in high school when her mother encouraged her to try animation as a future career. “My mom told me, ‘You like drawing pictures everyday and watch Disney movies. Why don’t you try animation?”

So at age 18, she applied to Studio Ghibli in Tokyo. “I didn’t have the skill to do animation at the time,” she says. “I learned.” On her first day, animation veteran Hayao Miyazaki “gave me a pencil, [and] … a light table. He said, ‘Start drawing.’ ”

Ghibli gave her a thirst for animation so she studied at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, for four years. Then she interned at Disney during college where “they were making ‘Wreck-It Ralph.’” 

After graduation she worked at Disney as a trainee in character design, and Thompson was excited to join Cory Loftis’ team that was starting work on “Ralph 2.” “I thought it was an April Fool’s joke and I asked him, ‘Where’s the camera?’ ”

Working in character animation for Loftis, under whose supervision she’s still learning aspects of design and animation, has helped fulfil a dream for her. “I really really admire his work,” she says. “In every way, I really thank him.”

Also fulfilling her dream is working in the Disney Animation Building on the Burbank campus. “The most memorable:  I got to work with legendary animator Mark Henn [who drew Ariel, Jasmine, most of the Disney princesses and Simba]. Truly a dream come true for me.” 

Some of the changes she’s seen in the short time she’s been working as an animator is that no matter how much computer graphics are involved, 2D is still a big part of the picture. “I draw every single day,” she says. “I still use a pencil.”

— Shalini Dore