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| Roger Allers | |
| Birthname | Roger Allers |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of birth | 1949 |
| Place of birth | Rye, New York, USA |
| [Source] | |
Roger Allers (born c. 1949 in Rye, New York) is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for directing The Lion King. He got his start in animation at Tron creator Steven Lisberger's animation studio. Tron was Aller's very first Disney film. He appares in the 2002 documentary The Making of Tron.
Before Tron
Allers was born in Rye, New York but raised in Scottsdale, Arizona.
He went on to receive a degree in fine arts from Arizona State University. But it was after auditing a class at Harvard that he found his interest in animation renewed. He landed a job with Lisberger Studios, where he worked on the animation end for projects such as Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Make a Wish, and various commercials.
In 1978, he relocated to Los Angeles with Lisberger to work on a feature project called Animalympics, providing story work, character design and animation for the film. This was followed by a six-month stint as part of the storyboard team for Tron. He also worked on the pre-production concept artwork for Tron.
Allers went on to work for Canadian based studio Nelvana as an animator on a feature called Rock & Rule. He later worked on Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. Another two-year stint, this time in Tokyo, followed, as one of the animation directors overseeing the Japanese artists.
Allers joined the Disney studio in 1985 as a storyboard person on Oliver & Company. During his time there, he worked on every animated feature that Disney produced in the next few years, including The Little Mermaid, The Prince and the Pauper, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.
He made his feature film directing debut with the multi-award winning The Lion King, which was not only a hit film, but went on to become a Broadway musical. Allers took time off before directing his next animated feature, Open Season featuring the voice talents of Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher.
Allers and his wife, Leslee, live in Venice, California. They have a grown daughter and son.
Filmography
- Animalympics (1980) (Story, Art director, Animator)
- Tron (1982) (Pre-production concepts)
- Rock & Rule (1983) (Animator)
- Oliver & Company (1988) (Story)
- The Little Mermaid (1989) (Storyboard artist)
- The Rescuers Down Under (1990) (Storyboards)
- The Prince and the Pauper (1990) (Storyboards)
- Beauty and the Beast (1991) (Screenwriter, Story artist)
- Aladdin (1992) (Story)
- The Lion King (1994) (Co-director)
- The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (Original story)
- Return to Neverland (2002) (Storyboard artist)
- The Lion King 1½ (2004) (Additional screenplay material)
- The Little MatchGirl (2006) (Director, Story adaptation)
- Open Season (2006) (Director)
- Surf's Up (2007) (Special thanks)
External links
- Roger Allers at the Internet Movie Database