Top Modern Cartoon Crew
Note: The list is under construction.
List activity
241 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
16 people
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Craig McCracken has been interested in drawing and animation since the age of three. Some of his sources of inspiration are Japanese anime, Super Friends (1973), Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986) and Little Golden Books. After briefly considering a career as a comic book illustrator, McCracken studied animation at Cal Arts in LA (along with fellow classmate and Dexter's Laboratory (1996) creator Genndy Tartakovsky. His most famous creation, The Powerpuff Girls (1998), began life in a student film under the less-cutesy title, Whoopass Stew! (1992), it was quickly renamed The Powerpuff Girls (1998).(2)- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Lauren Johanna Faust is an American animator, writer, storyboard artist and director. She developed My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which had a good following among males. She also worked on The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, The Iron Giant, Wander Over Yonder, Kid Cosmic and DC Super Hero Girls. She is married to fellow animator Craig McCracken and had a daughter.(2)- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Genndy Tartakovsky was born and raised in Moscow, USSR. He and his family moved to Chicago, IL when he was 7 years old, after his father defected to the US. His interest in comic books and animation led him to study animation at CalArts in Los Angeles. While he was there he produced two student films, one of which was the basis of his series Dexter's Laboratory (1996). The character of Dee-Dee was inspired by his older brother Alex, who would often spoil younger brother Genndy's plans (as Dee-Dee does to Dexter). His first long form directing work was for the TV movie of the series, Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999). He also directed animation for his collaborator Craig McCracken on The Powerpuff Girls (1998) and The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002).
His most celebrated work was the epic animated series Samurai Jack (2001), featuring a time-traveling samurai in a battle of good vs. evil. He stopped work on the series to produce Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) as a direct story tie-in to the beginning of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). He then directed animation for the Adult Swim pilot Korgoth of Barbaria (2006). Plans were up in the air for over a decade for a possible movie conclusion to Samurai Jack, as well as directing a sequel to The Dark Crystal (1982). He created storyboards for the action-packed opening of Iron Man 2 (2010) during this time period.
Genndy produced another dynamic TV series Sym-Bionic Titan (2010), before finally landing his first feature on Hotel Transylvania (2012), which would involve taking over a tumultuous production and incorporating 2D techniques to 3D animation. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) was the first film for which he had creative control over the entire production, although it was still in the style developed during the first film. In 2017, he finally returned to direct a darker season of Samurai Jack to conclude the story on Adult Swim. He is currently directing Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018).(3)- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Director
John Dilworth was born on 14 February 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and director, known for The Dirdy Birdy (1995), The Chicken from Outer Space (1996) and Courage the Cowardly Dog (1999).(2)- Producer
- Writer
- Animation Department
Arlene Klasky is an animator, graphic designer, and television producer from Omaha, Nebraska. She is of Polish-Jewish and Russian-Jewish descent. She co-founded the animation studio Klasky Csupo (1982-) with Gábor Csupó, who was at that time married to her.
During the 1980s, Klasky and her studio provided logos for television series, and produced music videos for bands such as the Beastie Boys. They also produced animated shorts for "Sesame Street". However, their main claim to fame was producing animated shorts about the Simpsons family for "The Tracey Ullman Show".
By 1989, Klasky was largely preoccupied with raising her two infant sons. When the television networks Nickelodeon asked her to pitch ideas for a new animated television series, she initially thought that she had no ideas to offer. She instead took inspiration from her sons to create a series about infants that could talk. Nickelodeon green-lighted the project, which was developed into the long-running series "Rugrats" (1991-2004).
During the 1990s and early 2000s, her studio produced several other series for Nickelodeon. Klasky co-produced the spin-off films "The Rugrats Movie" (1998) and "Rugrats in Paris: The Movie" (2000), which performed well at the box office. She was also credited as a co-creator for the sequel series "All Grown Up!" (2003-2008), which featured the infants of "Rugrats" having aged to their adolescence.
In 2006, Nickelodeon decided to end its partnership with Klasky Csupo, though episodes of "All Grown Up!" were still being broadcast. Having lost its main client, the studio went into decline and. For the next decade or so, its main products were a digital comic book and a web series.
In 2018, Klasky Csupo started work on a reboot series of the "Rugrats", with Klasky serving as an executive producer. The new series debuted in 2021, and used CGI animation instead of the traditional animation of its predecessor. As of 2022, Klasky is 72-years-old and continues to lead her animation studio.- Producer
- Writer
- Animation Department
Gábor Csupó is a Hungarian animator, film director, and producer. He has had a long career, but he is better known as the co-founder of animation studio Klasky-Csupo, Inc., a graphic design and animation studio based in Hollywood. The other major co-founder was his business partner and wife Arlene Klasky.
