Don Hall

Don Hall always wanted to work in animation, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting from the University of Iowa, followed by a Bachelor of Fine Arts in character animation from the California School of the Arts. While working as an art teacher and videogame animator, he caught his first big break as a writer on Disney's adaptation of "Tarzan" (1999), his first collaboration with Stephen J Andersen. This was followed by "The Emperor's New Groove" (working on both story and animation) in 2000. After working on storyboards for DreamWorks' "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" (2002), he returned to the House of Mouse to provide additional story for "Brother Bear" (2003) and character designs for "Chicken Little" (2005). In 2007, Hall worked again with Andersen on "Meet The Robinsons," not only contributing to the screenplay but also making his vocal acting debut as the voice of Gaston. In 2009, he would go one better working on story and animation for "The Princess and the Frog" as well as voicing the character Darnell. When Disney decided to revisit A.A. Milne's honey-loving bear "Winnie the Pooh" (2011), Hall stepped up to direct, sharing a co-director credit with regular collaborator Anderson. Again Hall was also on writing duties; he also brought his young son, Wyatt Dean Hall, into the fold as the voice of Roo. For his second co-director project, the quirky computer animated superhero sci-fi comedy "Big Hero 6" (2014), he teamed up with Chris Williams, who had previously worked with Hall on both "The Emperor's New Groove" and "Brother Bear." A critical and commercial success, "Big Hero 6" also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.