Four creators are responsible for “Shrek the Third”: Writer-director Chris Miller, co-director Ramu Hui, producer-writer Aron Warner, and executive producer-story-writer Andrew Adamson.
Chris Miller
Writer-director Chris Miller makes his feature film directing debut with Shrek the Third. Miller joined DreamWorks Animation in 1998 as a story artist on the studios first animated comedy, Antz. He subsequently went on to work as a story artist on the Academy Award-winning hit film, Shrek, while also writing additional dialogue and providing the voice of the hilarious Magic Mirror as well as Geppetto. He then went on to serve as Head of Story on the blockbuster, Shrek 2, which went on to become the highest grossing animated film of all time. In addition to providing various voices for the Shrek films, he also voiced Kowalski the penguin in Madagascar.
A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts Animation/Film department, Miller is also a longtime collaborator with the Helios Dance Theater, for which he has created sets, films and projections on numerous occasions. Miller has worked on a wide array of features, commercials, videos, and internet projects, including a short for Steven Spielberg, entitled “Stevens Dream.” His commercial work includes spots for Coca-Cola, Canon, The Comedy Channel and FILA, for which he won a Clio Award for best animated commercial. Miller has also produced several independent animated projects, which have been featured on MTV, and in festivals throughout North America and Europe.
Ramu Hui
Co-director Ramu Hui has been a major force at PDI/DreamWorks for over 15 years, guiding the animation team from commercials and shorts to feature films. He started at the studio in 1989 working on various commercials and award-winning short films, which led to his position as Lead Character Designer/Supervising Animator on PDI/DreamWorks first full-length computer-animated feature film, Antz. From there he went on to serve as Supervising Animator on the Academy Award-winning blockbuster Shrek, as well as the follow-up Universal Studios theme park attraction Shrek 4-D. He also went on to serve as one of the Supervising Animators on the blockbuster sequel, Shrek 2, which went on to become the highest grossing animated film of all time. For a brief time he served as Director of Animation on DreamWorks Television & NBCs prime-time animated comedy Father of the Pride.
During the past decade at PDI/DreamWorks, Hui has worked on a variety of 3D characters, including a CG Mickey Mouse for Jim Hensons Muppetvision, the first CG Pillsbury Doughboy and a helmeted Martian who interacts with a live-action earthling for Hanna-Barberas television special, The Last Halloween. Hui also directed, wrote and produced the celebrated PDI/DreamWorks short film, Sleepy Guy, which has received awards at the London Animation Festival, the US International Film & Video Festival and won first place at Imagina in 1995. His latest in-house short, Fat Cat on a Diet, has been screened at many festivals and conferences, including the London Effects and Animation Festival (LEAF), Anima Mundi and the Chicago International Childrens Film Festival.
Hui began his animation career in Hong Kong at Quantum Studio where he worked as a cel animator. Later, he moved to Canada to study computer animation at Sheridan College.
Aron Warner
Producer-writer Aron Warner returns to take the reins as producer of Shrek the Third after winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature as a producer of the animated blockbuster Shrek and also producing the blockbuster Shrek 2.
He joined PDI/DreamWorks in 1997 to serve as a producer on the computer animated hit Antz, which marked the first collaboration between PDI and DreamWorks. Warner went on to become head of PDI/DreamWorks from 2000 to 2002.
Warner had previously held the post of vice president of production at Twentieth Century Fox, where he supervised production on such films as Independence Day, The Ice Storm, The Crucible, Alien Resurrection, Volcano, and the number one blockbuster of all time, Titanic.
A graduate of UCLA Film School, Warner started out as a production coordinator at Empire Pictures, gaining experience on low-budget horror and sci-fi films. He then moved on to a position at Film Finances, a completion bond company, where he worked on more than 50 films.
Warner began his career as a producer on the horror hit Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. He then served as supervising producer on John Dahls Red Rock West, before beginning his relationship with Twentieth Century Fox as the line producer on Rachel Talalays Ghost in the Machine. He later executive produced Tank Girl, also directed by Talalay. In addition, he oversaw production on James Camerons blockbuster True Lies.
Andrew Adamson
Executive Producer/Story By Andrew Adamson continues his role in the fabled series as executive producer on Shrek the Third. He made his directorial debut on the first Shrek, which won the first Academy Award presented for Best Animated Feature. He then went on to direct the blockbuster sequel, Shrek 2, which went on to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time. He followed that accomplishment with his first live-action directorial achievement, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which, in addition to its commercial success, won the Oscar for Best Makeup and collected two additional nominations for visual effects and sound. He is currently directing the sequel, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
Adamson began his career in computer graphics twenty years ago in his native New Zealand, working as a computer animator at a local animation company called The Mouse That Roared. In 1986, he moved on to the post of design director/senior animator at Video Images Ltd., where he worked on a variety of broadcast logos and television commercials.
He first joined PDI/DreamWorks in 1991 with an extensive background in visual effects. His credits as a visual effects supervisor with PDI/DreamWorks have included the films “Angels in the Outfield” and “Double Dragon.” He has also worked on the visual effects for such films as “True Lies,” “Heart and Souls” and Barry Levinsons “Toys, and served as a key member of PDI/DreamWorks' commercial division on numerous award-winning spots, including Converse's “Planet Kevin,” Dow's “Scrubbing Bubbles Greatest Show,” and Miller Genuine Draft's “Juke Box.”
Apart from PDI/DreamWorks, Adamson's work as a visual effects supervisor includes the features “Batman Forever (for which he shared a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror), “A Time to Kill” and “Batman & Robin.”
His list of awards and nominations includes an Annie Award for Best Directing for an Animated Feature and Best Animated Feature for Shrek and a pair of nominations (for directing and writing) for Shrek 2. He took home the BAFTA Childrens Award for Shrek and was twice nominated for the Cannes Film Festivals Palme DOr for both Shrek features. Additionally, he shared a Camie Award for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and shared a Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Shrek 2.