Happy 58th Birthday, Rob Minkoff! Born today in 1962 as Robert Ralph Minkoff, this American animator, screenwriter, film producer and film director is an important staple of the Disney Renaissance.
In the early 1980s, Minkoff studied at Palo Alto High School and graduated from California Institute of the Arts in the Character Animation department.
In 1983, while working his way through CalArts, Minkoff was hired by Walt Disney Animation Studios as an in-between artist. This was for the 1985 American animated adventure dark fantasy film 'The Black Cauldron'.
The following year, Minkoff was then a supervising animator for the 1986 American animated mystery film 'The Great Mouse Detective'.
This was before being a character designer for the 1987 American animated musical comedy film 'The Brave Little Toaster' a year later, adapted from the titular 1980 fantasy science fiction novel by American science fiction author and poet Thomas M. Disch.
One year later, Minkoff wrote the song "Good Company" for the 1988 American animated musical film 'Oliver & Company'.
This was before becoming a character animator for the 1989 American animated musical romantic fantasy film 'The Little Mermaid' at the beginning of a period known as the Disney Renaissance.
Afterwards, Minkoff became a director (and co-director) for two Roger Rabbit shorts, collaborating with American film producer and director Frank Marshall.
This was for the seven-minute 1989 American animated short/comedy film 'Tummy Trouble" and the seven-minute 1990 American animated short/comedy film "Roller Coaster Rabbit".
Two years later, Minkoff was a part of a pre-production script development for the 1991 American animated musical romantic fantasy film 'Beauty and the Beast'. This was the second animated film produced during the Disney Renaissance.
The following year, Minkoff also directed a five-minute 1992 Mickey Mouse short, which was shown at Disney-MGM Studios, called 'Mickey's Audition'.
Two years later, Minkoff got his big break when he co-directed the film of which he is best known. This was the 1994 American animated drama/ musical film 'The Lion King'.
Minkoff had also co-directed the film along with American film director, screenwriter, storyboard artist, animator, and playwright Roger Allers. 'The Lion King' was the fifth animated film produced during the Disney Renaissance.
On a budget of $45 million, the film grossed $968.5 million at the box office. According to the Top Ten Highest Grossing Animated Disney Movies (All-Time), 'The Lion King' ranks #4, with an adjusted gross of $554,524,300.
One year later, 'The Lion King' received an Oscar for Best Original Music Score (Hans Zimmer). This occurred at the 67th Academy Awards in late March 1995.
Later that same year, 'The Lion King' led to its first television series. This was the American animated buddy children's television series Timon and Pumbaa (1995–1999)
Disney later released two direct-to-video films related to 'The Lion King'. The first was the 1998 American animated romance/musical film 'The Lion King II: Simba's Pride'.
Like its Shakespearean predecessor, the sequel this time follows along the storyline of Romeo and Juliet rather than Hamlet.
Since then, Minkoff has directed his first live-action films. His most notable include 'Stuart Little' (1999), 'Stuart Little 2' (2002), 'The Hasted Mansion' (2003), 'The Forbidden Kingdom' (2008), 'Flypaper' (2011), and 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' (2014). The co-writer for 'Stuart Little' was M. Night Shyamalan.
The following year, the second direct-to-video film was released. This was the 2004 Australian/American animated comedy adventure film 'The Lion King 1½', (also known as 'The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata!' outside of North America).
It is a prequel in showing how Timon and Pumbaa met each other, and also a parallel in that it also depicts what the characters were retconned to have done during the events of the original film.
In 2011, a 3D re-release was made, as well as a photorealistic remake in the late 2010s.
This was the 2019 American musical computer-animated musical drama family film 'The Lion King'. It was directed by American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Jon Favreau.
Three years prior, he had directed the 2016 American computer-animated fantasy adventure/family film 'The Jungle Book'.
During that same year, ‘The Lion King’ was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
It is, as of December 2019, the only Disney film to have been dubbed in Zulu, the only African language aside from Arabic to have been used for a feature-length Disney dub.
Also during that same year, 'The Lion King' led to its second television series. This was the American animated television series The Lion Guard (2016–2019).
Today, the Broadway musical adaptation of 'The Lion King' (written by Allers) has been staged around the world. However, its home base is at the Minskoff Theatre.
The musical has been going strong for more than two decades, with six Tony Awards (including Best Musical) to its name.
Minkoff is currently attached to direct the fantasy action adventure 'Chinese Odyssey'. As of 2014, he is producing 'Blazing Samurai', an American computer-animated action adventure comedy family film set to be released in 2021.
The film was inspired by Mel Brooks' 1974 American satirical comedy-western film 'Blazing Saddles'.
According to Minkoff's personal life, he currently participates as a member of the jury for the NYICFF, a local New York City film festival dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of three and eighteen.
Minkoff married actress and assistant director Crystal Kung. They had met in 2003 at a party in Minkoff's office. Kung is a 76th-generation descendant of Confucius.
Kung had appeared in her husband's 'The Forbidden Kingdom' as Slave Girl and in 'Flypaper' as News Reporter #1. She had served as assistant director on 'The Forbidden Kingdom' as well.
Minkoff and Crystal have a son named Max and a daughter named Zoe.
Minkoff has been active from 1985–present.
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