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Joel Crawford (director)

Joel Crawford is an American film director, storyboard artist and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the DreamWorks Animation films The Croods: A New Age (2020) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), with the latter nominated him for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Joel Crawford
CalArts
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Film director
storyboard artist
Screenwriter
2006–present
DreamWorks Animation (2006–present)

Joel Crawford is an American film director, storyboard artist and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the DreamWorks Animation films The Croods: A New Age (2020) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), with the latter nominated him for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

In 2006, Joel Crawford joined DreamWorks Animation, where he served as a story artist on Bee Movie (2007), the Kung Fu Panda trilogy (2008–16), Shrek Forever After (2010), and Rise of the Guardians (2012). In October 2017, Crawford signed on to direct The Croods: A New Age (2020), replacing both Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders as director. In November 2017, Crawford directed Trolls Holiday, a half-hour Christmas-themed spinoff of Trolls (2016). In March 2021, Crawford replaced Bob Persichetti as director of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

On June 3, 2023, Crawford received an honorary degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design for his contributions to animation. In April 2025, he signed on to write and direct Forgotten Island (2026) for DreamWorks Animation, alongside his longtime best friend Januel Mercado. Their friendship is a major inspiration for the movie's story.

Year	Title	Credited as	Notes
2007	Bee Movie	No	Yes	No	No	No
2008	Kung Fu Panda	No	Yes	No	No	No
2010	Shrek Forever After	No	Yes	No	No	No
2011	Kung Fu Panda 2	No	Yes	No	No	No
2012	Rise of the Guardians	No	Yes	No	No	No
2015	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water	No	Yes	No	No	No
2016	Kung Fu Panda 3	No	Yes	No	No	No
Trolls	No	Yes	No	No	No	Head of story
2017	Trolls Holiday	Yes	No	No	No	No	TV special
2019	The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part	No	Yes	No	No	No
Trouble	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
2020	The Croods: A New Age	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Role: Guy's Dad
2022	Puss in Boots: The Last Wish	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Role: Baker's Dozen Member, Band Player
2023	Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken	No	No	No	No	Yes	Creative leadership: DreamWorks AnimationSpecial thanks
Trolls Band Together	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
2024	Kung Fu Panda 4	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
The Wild Robot	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
2026	Forgotten Island †	Yes	No	Yes	No	No

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Film	Result
Golden Globe Awards	February 28, 2021	Best Animated Feature Film	The Croods: A New Age	Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards	April 6, 2021	Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	January 10, 2023	Best Animated Feature Film	Puss in Boots: The Last Wish	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	February 19, 2023	Best Animated Film	Nominated
Academy Awards	March 12, 2023	Best Animated Feature	Nominated

Joel Crawford at IMDb

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