Cinesite Hires Pixar Veteran Andrew Gordon As Global Animation Director For Features (Exclusive)

Andrew Gordon, a former Pixar animator with more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, has been tapped to lead Cinesite’s feature animation teams.

As global animation director for its feature animation divisions, Gordon will oversee the company’s animation artists in its London, Montreal, and Vancouver studios. “I’m very excited by the opportunity to join such a dedicated, talented, and passionate team of animators, as well as continuing to broaden the scope of Cinesite’s creative involvement in animation,” he said.

After starting at Warner Bros. Animation, Gordon spent 21 years at Pixar during its heyday, where his animation credits include A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2 and 3, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Wall-E.

Notably, Gordon designed and animated Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc., returning as directing animator on Monsters University. He won a VES Award for his animation on Marlin in Finding Nemo and was supervising animator on the Oscar-nominated short Presto. Gordon was also renowned at Pixar as the creator of the the Love Lounge and Lucky 7, speakeasy bars secreted behind walls in his offices.

There followed brief stints at Illumination Entertainment and DNEG. Gordon was initially credited as a co-director on Illumination’s forthcoming Minions: The Rise of Gru, but left the project. In May 2019, he joined DNEG’s young feature animation team as head of character animation. The vfx powerhouse is at work on its first animated feature, Locksmith Animation’s Ron’s Gone Wrong, which Disney is due to release next April.

Cinesite, which like DNEG is an established vfx shop, branched out into feature animation in 2014. In 2017, it bought Vancouver’s Nitrogen Studios, a move that expanded its animation production capacity. Animated features are now produced in its Montreal and Vancouver studios.

The London-based company has seven animated features under its belt or in the works, including MGM’s The Addams Family (which was released last year) and its upcoming sequel. It is currently producing animation on a trio of films as part of a first-look service deal with London’s Aniventure, among them Riverdance: An Animated Adventure, which is based on the stage show phenomenon of the same name, and Blazing Samurai, a retelling of Mel Brooks’s classic film Blazing Saddles.

Commenting on Gordon’s appointment, Cinesite Group CEO Antony Hunt said:

Andrew Gordon brings a phenomenal depth of talent and experience to Cinesite. This makes him an ideal person to take on this senior management role, ensuring that our ethos of a highly creative, technically cutting-edge, and production-focused approach underpins all that we do as we continue to grow and develop the superb talents of our global animation teams working on an increasing slate of films. I look forward to the stellar work we will create together.