Simon Wells (born 1961) is an English film director of animation and live-action films. He is the great-grandson of author H. G. Wells.
Early life and education[]
Born in Cambridge, he attended The Perse School and De Montfort University where he studied audio-visual design. Upon graduating he found a job at Richard Williams' studio where he animated commercials and other projects. Wells later supervised the animation on Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Career[]
After the closing of Richard Williams Studio, Wells became a member of Amblimation, a studio owned by Steven Spielberg, where he served as director on films such as An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, The World of Fairy Tales, We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, Meredith's Journey, Balto and Natalia's Story. Wells was set to direct a sequel to Casper, but the project was cancelled.
After the closure of Amblimation, Wells joined DreamWorks where he worked as storyboard artist on many animated projects, he also directed The Prince of Egypt which was nominated for an Annie Award.
In 2002, he directed his first live-action film, a film adaptation of his great-grandfather's book The Time Machine.
Wells went back to DreamWorks Animation, where he continued as a story artist for films such as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Shrek 2 (2004), Madagascar (2005) and Flushed Away (2006). He also joined Paramount Animation as a story artist for other films such as Mistaken Identity (2006), OtherWorld (2007), The Queen of Legacy (2008), and Virtual Journey (2009).
In 2011, he co-wrote and directed Mars Needs Moms using motion-capture technology during the filming.
Family[]
Wells resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Wendy, and daughters Meredith and Teagan.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 1991 | An American Tail: Fievel Goes West |
| 1992 | The World of Fairy Tales |
| 1993 | We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story |
| 1994 | Meredith's Journey |
| 1995 | Balto |
| 1996 | Natalia's Story |
| 1998 | The Prince of Egypt |
| 2002 | The Time Machine |
| 2004 | The Return of the Snow Queen |
| 2005 | The Twisted Tales of Classic |
| 2008 | Natalia's Story: Tale to the End |
| 2011 | Mars Needs Moms |
| TBA | Save the Cat |
Story Artist[]
- Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
- Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
- Madagascar (2005)
- Over the Hedge (2006)
- Mistaken Identity (2006)
- Flushed Away (2006)
- Shrek the Third (2007)
- Twin, Duo, and Double (2007)
- OtherWorld (2007)
- Kung Fu Panda (2008)
- Virtual Journey (2009)
- The Flamingo Prince (2011)
- The Croods (2013)
- Puffy (2014)
- Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
- The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)
- Save the Woods (2018)
- The Croods: A New Age (2020)
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Additional Story Artist[]
- Antz (1998)
- The Road to El Dorado (2000)
- Chicken Run (2000)
- Shrek 2 (2004)
- Shark Tale (2004)
- The Zone (2008)
- Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
- Musical Stories: A New Revival (2012)
- Virtual Journey: Level Two (2013)
- Susan (2014)
- Smallfoot (2018)
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
Other credits[]
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | supervising animator |
| 1989 | Back to the Future Part II | consultant: Future |
| 1990 | Back to the Future Part III | assistance/thanks |
| 1997 | The Betty Boop Movie | special thanks |
| 2001 | Shrek | special thanks |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | digital visual concept consultant |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda | action sequence supervisor |
| 2011 | The Flamingo Prince | supervising animator |