Joel Crawford
Writer/Director, Forgotten Island, Dreamworks Animation
At the age five, after being given a stack of computer paper by his grandmother so he could pass the time “doodling” while recovering in the hospital from a fall (resulting in the amputation of two toes!), Joel Crawford started to sketch…and he hasn’t stopped since!
Influenced as a young kid by the 1988 animated cyberpunk action film “Akira” by Katsuhiro Otomo, Crawford knew at early age that he loved animation. Citing the works of Sergio Leone’s groundbreaking “Dollars Trilogy” along with the films of Akira Kurosawa, Crawford began to develop his own style of visual storytelling.
Crawford is currently in production on Forgotten Island, which he will write and direct alongside long-time collaborator Januel Mercado. The film stars H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, and Lea Salonga. Universal Pictures will release the film in theaters on September 25, 2026.
On his most recent project, Crawford was able to marry his passion for the spaghetti western with his love of absurdist comedy as director of the of the 2023 Academy Award®, BAFTA, and Golden Globe nominated film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek Pinault from DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures. A hit with both critics and audiences, the film amassed nearly half a billion dollars at the global box office.
He made his feature film directorial debut on the DreamWorks Animation feature film The Croods: A New Age. After serving as Head of Story for the smash musical adventure Trolls in 2016, Crawford directed the Trolls Holiday Special for NBC.
Crawford joined DreamWorks Animation in 2006 and quickly became an integral part of the creative process working as a story artist on Trolls, Shrek Forever After, Rise of the Guardians, Bee Movie and all three Kung Fu Panda films. Prior to joining DreamWorks, his story artist credits include The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.
A native of Southern California (via Hawaii), Crawford attended The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). To make ends meet while in school, he worked as a caricature artist at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, before joining Nickelodeon. Crawford is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, and ASIFA-Hollywood. In 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in recognition of his contributions to the field of animation.