James Baxter
Biography
British character animator. He was first known for his work on several Walt Disney Animation Studios films, including various characters in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Rafiki in The Lion King, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. After Notre Dame, Baxter moved over to DreamWorks Animation, where he worked on films such as The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Shrek 2 and Madagascar. Early in 2005, Baxter left DreamWorks and set out on his own as an independent animator. He became the head of his own studio, James Baxter Animation, in Pasadena, California, where he has directed the animation for the 2007 film Enchanted and the opening credits to Kung Fu Panda, for which he received an Annie Award. As of the summer of 2008, James Baxter Animation has closed and Baxter has returned once again to DreamWorks Animation as a supervising animator. Baxter has also worked on Tummy Trouble, How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods. In May 2013, Baxter was a guest animator for an episode of Adventure Time entitled "James Baxter the Horse".The episode's story focused on the lead characters trying to emulate a horse who can cheer everyone up by neighing his name (James Baxter) and balancing on a beach ball. Both the horse's animation (which is visually distinct from the other characters) and voice were provided by Baxter. The episode's title card features a drawing of the horse drawing a horse on a beach ball, while sitting at an animation table. -Wikipedia
Known For & Full Filmography4 Titles
Drama Series - 2010, 16 episodes • as James Baxter (voice)
Young Finn and his shape-shifting dog buddy, Jake, go on a series of surreal adventures as they journey through the postapocalyptic Land of Ooo.
Movie - 2009, 2h 15m • as Self (archive footage)
By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.
Movie - 2018, 2h 15m • as Self
Viewers are given an inside look at the making of "Mary Poppins Returns," with interviews with stars Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Self
An interactive, feature-length behind-the-scenes documentary teeming with worthwhile bonus content all its own.