Quick Facts
Biography
Chris Williams (born c. 1968/1969) is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He directed the short film Glago's Guest and co-directed Bolt, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2009; Big Hero 6, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2015; and Moana, which was nominated for two Oscars in 2016.
Early life
Williams was born in Missouri and spent the first 25 years of his life in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where his father was the Director of Counselling Services at the University of Waterloo. Williams graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Fine Arts and then enrolled in the animation program at Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario. Upon graduation from Sheridan, he was recruited by Disney, and moved to Los Angeles.
Career
Williams previously worked in the story department for Mulan (1998), The Emperor's New Groove (2000), and Brother Bear (2003). In February 2007, it was announced he would direct American Dog, which was re-titled Bolt (2008), and was later joined by Byron Howard, both of them replaced Chris Sanders who was the original director.
In July 2010, it was reported by various sources that Williams would direct King of the Elves based on the story by Philip K. Dick. However, in December 2013, it was revealed that Williams had joined another Walt Disney Animation film, Big Hero 6, as a co-director inspired by the Marvel Comics of the same name.
Filmography
- Mulan (1998) (writer: story)
- The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (story, along with Mark Dindal)
- Lilo & Stitch (2002) (story supervisor)
- Brother Bear (2003) (additional story material, writer)
- Chicken Little (2005) (story artist)
- Meet the Robinsons (2007) (additional story artist)
- Glago's Guest (2008) (director)
- Bolt (2008) (director with Byron Howard, writer, additional voices)
- Frozen (2013) (story artist, voice of Oaken)
- Big Hero 6 (2014) (director with Don Hall)
- Frozen Fever (2015) (voice of Oaken)
- Moana (2016) (co-director, story)
- LEGO Frozen: Northern Lights (2016) (voice of Oaken)