Early life
Minkoff was born in Palo Alto, California. He studied at Palo Alto High School and graduated from California Institute of the Arts in the early 1980s in the Character Animation department. While he was working his way through CalArts, he was hired by Disney as a cleanup artist in 1983 and worked on The Black Cauldron.
Career
Minkoff has directed several films for Walt Disney Feature Animation, including The Lion King (1994) and two of the Roger Rabbit shorts: Tummy Trouble (1989) and Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990). While working at Disney he wrote the song "Good Company" for Oliver & Company. He also directed the 2003 spooky comedy The Haunted Mansion.
Outside of Disney, he directed the 1999 family film Stuart Little as well as its 2002 sequel and the 2014 DreamWorks adaptation of Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Reccently, Minkoff co-created (alongside Shane Morris, Tim Mansfield and Elise Allen) the Nick Jr. animated series Rainbow Rangers.
Feature Film Filmography
| Year | Film | Position | Subsidiary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Black Cauldron | Inbetween Artist | Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| 1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | Supervising Animator: Olivia | |
| 1987 | The Brave Little Toaster | Character Designer | Walt Disney Pictures |
| 1988 | Oliver & Company | Music/Lyrics: Good Company | Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| 1989 | The Little Mermaid | Character Animator | |
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast | Pre-Production Script Development | |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Director | |
| 2003 | The Haunted Mansion | Walt Disney Pictures |
Animated Shorts Filmography
| Year | Film | Position | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Sport Goofy in Soccermania | Animator | Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| 1989 | Tummy Trouble | Director | Walt Disney Pictures |
| 1990 | Roller Coaster Rabbit | ||
| 1993 | Trail Mix-Up | Executive Producer |
Characters Animated
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