Simon Joseph Wells (born 1961) is an English film director of animation and live-action films. He is the great-grandson of author H. G. Wells.
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Early life and education[edit | edit source]
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's studio where he animated commercials and other projects. Wells later supervised the animation on Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Career[edit | edit source]
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, We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Balto. 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).
In 2011 he co-wrote and directed Mars Needs Moms using motion-capture technology during the filming.
Filmography[edit | edit source]
| Year | Film | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | An American Tail: Fievel Goes West | Yes | No |
| 1993 | We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story | Yes | No |
| 1995 | Balto | Yes | No |
| 1998 | The Prince of Egypt | Yes | No |
| 2002 | The Time Machine | Yes | No |
| 2011 | Mars Needs Moms | Yes | Yes |
| TBA | Save the Cat | Yes | No |
Story Artist[edit | edit source]
- Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
- Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
- Madagascar (2005)
- Over the Hedge (2006)
- Flushed Away (2006)
- Shrek the Third (2007)
- Kung Fu Panda (2008)
- The Croods (2013)
- Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
- The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)
Additional Story Artist[edit | edit source]
- Antz (1998)
- The Road to El Dorado (2000)
- Chicken Run (2000)
- Shrek 2 (2004)
- Shark Tale (2004)
- Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Other credits[edit | edit source]
| 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 |
| 2001 | Shrek | special thanks |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | digital visual concept consultant |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda | action sequence supervisor |
