John A. Davis
Encyclopedia
John A. Davis is an American
film director
, writer
, animator
, voice actor and composer
known for his work both in stop-motion animation as well as computer animation
. He is most likely known as the creator Jimmy Neutron.
camera to film action figures in stop motion
. His interest in animation began when watched a stop motion film called Icharus at a film festival. He worked on the stop motion film The Bermuda Triangle in 1981 while still attending Southern Methodist University
, where he graduated in 1984.
cable TV animation, and film festivals. K&H Productions declared bankruptcy in early 1987; that same year DNA Productions
was founded.
where he met Steve Oedekerk
and worked on a television series as well as the movie.
after being approached by Tom Hanks
to direct the film. Production on the film made Davis resign from production of Jimmy Neutron in January 2003. He gave his position away as Executive in charge of production to Steve Oedekerk
. He also directed the movies Video Game
.
in 2010 with Keith Alcorn and Steve Oedekerk
. It is a spin-off of his show The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
.
with Warner Bros.
, together with producer Dylan Sellers and writer Rob Lieber. It was originally set to release on April 20, 2009, but was changed to 2011 and later changed to winter of 2012, it is possible that the film will not be released.
.
In 2002 Davis was nominated for an Oscar along with Steve Oedekerk
in the category of Best Animated Feature for Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, bust lost to DreamWorks Animation's Shrek.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, writer
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, voice actor and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
known for his work both in stop-motion animation as well as computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
. He is most likely known as the creator Jimmy Neutron.
Early life
Davis began animating as a child using his parent's 8 mm8 mm film
8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...
camera to film action figures in stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
. His interest in animation began when watched a stop motion film called Icharus at a film festival. He worked on the stop motion film The Bermuda Triangle in 1981 while still attending Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, where he graduated in 1984.
K&H Productions
Soon after his graduation Davis joined the animation company K&H Productions, working with 2-D animator Keith Alcorn. Soon, Davis made the transition from claymation to 2-D animation with Alcorn's help. K&H did production work for commercials, public-access televisionPublic-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV animation, and film festivals. K&H Productions declared bankruptcy in early 1987; that same year DNA Productions
DNA Productions
DNA Productions, Inc. was an animation studio in Dallas, Texas, founded by John A. Davis and Keith Alcorn in 1987. It was a full service animation company providing script to screen services for the commercial and corporate industry...
was founded.
Jimmy Neutron
Davis came up with the idea for Jimmy Neutron sometime during the 80's and wrote a script Runaway Rocketboy which was later abandoned. While moving to a new house in the early 90's he stumbled upon the script and re-worked it as a short film titled Johnny Quasar and presented it in SIGGRAPHSIGGRAPH
SIGGRAPH is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization. The first SIGGRAPH conference was in 1974. The conference is attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals...
where he met Steve Oedekerk
Steve Oedekerk
Stephen Brenton "Steve" Oedekerk is an American comedian, director, editor, producer, screenwriter and actor. Oedekerk is best known for his collaborations with actor Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac , his series of "Thumbmation" shorts and his film Kung Pow: Enter the Fist .-Life and...
and worked on a television series as well as the movie.
Ant Bully
In 2006, he directed the film The Ant BullyThe Ant Bully
The Ant Bully is a 1999 children's book drawn and written by John Nickle. It is about a young boy named Lucas Nickle , who is the titular character in the book and who likes to torment ants. It was later adapted into a computer-animated film of the same name by John A...
after being approached by Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
to direct the film. Production on the film made Davis resign from production of Jimmy Neutron in January 2003. He gave his position away as Executive in charge of production to Steve Oedekerk
Steve Oedekerk
Stephen Brenton "Steve" Oedekerk is an American comedian, director, editor, producer, screenwriter and actor. Oedekerk is best known for his collaborations with actor Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac , his series of "Thumbmation" shorts and his film Kung Pow: Enter the Fist .-Life and...
. He also directed the movies Video Game
The Ant Bully (video game)
The Ant Bully is a video game based on the animated movie of the same name. It was first released on July 24, 2006 alongside the theatrical release of the movie. The story and actions of the game correspond to that of the movie.-Plot:...
.
Planet Sheen
Davis co-created Planet SheenPlanet Sheen
Planet Sheen is an American CGI animated television series. It is the 2010 spin-off of the 2002 series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius as well as the 2001 Oscar-nominated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The show was created by John A. Davis, Keith Alcorn and Steve Oedekerk and based on...
in 2010 with Keith Alcorn and Steve Oedekerk
Steve Oedekerk
Stephen Brenton "Steve" Oedekerk is an American comedian, director, editor, producer, screenwriter and actor. Oedekerk is best known for his collaborations with actor Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac , his series of "Thumbmation" shorts and his film Kung Pow: Enter the Fist .-Life and...
. It is a spin-off of his show The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, often shortened to just Jimmy Neutron, is an American animated television series, and spin-off of the Academy Award-nominated computer-animated movie, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The series first officially aired on July 20, 2002, on Nickelodeon...
