DAN JEUP

Dan Jeup is a Director, Writer, Story Artist, Animator, and Character Designer and is best known for his work on Disney and Pixar animated feature films.  Dan animated Sebastian the Crab in The Little Mermaid and was Story Supervisor on Finding Nemo and Toy Story 2, the latter of which he won an Annie Award for Outstanding Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production.  Throughout his career Jeup has worked for nearly every major studio in the industry including Lucasfilm, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Laika Animation Studios, Nickelodeon, and Don Bluth Productions. 

Currently, Dan completed work as a story artist on the live-action/CG animated films Lilo & Stitch and Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers for Walt Disney Pictures and was the key animator and story artist for the upcoming feature Stoner Cats produced by Mila Kunis.  Dan recently directed and story supervised the stop-motion animated feature Bubbles for Netflix, about Michael Jackson and his pet chimp; co-designed and directed a special animated sequence for Disney’s live-action movie Tomorrowland.  This unique sci-fi piece was particularly fun for Dan because it allowed him to use a variety of his skills in ways he hadn’t before.  Director Brad Bird hired him for this very reason.  Aware of Jeup’s “Jack of All Trades” abilities and chameleon-like versatility, Bird put it this way: “Having Dan on your team is like One-Stop Shopping!”

Among the most rewarding of Dan’s experiences was developing his own feature film Inch-High Samurai at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Ranch where he sold a story treatment, designed characters, and pitched the movie to George Lucas.  However, being notoriously shy, George seemed more nervous than Dan!

An equal highpoint was directing Ted Turner’s pet project Yellowstone Wolves.  Dan developed the story, designed characters, and pitched the animated feature project to the larger-than-life producer and his wife Jane Fonda.  Ted loved the pitch so much it made him cry!

Directing episodes of the animated TV series The Critic was a blast!  It was a thrill for Dan to work with the producers of The Simpson’s James L. Brooks, Al Jean, & Mike Reiss, not to mention the show’s star Jon Lovitz, who was not only hilarious, but can play a mean piano!

A great storyteller, Dan’s adventures in the movie business have awarded him the privilege of pitching to and working with some of the most successful people in the entertainment business, including Francis Ford Coppola, Paul McCartney, and Jim Henson.  Jeup has presented to Disney and Pixar’s top brass, Steve Jobs, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Ed Catmull, Roy Disney Jr., and Michael Eisner.  Other animation greats Dan has been associated with include John Musker, Ron Clements, Rich Moore, Rob Minkoff, Ash Brannon, Brenda Chapman, John Kricfalusi and Jeffery Katzenberg.  

Mentored by one of Walt Disney’s famed “Nine Old Men”, Eric Larson while still in high-school, Dan was awarded a full scholarship at The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and trained in their Character Animation Program.  His student films have been shown at The Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Centre George Pompidou in Paris.