Dean DeBlois

Early life DeBlois was born and raised in Aylmer, Quebec, Canada. As a boy, he was interested in comic books, which he later said influenced his drawing ability, imagination and storytelling. Growing up in poverty, he would visit a nearby smoke shop on weekends, where the proprietor let him read comics for free. Memorizing them, he went home and drew. DeBlois attended Darcy McGee High School.

Career DeBlois began his career as an assistant animator and layout artist for Hinton Animation Studios/Lacewood Productions in Ottawa, Ontario, while simultaneously attending Sheridan College's two year Classical Animation program in Oakville, Ontario. From 1988 to 1990, DeBlois contributed to such productions as The Raccoons (TV series), The Teddy Bears' Picnic (TV special), and The Nutcracker Prince (feature animated film).

Upon graduation from Sheridan College in 1990, DeBlois was hired by Sullivan Bluth Studios in Dublin, Ireland. There, he worked as a layout artist, character designer, and storyboard assistant to Don Bluth on such feature animated films as A Troll in Central Park and Thumbelina.

In 1994, DeBlois left Dublin for Los Angeles to begin work for Walt Disney Feature Animation as a storyboard artist, where he worked alongside his frequent collaborator, Chris Sanders, as Head of Story on Mulan. Shortly thereafter, they re-teamed to create Lilo & Stitch. DeBlois left production on Atlantis: The Lost Empire in order to work on Lilo & Stitch.

Following its release in 2002, DeBlois sold several original live action feature film projects to write, direct, and produce, including an Irish ghost story titled The Banshee and Finn Magee, a psychological thriller titled The Lighthouse (not to be confused with the 2016 and 2019 films titled The Lighthouse) and a family adventure series titled Sightings, which were optioned at Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, and Universal Studios respectively.

DeBlois' feature-length music documentary film Heima chronicles the homecoming concert of Iceland's Sigur Rós.

In October 2008, DeBlois returned to feature animation to co-write and co-direct DreamWorks Animation's then-troubled How to Train Your Dragon, once again re-teaming with Sanders. The duo re-envisioned the film's story and shepherded the production to its March 2010 release. The resulting film became the studio's top-grossing film in North America outside of the Shrek franchise.

During that same time, DeBlois also directed another feature-length music film for Sigur Rós front-man Jónsi, entitled Go Quiet, as well as a feature-length concert film entitled Jónsi: Live at The Wiltern.

DeBlois wrote and directed the fantasy/action film How to Train Your Dragon 2, a sequel to the original, which was released on June 13, 2014, followed by How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World on February 22, 2019.

On September 23, 2019, DeBlois was attached to write and direct a film adaptation of the Micronauts.

In February 2023, a live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon was announced, with DeBlois set to write and direct, making the film his live action debut.

Personal life DeBlois is openly gay, and told The Advocate that people in the industry "knew that one of us was gay" but mistakenly assumed it was his heterosexual writing partner Chris Sanders, because DeBlois "hobbled in there looking like a redneck".

Filmography Films

Producer only

Animation department

Acting only

Television series

Selected awards and nominations Ceremony Year Category Nominated work Result 3D Creative Arts Awards 2015 Best Feature Film – Animation How to Train Your Dragon 2 Best Stereoscopic Feature Film – Animation Academy Awards 2003 Best Animated Feature Lilo & Stitch 2011 How to Train Your Dragon 2015 How to Train Your Dragon 2 2020 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Annie Awards 2003 Outstanding Directing in a Feature Production Lilo & Stitch Outstanding Writing in a Feature Production 2011 Outstanding Directing in a Feature Production How to Train Your Dragon Outstanding Writing in a Feature Production 2015 Best Animated Feature How to Train Your Dragon 2 Outstanding Achievement for Directing in a Feature Production Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production 2020 Best Animated Feature How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production British Academy Children's Awards 2014 Kid's Vote — Film How to Train Your Dragon 2 Feature Film BAFTA Awards 2011 Best Animated Film How to Train Your Dragon Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2014 Best Animated Film How to Train Your Dragon 2 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2003 Best Animated Feature Lilo & Stitch 2011 How to Train Your Dragon 2015 How to Train Your Dragon 2 2020 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Detroit Film Critics Society Awards 2019 Best Animated Feature Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2014 Best Animated Film How to Train Your Dragon 2 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Georgia Film Critics Association Awards 2015 Best Animated Feature How to Train Your Dragon 2 2020 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 2015 How to Train Your Dragon 2 2020 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Hollywood Film Awards 2014 Hollywood Animation Award How to Train Your Dragon 2 Hollywood Critics Association Awards 2020 Best Animated Film How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 2020 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World International Cinephile Society Awards 2015 Best Animated Film How to Train Your Dragon 2 Movieguide Awards 2020 Best Movie for Families How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World National Board of Review Awards 2014 Best Animated Film How to Train Your Dragon 2 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2015 Favorite Animated Movie How to Train Your Dragon 2 Online Film Critics Society Awards 2014 Best Animated Film 2020 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Producers Guild of America Awards 2015 Best Animated Motion Picture How to Train Your Dragon 2 San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2014 Best Animated Film 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Seattle Film Critics Society Awards 2019 Best Animated Feature St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 2014 Best Animated Feature 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 2019 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Visual Effects Society Awards 2015 Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature How to Train Your Dragon 2 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2014 Best Animated Feature How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 2019