Dean Wellins (born March 24, 1971) is an American film director, storyboard artist, screenwriter, and animator. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios, including directing the short film Tick Tock Tale (2010), co-directing the feature film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), and directing several episodes of the streaming series Baymax! (2022).
Early life Dean Wellins was born in Zaragoza, Spain, on March 24, 1971. From 1990 to 1992, he was enrolled at CalArts.
Career In 1990, he began his career at Turner Feature Animation's internship program as a character breakdown artist for The Pagemaster (1994). In 1994, he worked at Renegade Animation as a character animator on Gargoyles: The Game (1995). In 1996, he moved to Warner Bros. Animation where he worked as an animator on The Iron Giant (1999), which got him nominated at the 27th Annie Awards for "Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production" and "Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production". In 1999, he served as a supervising animator on Osmosis Jones (2001) and Duck Dogers (2003).
In August 2000, he moved to Walt Disney Animation Studios where he served as a character animator on Treasure Planet (2002) and a story artist on Chicken Little (2005). In 2006, he served as a story artist on Bolt (2008). In April 2007, he signed on to direct the Disney animated film Tangled (2010), alongside Glen Keane. However, in October 2008, it was reported that he had left the film as director, but remained as a story artist, prior to pitching "three new ideas for one of [Disney's] future feature projects". By 2009, he directed the short film Tick Tock Tale (2010) and served as a character animator on The Princess and the Frog (2009).
During the 2010s, he served as a story artist on several Disney films, including Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Frozen (2013), Tomorrowland (2015), Big Hero 6 (2014), Zootopia (2016), Moana (2016), and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). In October 2018, he was set to direct a film titled Dragon Empire, alongside Paul Briggs. In August 2020, Disney announced that Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada replaced Wellins and Briggs as directors on the film, retitled Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), with Wellins and Briggs demoted to co-directors. Story writer John Ripa later replaced Wellins as a co-director, with Wellins only credited as a story writer in the final film. In 2022, he made his directorial debut when he directed 3 episodes of the Disney+ streaming series Baymax!.
In the same year, he left Disney to join The SPA Studios where he would serve as co-director and head of story on Sergio Pablos' feature film Ember, to be released by Netflix. However, by December 2022, Netflix canceled the project due to its lengthy production. By 2023, Wellins moved to PaperGames Animation where he would direct an upcoming feature film based on the Nikki Nuannuan video game series.
Filmography Feature films Year Title Director Story Artist Story Writer Animator Other Notes Ref(s) 1994 The Pagemaster Character breakdown artist 1998 The Iron Giant Music: "Duck and Cover" 2001 Osmosis Jones Character: "Thrax"2002 Treasure Planet Character: "Jim Hawkins" Eight Crazy Nights 2004 Fat Albert 2005 Chicken Little 2008 Bolt 2009 The Princess and the Frog Character: "Dr. Facilier" 2010 Tangled Replaced during development 2012 Wreck-It Ralph 2013 Free Birds Character designer Frozen 2014 Big Hero 6 Creative leadership 2015 Tomorrowland 2016 Zootopia Moana Creative leadership 2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet Additional voices;Creative leadership2021 Raya and the Last Dragon Replaced during production;Studio & creative leadership Encanto Creative leadership TBA In production
Short films Year Title Director Animator Writer Voice Role Ref(s) 1997 Pullet Surprise 2010 Tick Tock Tale Thief / Bobby 2015 The Dunk to End All Dunks
Television Year Title Director Story Artist Other Notes Ref(s) 1997 What a Cartoon! Composer and animation consultantEpisode: "Strange Things" 101 Dalmatians: The Series Character designerEpisode: "Artist Formerly Known as Spot" / "Nose Knows" 1998–2000 Histeria! 12 episodes 2000 Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Episode: "Strange Invasion" 2003 Duck Dogers Additional story material2 episodes 2022 Baymax! 3 episodes
Video games Year Title Notes Ref(s) 1995 Gargoyles: The Game Character animator: "Goliath"
Accolades Award Date Category Title Result Ref(s) Annie Awards November 6, 1999 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production The Iron Giant Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production The Iron Giant November 11, 2001 Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production Osmosis Jones February 4, 2017 Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production Zootopia Children's and Family Emmy Awards December 16–17, 2023 Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program Baymax! Visual Effects Society Awards February 19, 2011 Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short Tick Tock Tale
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