Henry Selick facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Henry Selick
Selick speaks on a panel during South by Southwest 2009
Born	(1952-11-30) November 30, 1952 (age 72) Glen Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.
Education	Rutgers University Syracuse University California Institute of the Arts
Occupation	Filmmaker stop motion animator
Years active	1975–present

Henry Selick (born November 30, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He is famous for directing movies using stop-motion animation. This is a special way of animating where objects are moved tiny bits at a time and photographed.

He is best known for directing popular animated films like The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Coraline (2009), and Wendell & Wild (2022).

Early life and education

Henry Selick was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He grew up in Rumson. From ages 3 to 12, he spent most of his time drawing. He finished high school in 1970.

He first studied science at Rutgers University. Then he studied art at Syracuse University and a college in London. Later, he went to the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). There, he focused on animation.

He learned from a famous animator named Jules Engel. His student films, Phases and Tube Tales, were even nominated for awards.

Film work

Starting at Disney

After college, Henry Selick started working at Walt Disney Studios. He was an "in-betweener." This means he drew the frames that go between the main drawings to make movement smooth.

He worked on films like Pete's Dragon and The Small One. At Disney, he met many talented people. Some of them were Tim Burton and Brad Bird.

Directing animated films

Selick's third feature film was Monkeybone. This movie mixed live-action with stop-motion animation. It was based on a comic book.

He also animated sea creatures in Wes Anderson's film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. He was also set to be the animation director for Fantastic Mr. Fox. However, he left that project to work on Coraline.

Coraline (2009)

Coraline was Henry Selick's first movie with Laika. It was based on a book by the famous author Neil Gaiman. The film came out in 2009.

It was the first stop-motion animated film ever made in stereoscopic 3D. Critics really liked Coraline. It was nominated for many awards, including an Academy Award.

Working with Pixar

After Coraline, Selick left Laika in 2009. In 2010, he joined Pixar and The Walt Disney Company. He signed a deal to make stop-motion films only for them.

This brought him back to where he started. He also got to work again with old friends. One project was called The Shadow King. Disney later canceled it. Selick hopes to bring this project back someday.

He was also supposed to direct a film based on Neil Gaiman's book The Graveyard Book. But he later left that project too.

Wendell & Wild (2022)

In 2015, it was announced that Selick was working on Wendell & Wild. This was a new stop-motion film. It was based on an original story by Selick himself.

He worked with famous comedians Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key on it. The film was picked up by Netflix and released on October 28, 2022.

Upcoming projects

In 2017, Selick was reported to direct a TV show based on the video game Little Nightmares. This show would be produced by the Russo brothers.

In 2024, it was announced that Selick was working on a stop-motion film. It would be an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book The Ocean at the End of the Lane. He also plans to turn The Shadow King into a graphic novel.

Interesting facts about Henry Selick

• Selick loved animation as a kid. He was amazed by Lotte Reiniger's stop-motion film The Adventures of Prince Achmed. He also loved the animated creatures by Ray Harryhausen in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
• He learned a lot from Disney legend Eric Larson. Larson helped him improve his drawing, animation, and storytelling.
• Tim Burton was a producer on Selick's first two films. These were The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach.
• The Academy Film Archive has saved some of Selick's short films. These include Phases, Seepage, and Tube Tales.

Henry Selick quotes

• “Kids love to be scared – there’s way to do it right, and ways to do it wrong.”
• “People are very harsh critics of animated humans.”
• “Unless you have kids, you actually have no idea what kids are watching on TV these days.”
• “Morals always sound like cliches, but usually cliches are based on things that are ultimate truths. Be grateful for what you have; appreciate what’s right there in front of you.”

Filmography

Short films

Feature films

Other film work

• Pete's Dragon (1977) (inbetweener)
• The Small One (1978) (animator)
• The Watcher in the Woods (1980) (designer of the alien)
• Twice Upon a Time (1983) (sequence director)
• Return to Oz (1985) (storyboard artist)
• Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986) (visual adaptation)
• MTV ID's: "Gravity", "Masks '87", "Dollhouse M", "Bath for Dad", "Haircut M", "Xerox Bug" (1987–1990)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (inbetweener)
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) (animation by)

See also

In Spanish: Henry Selick para niños