Top 10 Animation Filmmakers of the 21st Century! (2021 edition)
by shaunaksinha | created - 26 Jun 2021 | updated - 26 Jun 2021 | PublicBelow are the Top 10 animation directors of this century - 2001 - 2020.
Special Mention: Sylvain Chomet. After a shtort break, the Illusionist is coming out with The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol very soon.
1. Pete Docter
Writer | Up
Pete Docter is the Oscar®-winning director of "Monsters, Inc.," "Up," and "Inside Out," and Chief Creative Officer at Pixar Animation Studios. He is currently directing Pixar's feature film "Soul" with producer Dana Murray, which is set to release June 19, 2020.
Starting at Pixar in 1990 as the ...
Must Watch: Soul Inside Out Up Monsters, Inc.
2. Hayao Miyazaki
Writer | Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi
Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking visuals in his films have earned him international renown from critics as well as public recognition within Japan.
Miyazaki started his career in 1963 as an animator at the ...
Must Watch: The Wind Rises Ponyo Howl's Moving Castle Spirited Away
3. Mamoru Hosoda
Director | Samâ uôzu
Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese film director and animator. Formerly employed at Toei Animation, he went to work at Madhouse from 2005 to 2011. Hosoda left Madhouse in 2011 to establish his own animation studio, Studio Chizu. He first came to public attention in the early 2000s with the first two films...
Must Watch: The Boy and the Beast Wolf Children The Girl Who Leapt Through Time One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island
4. Brad Bird
Writer | The Incredibles
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an American director, screenwriter, animator, producer and occasional voice actor, known for both animated and live-action films. Bird was born in Kalispell, Montana, the youngest of four children of Marjorie A. (née Cross) and Philip Cullen Bird. His father worked in...
Must Watch: Incredibles 2 Ratatouille The Incredibles
5. Dean DeBlois
Writer | Lilo & Stitch
Dean DeBlois is a Canadian writer, director, and producer known best for having co-written and co-directed Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2002) and Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon (2010), both Oscar nominated. While working as an assistant animator and layout artist for Hinton Animation Studios ...
with Chris Sanders Must Watch: How to Train Your Dragon 2 How to Train Your Dragon Lilo & Stitch
6. Satoshi Kon
Writer | Tôkyô goddofâzâzu
Satoshi Kon was born in 1963. He studied at the Musashino College of the Arts. He began his career as a Manga artist. He then moved to animation and worked as a background artist on many films (including Roujin Z (1991) by 'Katsuhiro Otomo'). Then, in 1995, he wrote an episode of the anthology film ...
Must Watch: Paprika Tokyo Godfathers Millennium Actress
7. Makoto Shinkai
Writer | Suzume no Tojimari
Makoto Shinkai is a Japanese director, writer, producer, animator, editor, cinematographer, voice actor, manga artist and former graphic designer. Shinkai studied Japanese literature at Chuo University where he was a member of juvenile literature club where he drew picture books. In 1999, Shinkai ...
Must Watch: Weathering with You Your Name 5 Centimeters per Second
8. Andrew Stanton
Writer | WALL·E
Andrew Stanton has been a major creative force at Pixar Animation Studios since 1990, when he became the second animator and ninth employee to join the company's elite group of computer animation pioneers. As Vice President, Creative he currently oversees all shorts and feature projects at the ...
Must Watch: WALL-E Finding Nemo
9. Wes Anderson
Director | Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wesley Wales Anderson was born in Houston, Texas. His mother, Texas Ann (Burroughs), is an archaeologist turned real estate agent, and his father, Melver Leonard Anderson, worked in advertising and PR. He has two brothers, Eric and Mel. Anderson's parents divorced when he was a young child, an ...
Must Watch: Isle of Dogs Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Director | Omoide no Marnie
Hiromasa Yonebayashi was born on July 10, 1973 in Nonoichi, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for When Marnie Was There (2014), The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) and Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017).
Must Watch: When Marnie Was There The Secret World of Arrietty
Tell Your Friends