Gábor Csupó was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1952. At the time the country was known as the Hungarian People's Republic, a so-called "socialist republic" which served as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. He grew up during the Cold War (1947-1991). He started his animation career c. 1971, working as an animator for the animation studio Pannonia Film Studio. A state-financed company, Pannonia had a virtual monopoly in the Hungarian animation market. Csupó left the company and Hungary itself in 1975, migrating to Western Europe in search of better career opportunities.
While working in Sweden, Gábor Csupó met Arlene Klasky, an expatriate American animator who was a few years older than him. They started a relationship and were married to each other in 1979. Csupó came to the United States with her. He was able to find work as an animator at an American animation studio called Hanna-Barbera, which specialized on animated series for television. His relatively few credits with the company included the series "Casper and the Angels" (1979), "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" (1979-1980), and "The World's Greatest Super Friends" (1979-1980). All were short-lived works based on existing properties. None lasted more than 16 episodes.
In 1980, Gábor Csupó left Hanna-Barbera to start their own company with his wife Arlene Klasky their nephew Attila Csupó called Klasky-Csupo, Inc., a graphic design and animation studio based in Hollywood. Due to their lack of funds, the company's initial offices were just a spare room in its founders' apartment. For much of the 1980's, the company mainly worked on logo designs, feature film trailers, television show titles, and promos for various clients. The company acquired a reputation for creativity and originality, which allowed its founders to hire more personnel and expand its offices.
Csupo's first major career break came in 1987. James L. Brooks, founder of Gracie Films, was producing a new television show, "The Tracey Ullman Show" (1987-1990). It would include an animated segment featuring the Simpsons family, based on an idea by Matt Groening. Brooks needed an animation studio to handle production of the animation and hired Klasky Csupo to be that studio.
Csupo's ideas about the design of the Simpsons' characters were considered unorthodox. He and colorist Gyorgyi Peluce came up with the idea that all the characters would have yellow skin, and female character Marge Simpson would have blue hair. They felt that this would give the series a unique look. Gracie Films executives reportedly disliked the idea, but Groening liked it and convinced the others. The Simpsons caught on, and received their own spin-off series, called "The Simpsons" (1989-). Klasky Csupo served as the main company behind the series' animation for the first two seasons.
"The Simpsons" series had a larger cast of characters than the original short episodes for the "Ullman Show". The design of a supporting character called Dr. Nicholas "Dr. Nick" Riviera, an inept quack, was reportedly based on Csupo's own appearance. As the series progressed, Csupo had arguments with the executives of Gracie Film, over budgets and creative decisions. This resulted in Gracie deciding to terminate its relationship with Klasky Csupo in 1992, and to start a business relationship with rival animation studio Film Roman. Loosing its cash-cow series, Klasky Csupo was forced to fire much of its personnel.
The downturn in Klasky Csupo's fate was only temporary. In 1991, cable network Nickelodeon (which previously focused on live-action shows) wanted to add animated series to its line-up. Klasky Csupo's managed to convince the network to sign a contract about an original animation series called "Rugrats" (1991-2004). Starting out as an average television show, it turned to be a major commercial success. Production continued on-and-off for more than a decade, and the series received spin-off films and sequel series.
For most of the 1990s and the early 2000s, Klasky Csupo was a high-profile animation studio, with several television series in production. Gabor Csupo is credited as one of the main creators of "Rugrats", "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters" (1994-1997), "Santo Bugito" (1995-1996), "The Wild Thornberrys" (1998-2004), "Rocket Power" (1999-2004), "All Grown Up" (2003-2008), and "Rugrats Pre-School Daze" (2005). The company also had series by other creators. They worked with various networks, but the company's main customer was always Nickelodeon.
In 2006, Nickelodeon terminated its business relationship with Klasky Csupo, apparently due to its belief that the animation studio was producing work in an outdated style. The company went dormant for a number of years, though it has never been declared defunct. Gabor Csupo, on the other hand, was hired as the director of a live-action film: "Bridge to Terabithia" (2007). It was a relatively low-budget film with a cast consisting mainly of child actors, but tuned out be a minor box office hit (earning about 137 million dollars at the worldwide box office). The film in part served as a star vehicle for female lead AnnaSophia Robb, who was chosen for the role by Csupo himself.
