Conrad Vernon

Conrad Vernon (born July 11, 1968)^[1] is an American director, producer, writer, storyboard artist and voice actor, best known for his work as a writer and voice actor on the DreamWorks animated film series Shrek as well as other films such as Monsters vs. Aliens and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. He also co-directed non-DreamWorks animated films such as Sony Pictures' Sausage Party and MGM's The Addams Family.

Life and career

Conrad Vernon was born on July 11, 1968,^[1] a native of Lubbock, Texas, studied at CalArts and worked as a storyboard artist for animated productions (including Ralph Bakshi's Cool World);^[2] he also directed Morto the Magician (a four-minute animated film written by Steve Martin).^[3]

Vernon began his career in 1991.^[4] In 1996, he joined DreamWorks, where he worked as a storyboard artist on Antz.^[4] After Antz proved a success as the first animated feature film to be produced by DreamWorks Animation, Vernon signed on as a writer for Shrek, where he was responsible for the Gingerbread Man, and eventually voiced that character. He also appeared in Shrek 4-D and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.

In June 2004, he made his feature film directorial debut with the Academy Award-nominated Shrek 2 alongside Andrew Adamson and Kelly Asbury.^[4] He voiced Mason the chimpanzee for the DreamWorks Animation films Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (for which he is also credited as director) and its spin off Penguins of Madagascar (where he voiced Rico, one of the penguins) and reprised the voice of Mason in the television series.

In 2009, Vernon and Rob Letterman co-directed the 3D animated film Monsters vs. Aliens, which he co-wrote and supplied several voices.

Vernon and Greg Tiernan co-directed the adult animated comedy Sausage Party (2016), from a story by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Jonah Hill, as well as providing some of the voices. Vernon next co-produced and co-directed, again with Tiernan, an animated version of The Addams Family, which was released in October 2019.^[2] He supplied voice roles for both Sausage Party and The Addams Family, including Lurch in the latter. He was scheduled to return as director alongside Tiernan for The Addams Family 2, released in October 2021.^[5] In October 2020, it was announced that he would no longer be involved as director, though he ultimately received co-billing with Tiernan.^[6]

In 2017, Vernon was hired to direct an animated feature adaptation of The Jetsons, from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman, which is being made by Warner Bros., under its Warner Animation Group banner.^[7][8]

Filmography

Film

Acting roles

Other credits

Television

Acting roles

Video games

Acting role

References

1. ^ "Cannes Film festival: Conrad Vernon". Archived from the original on 2006-02-02. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
2. ^ "A Very Animated Family Reunion: Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan Bring The Addams Family Back to Its Roots". Boxoffice. October 8, 2019. Archived October 11, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
3. ^ "Monsters vs Aliens: Conrad Vernon vs Animated Views! – Animated Views". Archived 2019-10-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
4. ^ DreamWorks Animation. "Madagascar 3 Europe's Most Wanted - Production Information". Festival Cannes. p. 17. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
5. ^ "The Addams Family Directors Explain Their Approach to the Upcoming Sequel". Movies. 6 November 2019. Archived 2020-10-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
6. ^ Anthony D'Alessandro (October 8, 2020). "'The Addams Family 2': Bill Hader & Javon "Wanna" Walton Join Voice Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived October 8, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
7. ^ "The Jetsons Planned as Animated Feature". ComingSoon.net. January 23, 2015. Archived January 27, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
8. ^ Animated 'Jetsons' Movie to Lift Off With 'Sausage Party' Director Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine, in Variety
9. ^ Sneider, Jeff (May 29, 2014). "Paul Rudd, Danny McBride, Anders Holm Join 'Sausage Party' Voice Cast". The Wrap. Archived May 31, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
10. ^ Kit, Borys (October 12, 2017). "'Sausage Party' Director Tackling 'The Addams Family' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived October 13, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
11. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (24 January 2015). "Warner Bros Plots 'The Jetsons' Animated Feature; Matt Lieberman Writing". Archived 25 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
12. ^ Natalie, Natalie. "'Jetsons' movie ready to blast off production". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived 2019-05-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
13. ^ ChrisXMorgan (26 May 2017). "Jetsons Animated Movie in the Works With Sausage Party Director". Archived 1 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
14. ^ McNary, Dave (January 23, 2015). "Animated 'Jetsons' Movie Lifting off With 'Sausage Party' Director". Variety. Archived March 27, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
15. ^ Berkshire, Geoff (November 12, 2014). "Film Review: 'Penguins of Madagascar'". Variety. Archived November 15, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
16. ^ "Conrad Vernon (visual voices guide)" (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Behind The Voice Actors
17. ^ "ToonHive on X: "Official promo for 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' The series will premiere on Nickelodeon on Monday, February 12." / X". Twitter. 2023-12-23. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
18. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (March 11, 2025). "Nickelodeon Announces Brand-New Animated Series 'Wylde Pak'". Animation Magazine. Archived March 11, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 12, 2025.

External links

• Conrad's blog
• Conrad Vernon at IMDb