‘Big Hero 6’ Director Don Hall Inks Deal with Skydance Animation

Another Disney alum is joining the ranks of creatives working with Skydance Animation (Luck, Blush), established in 2017 and headed by former Pixar chief John Lasseter.  The studio today announced that Academy Award-winning director Don Hall (Big Hero 6, Raya and the Last Dragon; co-director, Moana) has signed a deal to create, develop and produce an original animated feature (details to be announced).

Hall is veteran director and animator best known for his work on Moana, Big Hero 6, Winnie the Pooh, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Strange World. He began his career at Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he worked on a number of animated features including Tarzan, The Emperor’s New Groove and Chicken Little before rising to the position of head of story on Meet the Robinsons and The Princess and the Frog.

Hall was promoted to director on Winnie the Pooh (2011), working with classic Disney characters in the traditional hand-drawn style. Upon completion of that project, he began work on Big Hero 6 (2014), which combined his childhood loves of Marvel comics with Disney animation and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He then reunited with the directors of The Princess and the Frog, John Musker and Ron Clements, to co-direct the Academy Award-nominated Moana (2016).

While at Disney, Hall was part of the studio’s Story Trust and creative leadership team, contributing to many of its recent hit releases including Frozen, Zootopia, Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph and also served as executive producer on the Disney+ series Baymax!

Hall graduated from the University of Iowa earning a BFA in Drawing and Painting and California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where he earned a BFA in Character Animation.

Skydance Animation develops and produces feature films and television series with full production capability across two studios in Los Angeles and Madrid. The studio’s inaugural short film, Blush, had its world premiere as part of 2021 Tribeca Film Festival’s animated shorts program and is now streaming globally on Apple TV+.  In 2022, Skydance Animation premiered its first animated feature, Luck, for Apple TV+. The studio’s television slate includes WondLa, which premieres June 28 on Apple TV+.

The studio now has a multi-year partnership with Netflix to develop and produce feature films for the streamer; the first film of the multi-picture deal will be Spellbound, directed by Vicky Jenson (Shrek, Shark Tale), coming later this year followed by Pookoo, directed by Nathan Greno (Tangled). Future films include Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille) and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project directed by Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia).