Joel Crawford (movie director)

Joel Crawford is an American storyboard artist and director. He is best known for his work on several DreamWorks Animation films, including The Croods: A New Age (2020).

Joel Crawford
Nationality	American
Alma mater	CalArts
Occupation	Storyboard artist Director
Years active	2007–present
Notable work	The Croods: A New Age

Career

In 2006, Joel Crawford joined DreamWorks Animation, where he served as a story artist on Shrek Forever After, Rise of the Guardians, the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, The Lego Movie, and Bee Movie. In October 2017, Crawford signed on to direct The Croods: A New Age, replacing both Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders as director. In November 2017, Crawford directed Trolls Holiday, a half-hour Christmas-themed spinoff of the 2016 film Trolls. In March 2021, Crawford replaced Bob Persichetti as director of the 2022 film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

Filmography

Year	Title	Credited as			Notes
		Story artist	Director	Actor
2007	Bee Movie	Yes	No	No	Additional Story Artist
2008	Kung Fu Panda	Yes	No	No
2010	Shrek Forever After	Yes	No	No
2011	Kung Fu Panda 2	Yes	No	No
2012	Rise of the Guardians	Yes	No	No
2013	The Lego Movie	Yes	No	No
2015	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water	Yes	No	No
2016	Kung Fu Panda 3	Yes	No	No
	Trolls	Yes	No	No	Head of story
2017	Trolls Holiday	No	Yes	No	TV special
2019	The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part	Yes	No	No
2020	The Croods: A New Age	No	Yes	Yes	Role: Guy's Dad
2022	Puss in Boots: The Last Wish	No	Yes	No	Post-production

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Film	Result	Ref.
Golden Globe Awards	February 28, 2021	Best Animated Feature Film	The Croods: A New Age	Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards	April 6, 2021	Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature		Nominated

Other websites

• Joel Crawford on IMDb