Karen Disher facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Karen Disher
Disher in 2015
Born	Karen Beth Disher
Alma mater	Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation	Film director, storyboard artist
Years active	1993–present
Employer	MTV Animation (1994-2002) Blue Sky Studios (2002–2021) Spire Animation Studios (2021–present)
Spouse(s)	Robert Partington ​ (m. 2001)​

Karen Beth Disher is an American film director and storyboard artist. She is well-known for her work in animation. Karen Disher was a key person at MTV Animation. There, she designed characters and was a supervising director for the animated TV show Daria (1997–2002). Before that, she worked as a layout artist for Beavis and Butt-Head (1993–1997).

Disher is also known for her work as a story artist at Blue Sky Studios. This was a studio that made animated films for 20th Century Animation. She worked on many movies there, including several from the popular Ice Age series.

Life and Career in Animation

Karen Disher studied traditional 2D animation at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. After she finished college, she joined MTV Animation. She started as a layout artist for the show Beavis and Butt-Head.

Creating Daria

Later, she designed the main characters for the hit TV series Daria. She was also the supervising director for the show. While working on Daria, she directed two TV movies. These were Is It Fall Yet? in 2000 and Is It College Yet? in 2002. Both movies continued the story of the Daria series.

Working at Blue Sky Studios

After her time at MTV, Karen Disher joined Blue Sky Studios. There, she became a story artist for many animated films. Some of these movies include Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Horton Hears a Who!. She also worked on Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Peanuts Movie, and Ferdinand.

Disher was the head of story for the movie Rio. She also directed two shorter animated projects. These were the short film Surviving Sid and the TV special Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas. Both of these were part of the Ice Age series. Besides drawing storyboards and directing, she also used her voice for some small characters in the films she worked on. A notable role was Scratte in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

In 2018, Karen Disher was chosen to co-direct a musical film for Blue Sky. The movie was called "Foster" and was based on a story she helped write. However, this project was canceled because Blue Sky Studios closed down in 2021.

Current Work

In 2021, Disher joined Spire Animation Studios. She is now the Creative Director for Development there. She is also a founding member of the studio's "Creative Cadre," which is a group that helps guide the studio's creative projects.

Personal Life

In 2001, Karen Disher married Robert Todd Partington. At that time, he worked as a supervisor for computer graphics and animation technologies at MTV Networks.

Filmography

Karen Disher has worked on many animated films and TV shows. Here are some of her notable projects:

Film Projects

Television Projects

Video Game Projects

External links