Simon Wells


Simon Joseph Wells is an English film director of animation and live-action films. He is the great-grandson of author H. G. Wells.

Early life and education

Born in Cambridge, he attended The Perse School and De Montfort University where he studied audio-visual design. Upon graduating he found a job at Richard Williams's studio where he animated commercials and other projects. Wells later supervised the animation on Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Career

Wells began his film career by joining Richard Williams Animation, where he served as a supervising animator on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. After the closing of Richard Williams Animation, Wells became a member of Amblimation, a studio owned by Steven Spielberg, where he served as director on films such as ', We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Balto. Wells was set to direct a sequel to Casper, but the project was cancelled.
After the closing of Amblimation, Wells joined DreamWorks where he worked as storyboard artist on many animated projects, and also directed The Prince of Egypt which was nominated for an Annie Award.
In 2002, Wells directed his first live-action film, a film adaptation of his great-grandfather's book The Time Machine.
Wells went back to DreamWorks Animation, where he continued as a story artist for films such as ', Shrek 2, Madagascar and Flushed Away.
In 2011 he co-wrote and directed Mars Needs Moms using motion-capture technology during the filming.

Filmography

Story Artist