Simon Wells

The grandson of science-fiction author H.G. Wells, animated filmmaker Simon Wells was born in Cambridge and attended college at De Montfort University in Leicester, England, studying audio-visual design. Fresh out of school, Wells set his sights on the animation field, working at the studio of revered Disney/Amblin animator Richard Williams. The job would prove profitable--as a member of Steven Spielberg's Amblimation company, Wells would first serve as a supervising animator on the live action-animated comedy-noir hybrid "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" before going on to direct a number of modestly successful animated projects, including the sequel "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West," "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story," and the dog-driven "Balto," the latter of which served as the final Amblimation film. As the '90s ended and the new millennium began, Wells certainly kept finding gigs on quality projects (almost exclusively with the newly formed Spielberg production company Dreamworks), though he mostly transitioned from directing over to working as a story artist. In this new position, Wells flourished, lending his versatile talents to a number of successful Dreamworks projects. Among his many story artist credits include the smash sequels "Shrek 2" and "Shrek the Third," the wild animal romp "Madagascar," and the Jack Black-starring martial arts flicks "Kung Fu Panda" and "Kung Fu Panda 2."