Csupo returned to directing with the adult animated film "Immigrants" (2008). It featured two immigrants, one Hungarian and one Russian, getting in comical misadventures in modern day Los Angeles. Intended to become the start of a new franchise, the film failed to achieve much success.
Csupo next directed another live-action film, the fantasy film "The Secret of Moonacre" (2009). An adaptation of the novel "The Little White Horse" (1946) by Elizabeth Goudge, the film received only a limited release in a hand full of countries. The main star of the film was teenage actress Dakota Blue Richards, relatively popular in her native United Kingdom.
Csupo is living is semi-retirement in Hawaii for most of the 2010s, though he is reputedly attached to new projects and may yet make a comeback.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Maxwell Atoms is an American animator, voice actor and writer known for creating Cartoon Network's The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. He is also the creator of CN's Evil Con Carne and Underfist, the Executive Producer and Supervising Director of Disney's Fish Hooks, Executive Producer of WB's Bunnicula, and the writer and director of several Scooby-Doo! DTV movies.
He has four cats.- Music Department
- Writer
- Producer
Trey was born in Conifer, Colorado, on October 19, 1969 to Randy Parker, a geologist, and Sharon Parker, an insurance broker. He has an older sister, Shelley Parker. He met Matt Stone (co-creator of South Park (1997)) while attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he had a double major of music and Japanese. While at UCB he wrote, directed and starred in Cannibal! The Musical (1993) (aka "Cannibal: The Musical!") based on a true episode in Colorado's history. After graduation from UCB (rumors that he didn't due to skipping classes to work on the movie are false), he and Stone were asked by then-FoxLab executive Brian Graden to create an animated Christmas card for his friends and family. The now infamous short, titled The Spirit of Christmas (1995), led to South Park (1997).- Director
- Producer
- Animation Department
Jessica Borutski was born on 6 November 1983 in Branson, Missouri, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Bunnicula (2016), Shazam! (2013) and The Good Little Bunny with the Big Bad Teeth (2010). She has been married to Eric Bauza since 2 July 2016. They have one child.Under-rated.- Animation Department
- Producer
- Art Department
Davis Doi was born on 1 October 1954 in Alhambra, California, USA. He is a producer, known for Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001), What a Cartoon! (1995) and Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000).- Writer
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Warren Foster was born on 24 October 1904 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for The Secret Squirrel Show (1965), The Atom Ant Show (1965) and The Flintstones (1960). He died on 13 December 1971 in San Clemente, California, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Animation Department
Craig Bartlett was born on 18 October 1956 in Seattle, Washington, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Dinosaur Train (2009), Hey Arnold! (1996) and Rugrats (1991). He was previously married to Lisa Groening.- Writer
- Animation Department
- Producer
Tom Warburton is the creator of Cartoon Network's super giant hit original series Codename: Kids Next Door, Along with the PBS Kids' sooper gigantic unbelievably hit original animated sitcom series The Suite Life of Hudson & James. Mr. Warburton has previously served as a director for Cartoon Network's Sheep in The Big City, lead character designer for Disney's Pepper Ann, and spent five years at commercial studio J.J. Sedelmaier Productions where he served as production designer on MTV's Beavis and Butthead, director on new episodes of Schoolhouse Rock and Saturday Night Live's TV Funhouse. His first picture book 1000 Times No was released in 2009. Lately Mr. Warburton has been at Disney where he's served as creative director on Fish Hooks and co-exec producer of The 7D!- Music Department
- Writer
- Producer
Matthew Stone is a Jewish-American actor, writer, director, musician and animator who frequently collaborates with Trey Parker. They created and voiced in the South Park franchise. Matt voiced Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, Butters Stotch and other characters. He and Parker also worked on The Book of Mormon, Baseketball, Cannibal the Musical, Team America: World Police and Orgazmo.- Animation Department
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
Bradley J. Gake is a background designer working in the animation industry. Some of his notable efforts include Santo Bugito (1995), Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1994-1997), Rugrats (1997-1999), The Wild Thornberrys (1998-2003), and The Wild Thornberrys feature (2002). For Cartoon Network, he worked on Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (2004-2006) and The Mr Men Show (2008-2009) At Disney Television Animation, he worked on The 7D (2014-2016) and Pickle and Peanut (2016-2018). In 2017, he contributed location key designs for the Star Wars: Forces of Destiny series of shorts with Ghostbot, Inc. At Warner Bros Television Animation, he worked on Thundercats Roar (2020), Animaniacs (2020), and Aquaman: King of Atlantis(2021)Outstanding background artist.