Craig Kellman

Craig Kellman is an American animator, character designer and director. He is best known for his work on Madagascar, Hotel Transylvania (2012), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013), Trolls (2016), The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack.

Background Kellman attended the California Institute of the Arts as a part of their character animation program. At 18, he started work in animation on Bobby's World. He would go on to produce and direct The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat at 23 and work on major animated series, such as Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and HBO's The Ricky Gervais Show.

Awards and nominations Kellman has received multiple awards and nominations for his works in animation. He has been nominated twice for an Emmy, winning one 2017 for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" for episode "XCII" of Samurai Jack. Kellman also won an Annie Award for "Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production" for his work on the episode "XCVI", as well as one for " Outstanding Achievement in Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production" for Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas in 2016.

Filmography

Year Title Credit(s) Notes 1990 Adventures of the Gummi Bears Layout artist Uncredited 1990–1995 Bobby's World Model designer, models, storyboard artist 24 episodes 1991 Adventures in Dinosaur City Character designer, designer A Wish for Wings That Work Animator 1992 Bulimiator Director 1992–1995 Batman: The Animated Series Character designer 23 episodes 1993 Bonkers 4 episodes Batman: Mask of the Phantasm 1993–1994 Animaniacs Model designer 3 episodes 1994 The Ren & Stimpy Show Storyboard artist 1 episode The Itsy Bitsy Spider 1994–1995 The Critic Character designer 22 episodes 1995 Pinky and the Brain Models 3 episodes 1995–1997 The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat Character designer, background artist, layout artist, storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, voice director 12 episodes 1995–1997, 2001–2002 What a Cartoon! Layout artist, character designer, storyboard artist, animation layout, character layout, art director, production designer 9 episodes 1997 Loose Tooth Visual development artist The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue Character designer Credited as "Craig D. Kellman" 1998 The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars Character design 1998–1999 Toonsylvania Layout artist, character layout 8 episodes 1998–2003, 2008 The Powerpuff Girls Models, art director, character designer 28 episodes 1999 Mickey Mouse Works Storyboard artist 1 episode Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip Models, production designer 2000 Hairballs Character layout artist, additional animator, director 2000–2001 Cartoon Cartoon Fridays Models 5 episodes 2001 The Flintstones: On the Rocks Character designer 2001–2017 Samurai Jack Character designer, property designer 17 episodes 2002 The Powerpuff Girls Movie Character designer, development 2002–2003 Dexter's Laboratory Layout artist 3 episodes 2004 Home on the Range Additional visual development artist The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Conception character designer 2004–2007 Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Animation director, character designer, director, creative producer 25 episodes 2005 Madagascar Lead character designer The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper Character designer HBO First Look Self "Madagascar: Welcome to the Jungle" episode 2006 How to Eat Fried Worms Layout Via Orphanage Animation Studios 2007 El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera Character designer 2 episodes Bee Movie Additional character designer The Modifyers Additional character design Credited as "Craig D. Kellman" 2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Character designer 2008–2010 The Penguins of Madagascar 33 episodes 2009 Monsters vs. Aliens Character design The Haunted World of El Superbeasto Storyboard artist SpongeBob SquarePants Storyboard director 1 episode Merry Madagascar Character design The Powerpuff Girls: Who, What, Where, How, Why... Who Cares? Self Video documentary short 2010 The Ricky Gervais Show Character designer, director 13 episodesThe CartoonstituteCreator, director“Joey to the World” 2011 McBusters Voice (judge) Appeared in "McBusters 3" The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol Additional voices 2012 Hotel Transylvania Character designer, voice actor Voice of "Guy in Crowd" and "Hydra" Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Character design 2013 Madly Madagascar Character designer The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow Additional voices Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 Character designer, voice actor Voice of "Flintly McCallahan" and "Idea Pants Guy" Super Manny Voice 2014 Mr. Peabody & Sherman Character designer Penguins of Madagascar Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas Steve's First Bath Writer 2015 Hotel Transylvania 2 Character designer The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Sponge Out of Water Art department Designed and supervised Rap Battle Sequence 2016 Sausage Party Lead character designer The Angry Birds Movie Additional artist Ask the StoryBots Additional character design, writer, developer 6 episodes Trolls Character designer 2017 Puppy!: A Hotel Transylvania Short Character design 2018 Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Character designer, voice actor Voice of "Mr. Hydraberg" Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Character design A Wizard's Tale Character designer 2019 The Addams Family Spider-Ham: Caught in a Ham Lead character designer 2020 The Willoughbys Character designer 2021 Monster Pets: A Hotel Transylvania Short Film Character design The Addams Family 2 Designer The Loud House Movie Additional character design 2022 Hotel Transylvania: Transformania Character designer DC League of Super-Pets Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank Character designer: Mass Animation Strange World Character designer Uncredited 2023 Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Character design Trolls Band Together