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Bob Barlen

{{Short description|Canadian screenwriter and producer (born 1980)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Bob Barlen

| image = Bob Barlen.jpg

| caption = Bob Barlen during production of Escape from Planet Earth

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|07|27}}

| birth_name = Robert George Barlen

| birth_place = Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater = Ryerson University
Canadian Film Centre

| occupation = Screenwriter, producer

| years_active = 2003–present

| notable works = Escape from Planet Earth
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature
Paw Patrol: The Movie
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie

}}

Robert George Barlen (born July 27, 1980) is a Canadian screenwriter and producer. He is best known for having co-written The Weinstein Company's animated film Escape from Planet Earth (2013), The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017), and Nickelodeon's Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021) and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023), all are in collaboration with his business partner Cal Brunker, who served as the director for these films.

Career

Upon graduating from Ryerson University, Barlen attended the Directors' Lab at the Canadian Film Centre.{{cite web |url=http://www.cfccreates.com/our_people/alumni/news/news_item.php?id=item221 |title=The Canadian Film Centre :: Alumni |publisher=Cfccreates.com |date=2013-01-28 |accessdate=2013-06-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328013004/http://cfccreates.com/our_people/alumni/news/news_item.php?id=item221 |archivedate=2014-03-28 }}

He co-wrote the screenplay for Escape from Planet Earth,{{cite web|last=Fleming |first=Mike |url=https://deadline.com/2011/08/animated-film-escape-from-planet-earth-gets-voice-cast-152638/ |title=Animated Film 'Escape From Planet Earth' Gets Voice Cast |publisher=Deadline Hollywood |date= 2 August 2011|access-date=2013-06-07}} which was released to theaters February 15, 2013.

Barlen produced and co-wrote the sequel The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, starring Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph and Katherine Heigl, which was theatrically released by Open Road Films on August 11, 2017.{{cite web|last=Hipes |first=Patrick |url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/nut-job-2-release-date-sequel-open-road-1201735738/ |title='The Nut Job 2' Gets May 2017 Release Date |publisher=Deadline Hollywood |date= 11 April 2016|access-date=2016-04-11}}

He co-wrote the screenplay for The Son of Bigfoot, a Belgian CGI-animated film, for nWave Pictures that was released in August 2017, and for Arctic Dogs, a Canadian CGI-animated feature film, for AMBI Pictures that was released in November 2019. His next screenplay work is Cranston Academy: Monster Zone, a Mexican-British-Canadian animated horror-comedy film starring Jamie Bell and Ruby Rose, which is produced by Ánima Estudios and Prime Focus World.{{cite news |last1=Grater |first1=Tom |title=Jamie Bell, Ruby Rose To Voice Animation 'Cranston Academy: Monster Zone' For DDI – AFM |url=https://deadline.com/2019/11/jamie-bell-ruby-rose-voice-animation-cranston-academy-monster-zone-ddi-1202774406/ |accessdate=2 November 2019 |work=Deadline |publisher=Deadline |date=1 November 2019}}

On 21 February 2020, following the announcement, Barlen confirmed via his Twitter that he's collaborating with Brunker once more as a co-writer, along with Billy Frolick, for Paw Patrol: The Movie, a film based on the popular Nick Jr. Channel animated series, Paw Patrol.{{cite news |last1=Barlen |first1=Bob |title=Bob Barlen on Twitter: "Excited to share what @calbrunker and I have... |url=https://twitter.com/BobBarlen/status/1230908484692185088 |accessdate=10 March 2020 |work=Twitter |publisher=Twitter |date=21 February 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Galuppo |first1=Mia |title='PAW Patrol' Feature Coming From Paramount, Spin Master |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/paw-patrol-feature-coming-paramount-spin-master-1280314 |accessdate=10 March 2020 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=Prometheus Global Media, LLC. |date=21 February 2020}} It was released on August 20, 2021, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Spin Master, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! width="65"| Director

! width="65"| Writer

! width="65"| Producer

! width="65"| Miscellaneous

! Notes

2002

| Deportation at Breakfast

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Short film

2003

| Enrico, Stammi Vicino

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| Short film
Cinematographer

2007

| Push and Turn

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Short film
Co-written with David Knobel

2009

| Ollie & the Baked Halibut

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| Short film
Titles
First collaboration with animator Cal Brunker

2009

| Ninjamaica

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Line}}

| {{no}}

| Television film

2013

| Escape from Planet Earth

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Co-written with Cal Brunker
Feature film debut

2017

| The Son of Bigfoot

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

| {{no}}

| Co-written with Cal Brunker

2017

| The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Co-written with Cal Brunker and Scott Bindley
Voice of Handsome Mouse

2019

| Arctic Dogs

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Co-written with Matt Lyon, Cal Brunker, Aaron Woodley, and Bryan Thompson

2019

| The Puppet Master

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Short film
Co-written with Cal Brunker

2020

| Cranston Academy: Monster Zone

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Co-written with Cal Brunker

2020

| Bigfoot Family

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

| {{no}}

| Co-written with Cal Brunker; sequel to The Son of Bigfoot

2021

| Paw Patrol: The Movie

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes|Associate}}

| {{no}}

| Co-written with Cal Brunker and Billy Frolick

2023

| Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes|Associate}}

| {{no}}

| Co-written with Cal Brunker; sequel to Paw Patrol: The Movie

2026

| Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2025/02/paw-patrol-the-dino-movie-1236303808/|title=Spin Master & Paramount's 'Paw Patrol 3' Unveils Title|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=February 27, 2025|access-date=February 27, 2025}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes|Associate}}

| {{no}}

| Co-written with Cal Brunker; sequel to Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie; upcoming film

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{IMDb name|1779809}}
  • [http://www.calandbob.com/?page_id=10/ Bob Barlen Biography]
  • [https://twitter.com/BobBarlen/ Bob Barlen Twitter]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlen, Bob}}

Category:1980 births

Category:Living people

Category:Canadian male screenwriters

Category:Toronto Metropolitan University alumni

Category:Canadian Film Centre alumni

Category:Writers from Kitchener, Ontario

Category:Screenwriters from Ontario