Donovan Cook
{{Short description|American film director and animator (born 1968)}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox person
|birth_name = Donovan Cook
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|1|30}}
|birth_place = Berkeley, California, U.S.
|occupation = Television producer, director, animator, cartoonist
|years_active = 1990–present
|known_for = 2 Stupid Dogs
}}
Donovan Cook (born January 30, 1968) is an American filmmaker, animator, cartoonist, director and producer, best known for creating, directing and producing the animated series 2 Stupid Dogs{{Cite book |last=McCray |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YizfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT79 |title=The Best Saturdays of Our Lives |date=2015-10-26 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=9781491755075 |pages=79– |accessdate=21 March 2016}} and directing the Disney animated features Return to Never Land and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers and Co-executive producing the animated series Gabby's Dollhouse.
Early life and career
Cook was born in Berkeley, California, in 1968, and moved to San Diego when at the age of 14. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 1990, after which he began working on several Disney animated films, such as The Little Mermaid and the Mickey Mouse adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper.
In 1993, he created the Emmy-nominated television series 2 Stupid Dogs for Hanna-Barbera. He gained the idea from two stray dogs roaming in his apartment and tried to sell it when Hanna-Barbera bought it. Secret Squirrel was one of his favorite Hanna-Barbera cartoons that he watched in the 1970s, which influenced him to revive the series as Super Secret Secret Squirrel, as the middle segment in 2 Stupid Dogs.
Cook then returned to Disney in 1997, where he developed and produced the series Nightmare Ned. In 1998, he returned to feature animation when he co-directed Return to Never Land for Disney. In 2001, he took on the challenge of directing the first feature-length film of Mickey Mouse series characters Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (Goofy had previously appeared in A Goofy Movie and its sequel). The film, Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, premiered worldwide on DVD in 2004. He also served as a director for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and The Adventures of Kid Danger, and was an assistant director for The Ren & Stimpy Show. He even does sheet timing for some episodes of the Ben 10 reboot.
He also directed the micro-budget indie film Rideshare: The Movie, the first film ever to be shot entirely on the iPhone 4. It was released on April 12, 2011, at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival, being subsequently shown on the Honolulu Film Awards. It has won positive reviews.
Cook currently is co-executive producer of the hit preschool animated series Gabby's Dollhouse, produced by DreamWorks TV Animation for Netflix.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Facebook|cook.donovan}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0177015|name=Donovan Cook}}
- [http://ridesharemovie.com/ Official website of Cook's indie film Rideshare: The Movie]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Donovan}}
Category:American television directors
Category:American animated film directors
Category:American animated film producers
Category:Animators from California
Category:People from Berkeley, California
Category:Film producers from California
Category:Television producers from California
Category:American storyboard artists
Category:California Institute of the Arts alumni
Category:Film directors from California
Category:American voice directors
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people
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