Karey Kirkpatrick (born December 14, 1964)[1] is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. His films include Chicken Run, The Rescuers Down Under, James and the Giant Peach, Over the Hedge, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Charlotte's Web, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He has also directed the films, Over the Hedge, Imagine That starring Eddie Murphy and Smallfoot. Kirkpatrick wrote the English-language screenplays for the U.S. releases of the Studio Ghibli films The Secret World of Arrietty in 2012 and From Up on Poppy Hill in 2013.
Karey Kirkpatrick | |
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![]() Kirkpatrick in 2018 | |
Born | [1] Monroe, Louisiana, U.S.[1] | December 14, 1964
Occupation | Screenwriter, director, producer |
Alma mater | USC School of Cinematic Arts |
Years active | 1990–present |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Wayne Kirkpatrick (brother) |
His older brother is American songwriter and musician Wayne Kirkpatrick, with whom he wrote the 2015 musical Something Rotten! as well as the 2020 musical Mrs. Doubtfire.
Life and career
editKirkpatrick attended the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, graduating in 1988. He began his career as a staff writer at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he worked for more than three years. During that time, he earned his first screenwriting credit as a co-writer on The Rescuers Down Under. He went to become a freelance screenwriter, and his early writing credits include Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, James and the Giant Peach, and The Little Vampire. In 1997, Kirkpatrick wrote the screenplay for Aardman's Chicken Run from a story by Peter Lord and Nick Park. Kirkpatrick also wrote the screenplay adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment.
Kirkpatrick had a longstanding relationship with DreamWorks Animation, where he has contributed as a writer or story consultant on The Road to El Dorado and Madagascar. In May 2006, DreamWorks Animation released Over the Hedge, for which Kirkpatrick co-wrote the screenplay and made his directorial debut, sharing directing credits with Tim Johnson. That same year, Kirkpatrick co-wrote the screenplay of the live-action adaptation of E. B. White's classic Charlotte's Web for Paramount Pictures/Walden Media/Nickelodeon Movies. He produced and co-wrote, with partner Chris Poche, the comedy Flakes. He directed the Eddie Murphy dramedy Imagine That for Paramount Pictures.
Kirkpatrick wrote the English-language screenplay for the U.S. releases of the Japanese animated films The Secret World of Arrietty in 2012 and From Up on Poppy Hill in 2013, both of which were produced by Studio Ghibli. The same year, he contributed to the screenplay for Sony Pictures Animation's The Smurfs 2, and was announced as the writer and director of an original comedy film from DreamWorks Animation about a "dim-witted blue-footed booby".[2]
In 2011, Karey and his brother Wayne began working on the musical Something Rotten!.[3] In 2015, they were nominated for a Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre.[4] Karey was also nominated for Best Book of a Musical along with John O'Farrell.[4] They also received a Grammy nomination for "Best Original Cast Recording".
Kirkpatrick wrote and directed the animated musical comedy Smallfoot (2018), which was produced by the Warner Animation Group and animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks.[5][6] Kirkpatrick, along with brother Wayne, also co-wrote the film's six original songs.
Kirkpatrick also co-wrote the song "Such A Beautiful Day" for the Disney animated film Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe for which he received and Emmy Nomination for "Outstanding Original Song for a Preschool, Children's, or Animated Program".
Kirkpatrick and his Chicken Run co-writer John O'Farrell in 2018 were hired to script a sequel film, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.[7] The film was released on Netflix in 2023.
Filmography
editFilm
editYear | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | The Rescuers Down Under | No | Yes | No | Credited as "Animation Screenplay" |
1996 | James and the Giant Peach | No | Yes | No | |
1997 | Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves | No | Yes | No | |
2000 | Chicken Run | No | Yes | No | |
The Little Vampire | No | Yes | No | ||
2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | No | Yes | No | |
2006 | Over the Hedge | Yes | Yes | No | Co-directed with Tim Johnson |
Charlotte's Web | No | Yes | No | ||
2007 | Flakes | No | Yes | Yes | |
2008 | The Spiderwick Chronicles | No | Yes | Yes | |
2009 | Imagine That | Yes | No | No | Also music department (producer, writer, performer) |
2011 | From Up on Poppy Hill | No | Yes | No | US adaptation |
2012 | The Secret World of Arrietty | No | Yes | No | US adaptation; Also additional voices |
2013 | The Smurfs 2 | No | Yes | No | |
2018 | Smallfoot | Yes | Yes | Executive | Also lyricist |
2023 | Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget | No | Yes | Executive |
Television
editYear | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1995 | Timon and Pumbaa | Writer: Episode "Okay Bayou?" |
2015 | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Queen Latifah/Sam Rockwell/Something Rotten! (Uncredited) |
Other credits
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2000 | The Road to El Dorado | Additional dialogue |
2004 | Laws of Attraction | Additional script |
2005 | Madagascar | Creative consultant |
2006 | Hammy's Boomerang Adventure | Short; creative consultant |
2015 | 69th Tony Awards | Lyricist: "A Musical" |
Strange Magic | Special thanks | |
2017 | The True Don Quixote | Executive producer |
71st Tony Awards | Lyricist: Opening Number | |
2018 | Early Man | Story consultant |
2019 | The Addams Family | Special thanks |
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon | ||
2020 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe | Songwriter: "Such a Beautiful Day"[8] |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Karey Kirkpatrick". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ "Blue-Footed Booby Bird Descends Upon Southern California In Record Numbers To Celebrate Announcement Of New Dreamworks Animation Project" (Press release). Dreamworks Animation. September 20, 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013 – via PR Newswire.
- ^ "How 3 Broadway Novices Wrote 'Something Rotten!'". The New York Times. March 23, 2015. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ^ a b "The Tony Award Nominees – Artists". TonyAwards.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ^ Romano, Nick (November 22, 2017). "Channing Tatum's yeti has a tall tale in animated Smallfoot trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ^ Evry, Max (November 21, 2017). "Smallfoot Posters Provide First Look at Animated Feature". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (April 26, 2018). "'Chicken Run' Sequel in Works at Aardman (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ Aquilina, Tyler (May 28, 2020). "Phineas and Ferb is back — creators preview new movie coming to Disney+ this summer". EntertainmentWeekly. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.