Rob Minkoff
Minkoff in 2011
Born	Robert Ralph Minkoff (1962-08-11)August 11, 1962 (age 62) Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Education	Palo Alto High School
Alma mater	California Institute of the Arts
Occupations	Director producer animator
Years active	1985–present
Notable work	The Lion King Stuart Little The Haunted Mansion The Forbidden Kingdom Flypaper Mr. Peabody & Sherman Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
Spouse	Crystal Kung ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	2
Signature

Robert Ralph Minkoff (born August 11, 1962)^[1] is an American director, animator, and producer. He is best known for co-directingThe Lion King (along withRoger Allers), and live-action films includingStuart Little (1999),Stuart Little 2 (2002),The Haunted Mansion (2003), andThe Forbidden Kingdom (2008). In recent decades, he returned to feature animation withMr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) andPaws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022). His wife,Crystal Kung Minkoff, was a cast member onThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Minkoff was born to aJewish family^[2] inPalo Alto, California to Jack Robert Minkoff (1922–1998) and Tola Fay Minkoff (née Stebel).^[3] When he was 15, during a babysitting job, he discovered the bookThe Art of Walt Disney by Christopher Finch on a coffee table. Minkoff recalled, "I cracked it open and it was filled with so much incredible artwork from thegolden age of animation." Enamored with the art of animation, he asked his parents for a copy, which he received for his next birthday.^[4]

He studied atPalo Alto High School and graduated from theCalifornia Institute of the Arts in the early 1980s in the Character Animation department. During his studies, Minkoff metChuck Jones and credited him as an inspiration. He remembered, "I met Chuck during my first year at CalArts and he became a mentor to me ... I had always been a big fan of his and having the opportunity to learn from him has really meant a great deal to me professionally as well as personally."^[5]

During the summer of 1982, Minkoff received an internship atWalt Disney Productions, and was apprenticed byEric Larson, a senior animator who was one of the "Nine Old Men". The following year, he was employed as an in-between artist forThe Black Cauldron (1985). He was then a supervising animator forThe Great Mouse Detective (1986) for the character Olivia, before working as a character designer forThe Brave Little Toaster (1987). He also wrote the song "Good Company" forOliver & Company (1988), and subsequently served as a character animator forThe Little Mermaid (1989). On the film, he provided character designs and early animation tests for the villainUrsula.^[5]

In 1988,Who Framed Roger Rabbit had become a critical and commercial success, which revived a new interest in theatrical cartoon shorts. To produce furtherRoger Rabbit media, Disney opened theFeature Animation Florida studio inOrlando, located within theDisney-MGM Studios theme park. Minkoff then became a director forTummy Trouble (1989) accompanied withHoney, I Shrunk the Kids (1989).^[6][7] He directed the next cartoon shortRoller Coaster Rabbit (1990), which was attached withDick Tracy (1990).^[8] Simultaneously, Minkoff was approached to directThe Rescuers Down Under (1990) but turned down the offer because he wanted to be the sole director. He was also offered to directBeauty and the Beast (1991), but was turned down because he wanted creative control.^[9][10] He later directed aMickey Mouse short, which was shown at the Disney-MGM Studios, titledMickey's Audition (1992).^[5]

Eager to direct a live-action film, Minkoff was handed the script for a feature-lengthRoger Rabbit sequel, and was hired to develop the project. However, after a year in development, the project was cancelled.^[11] OnApril 1, 1992, he became the co-director forThe Lion King (1994) alongsideRoger Allers.^[5] On the film, the directorial process began with several sequences divided between Allers and Minkoff. Each director brought their own vision to the sequences, but there was a constant exchange of viewpoints to better ensure a stylistic uniformity.^[12] In a 2011 interview, Minkoff stated he had directed the "Circle of Life" sequence while Allers directed the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" sequence.^[13]

In January 1995, it was reported he was to direct an untitled "fantasy feature" film that was meant to be his first live-action project.^[14] The project went unproduced, in which Minkoff explained: "I had toldJeffrey [Katzenberg] before he left Disney that I wanted to do a live-action picture, and he was trying to get me to commit to doing an animated picture before that ... We were in the middle of figuring out what was the right step to take when he resigned [in 1994]."^[15] Sometime later, he worked briefly withRobert Zemeckis on a film project withUniversal Pictures and a version ofMr. Popper's Penguins with producersCraig Zadan andNeil Meron.^[16] In 1997, Minkoff re-teamed with Zadan and Meron on a film adaptation ofInto the Woods forColumbia Pictures.^[17] When development had stalled, Minkoff learned from the studio's production head aboutStuart Little. After subsequently readingM. Night Shyamalan's script for the film, he agreed to direct.^[16]

In 1998,Sony Pictures had announced Minkoff was directingStuart Little (1999).^[18]Principal photography had spanned 12 weeks beforewrapping in mid-November 1998.^[19] Released in December 1999,Stuart Little was a commercial success, grossing $300 million worldwide. In November 2000, Minkoff, along with his producing partner Jason Clark, had signed a three-yearfirst-look deal at Columbia Pictures, in which he also agreed to direct the sequel,Stuart Little 2 (2002).^[20]Soon after, Minkoff was attached to direct a live-actionJetsons film and a remake ofThe Sorcerer's Apprentice,^[21][22] which both went unproduced. In 2002, Minkoff was hired to directThe Haunted Mansion (2003) starringEddie Murphy. The film reunited him with producerDon Hahn, who both had worked onThe Lion King (1994).^[23]

Sometime in the 2000s, Minkoff founded his own production company, Sprocketdyne Entertainment. In June 2003, it was reported that Minkoff's SprocketdyneEntertainment was developing a live-action/CGI feature film titledMr. Peabody & Sherman (based onMister Peabody from the animated seriesThe Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends) with Sony Pictures.^[24][25] At one point, he took the project toWalden Media, but the studio was occupied withThe Chronicles of Narnia film series. Minkoff then toyed with self-financing the film himself, before bringing the film toDreamWorks Animation in 2005. In 2011, DreamWorks Animation announced it was producing the project as a computer-animated film, which reunited Minkoff with Jeffrey Katzenberg.^[26]Mr. Peabody & Sherman was finally released in March 2014.^[27][28]

In 2010, Minkoff had been attached to direct the fantasy action adventureChinese Odyssey.^[29] Minkoff served as a director on the 2018 animatedNetflix original animated series of the lateAnna Dewdney picture book franchiseLlama Llama, overseeing all aspects of production.^[30] In November 2015, Minkoff and his producing partner Pietro Ventani had signed a two-picture deal withLe Vision Pictures to co-develop and produce a CGI-animated adaptation ofWolf Totem based on theJiang Rong novel and a live-action comedy titledSilkworms.^[31]

In 2010, Minkoff was pitched the idea forBlazing Samurai by writer Ed Stone, who had initially envisioned an all-human cast. However, Minkoff suggested an all-animal cast, and in 2014, he was attached as a producer.^[32][33] After years in development, Minkoff took the director's chair afterChris Bailey had stepped down. The film was retitledPaws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, and released in theaters on July 15, 2022.^[34]

Minkoff met his wifeCrystal Kung Minkoff, a former cast member onThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, at a party in his office in 2003, and they attended theFinding Nemo premiere as their first date. Minkoff proposed to her onValentine's Day 2006, and they married on September 29, 2007.^[35] They have a son named Max and a daughter named Zoe.^[36][37]

He participates as a member of the jury for theNYICFF, a local New York City film festival dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of 3 and 18.^[38]

Animator

Other roles

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