.
Upcoming projects
Davis is set to direct an upcoming feature film based on NeopetsNeopets
Neopets is a virtual pet website that was launched by Adam Powell and Donna Williams on November 15, 1999. Two years after the web site was launched, Adam Powell and Donna Williams sold a majority share to a consortium of investors led by Doug Dohring. On June 20, 2005, Viacom bought Neopets, Inc...
with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, together with producer Dylan Sellers and writer Rob Lieber. It was originally set to release on April 20, 2009, but was changed to 2011 and later changed to winter of 2012, it is possible that the film will not be released.
Nominations
In 2000 Davis was up for an Emmy along with 8 others in the category Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour) for Olive, the Other ReindeerOlive, the Other Reindeer
Olive, the Other Reindeer is a CGI animated Christmas television special written by Steve Young, and directed by Oscar Moore. The feature was produced by Matt Groening's The Curiosity Company and animated by DNA Productions...
.
In 2002 Davis was nominated for an Oscar along with Steve Oedekerk
Steve Oedekerk
Stephen Brenton "Steve" Oedekerk is an American comedian, director, editor, producer, screenwriter and actor. Oedekerk is best known for his collaborations with actor Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac , his series of "Thumbmation" shorts and his film Kung Pow: Enter the Fist .-Life and...
in the category of Best Animated Feature for Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, bust lost to DreamWorks Animation's Shrek.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Job |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Bermuda Triangle | Director, Animator as John Davis |
| 1984 | Blood Sucker from Outer Space | Visual Effects (uncredited) |
| 1989 | Scaredy Cat! | Special Thanks as John A. D. |
| 1990 | Macon County War | Composer |
| 1992 | The Tale of Nippoless Nippleby | Actor (voice of Nippoless Nippleby) |
| 1993 | Basic Values: Sex, Shock & Censorship in the 90's | Composer |
| 1995 | Johnny Quasar | Director, Writer, Animator |
| 1997 | Santa vs. The Snowman (TV) | Director, Producer, Writer, Animation Supervisor, Technical Director |
| 1999 | Olive, the Other Reindeer Olive, the Other Reindeer Olive, the Other Reindeer is a CGI animated Christmas television special written by Steve Young, and directed by Oscar Moore. The feature was produced by Matt Groening's The Curiosity Company and animated by DNA Productions... (TV) |
Animation Director |
| 2001 | Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius | Director, Producer, Writer, Animation Director, Actor (voice of Octapuke Kid/Guard/Bennie) as John Davis |
| 2001 | The Making of 'Jimmy Neutron | Self as John Davis |
| 2002 | Santa vs. the Snowman 3D Santa vs. the Snowman 3D Santa vs. the Snowman 3D is a half-hour computer-animated short, created by O Entertainment and produced by Steve Oedekerk. Originally made as a television special, the film was later presented in IMAX 3D theaters during the holiday seasons of 2002-2006. It was released on DVD by Universal Studios... |
Director, Producer, Writer, Animation Supervisor |
| 2002–2006 | The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, often shortened to just Jimmy Neutron, is an American animated television series, and spin-off of the Academy Award-nominated computer-animated movie, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The series first officially aired on July 20, 2002, on Nickelodeon... (TV) |
Creator |
| 2004 | The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour is a Nickelodeon television film set between The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and The Fairly OddParents universes. It premiered on Nickelodeon on May 7, 2004, and after that it was released on DVD and VHS on May 11, 2004.-Summary:Timmy Turner hasn't done his... (TV film) |
Creator, Producer |
| 2004 | Jimmy Neutron: Win, Lose and Kaboom (TV film) | Creator, Producer |
| 2006 | The Ant Bully The Ant Bully (film) The Ant Bully is a 2006 American computer-animated film written and directed by John A. Davis based on the 1999 children's book of the same name by John Nickle... |
Director, Producer, Screen-Writer, Actor (voice of Ant #19) |
| 2006 | The Ant Bully The Ant Bully (video game) The Ant Bully is a video game based on the animated movie of the same name. It was first released on July 24, 2006 alongside the theatrical release of the movie. The story and actions of the game correspond to that of the movie.-Plot:... (VG) |
Director |
| 2010 | Planet Sheen Planet Sheen Planet Sheen is an American CGI animated television series. It is the 2010 spin-off of the 2002 series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius as well as the 2001 Oscar-nominated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The show was created by John A. Davis, Keith Alcorn and Steve Oedekerk and based on... (TV) |
Co-Creator |
| 2011 | Weeee! Cartoon! (TV) | Creator, Writer, Producer, Animator, Actor (voice of Various characters) |
| 2012 | The Lost Tomb: A Neopets Adventure | Director, Co-Producer |
| 2014 | Ring-Co | Director, Producer, Writer |
External links
- Bermuda Triangle pharosproductions.com
- DNA Productions dnahelix.com