Andrew Adamson Movies and Career Information

Andrew Adamson is a director, writer and producer on the successful computer animated Shrek and Chronicles of Narnia films. Growing up in New Zealand, Adamson wanted to be an architect as a child. However, he broke his leg in a car accident shortly before going to college, which prevented his enrollment. Adamson instead went to work at the at the New Zealand computer animation house The Mouse That Roared, and later worked at Video Images, Ltd. As he began to master the technology of computer animation, Adamson created television show opening sequences, animated commercials and corporate logos. Moving to California in the early 1990s to work for Pacific Data Images, Adamson worked on special effects in the films Toys (1992), True Lies (1994), Double Dragon (1993) and Angels in the Outfield (1994). After leaving Pacific Data Images, he worked as a visual effects supervisor on the films Batman Forever (1995), A Time to Kill (1996) and Batman & Robin (1997). In the late 1990s he began work on a computer-animated fantasy for DreamWorks titled Shrek. Adamson earned a co-directing credit on the film about the adventures of rude green ogre. Released in 2001, the film was a big box office success, and won an Oscar in 2002 for Best Animated Feature. In 2004 Adamson wrote and directed the sequel Shrek 2. Nominated for two Oscars, Shrek 2 was the highest grossing film of 2004 and was considered by many to be even better then the original. Adamson executive produced Shrek the Third in 2007, though he had no part in the film’s writing or directing process. After the huge success of the Shrek films, Adamson was contracted by Disney to write and co-direct a film version of the classic children’s novel The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The resulting 2005 film was a blockbuster that mixed live-action and computer animation. It was nominated for three Oscars, and at the time was the highest grossing live action film ever made by Disney. In 2008 Adamson directed the next in the series of Narnia films, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Tilda Swinton, the film followed the Pevensie siblings as they help fight an evil king who has taken over the magical land of Narnia and stolen the throne from the rightful heir, Prince Caspian. In 2007 it was reported that Adamson will produce but not direct the third Narnia film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, slated for release in 2010.