John A. Davis
John Alexander Davis (born October 26, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, composer, and astrophotographer known for his work both in stop-motion animation as well as computer animation, live action and live-action/CGI hybrids. Davis is best known for directing the Nickelodeon animated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for the Best Animated Feature, and creating its sequel television series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.
Also recorded as John Alexander Davis · John A. Davisle
John A. Davis
- Birth Name
- John Alexander Davis
- Born
- 26 October 1961
- Birthplace
- Dallas, Texas, U.S.
- Known for
- Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
- Education
- Southern Methodist University
- Occupation
- * Film director
- Spouse
- Kim Davis
- Nationality
- United States
- Honours
- Rome Prize
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
John Alexander Davis (born October 26, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, composer, and astrophotographer known for his work both in stop-motion animation as well as computer animation, live action and live-action/CGI hybrids. Davis is best known for directing the Nickelodeon animated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for the Best Animated Feature, and creating its sequel television series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for John A. Davis. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3180848 · wikipedia · John A. Davis
In this article
Biography
Biography
Davis studied at Southern Methodist University, Lake Highlands High School and Mater Dei High School. The recorded working language is English. Places of work recorded in the authority are United States. Residence is recorded at Dallas. Distinctions recorded are Rome Prize.
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — John Alexander Davis • Born — 26 October 1961 • Birthplace — Dallas, Texas, U.S. • Known for — Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius • Education — Southern Methodist University • Occupation — * Film director • producer • screenwriter • animator • composer • voice actor • astrophotographer • Years Active — 1979–present • Spouse — Kim Davis
Early life
Early life
Davis began animating as a child using his parents' 8 mm camera to film action figures in stop motion. His interest in animation began when he watched a stop motion film called Icharus at a film festival. He worked on the stop motion film The Bermuda Triangle in 1981 while still attending Southern Methodist University, where he graduated in 1984.
Career
Career
Soon after his graduation Davis joined the animation company K&H Productions, working with 2-D animator Keith Alcorn. Soon, Davis made the transition from claymation to 2-D animation with Alcorn's help. K&H did production work for commercials, public-access television cable TV animation, and film festivals. K&H Productions declared bankruptcy in early 1987; that same year DNA Productions was founded. Davis came up with the idea for Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (originally named Johnny Quasar) sometime during the 1980s and wrote a script titled Runaway Rocketboy (later the name of the second pilot) which was later abandoned. While moving to a new house in the early 1990s, he stumbled upon the script and re-worked it as a short film titled Johnny Quasar and presented it in SIGGRAPH where he met Steve Oedekerk and worked on a television series as well as the film. In 2006, he directed the film The Ant Bully after being approached by Tom Hanks to direct the film. Production on the film made Davis resign from production of Jimmy Neutron in January 2003. He gave his position away as executive in charge of production to Steve Oedekerk. Davis was set to direct an upcoming feature film based on Neopets with Warner Bros., together with producer Dylan Sellers and writer Rob Lieber. It was originally set to release on April 20, 2009, but was changed to 2011 and later changed to winter of 2012, before finally being cancelled with no other projects announced. In 2014, Davis announced that Xing Xing Digital Corporation and Pelagius Entertainment had been selected to co-produce his upcoming animated film Smart, with writers Joel Cohen (writer) and Alec Sokolow.. However, the film was cancelled when Xing Xing went defunct in 2018 due to a small bit of controversy back in July 26th, 2016, in the Fireman Sam episode Troubled Waters, where Elvis trips over a piece of paper with Surah Mulk, Verses 13–26 from the Quran on it, resulting to HiT Entertainment and Mattel cutting ties with them completely, and WildBrain (former name DHX Media Inc.) being brought in to take over the animation.
Nominations
Nominations
In 2000, Davis was up for an Emmy along with 8 others in the category Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour) for Olive, the Other Reindeer, but lost to Discovery Channel's Walking with Dinosaurs. In 2002, Davis was nominated for an Academy Award along with Steve Oedekerk in the category of Best Animated Feature for Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
Filmography
Filmography
Short film • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer — Animator — Notes • 1992 — Captain Weirdbeard and His Merry Swabs • 1995 — The Adventures of Johnny Quasar • 1997 — Santa vs. The Snowman — Supervisor — Also technical director • 2002 — Santa vs. the Snowman 3D — Supervisor Feature film • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer • 2001 — Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius • 2006 — The Ant Bully Television • Year — Title — Writer — Producer — Creator • 2002–06 — The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius Voice actor • Year — Title — Role • 1991-2004 — Nanna & Lil' Puss Puss — Puss Puss • 1992 — The Tale of Nippoless Nippleby — Nippoless Nippleby • 1998 — Cartoon Sushi — Additional Voices • 2001 — Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius — Octapuke Kid, Guard and Bennie • 2006 — The Ant Bully — Ant #19 Other roles • Year — Title — Role • 1984 — Bloodsuckers from Outer Space — Visual Effects (Uncredited) • 1989 — Scaredy Cat! — Special Thanks • 1990 — Macon County War — Composer • 1992 — Frog Baseball — Sound Recordist, Special Thanks • 1993 — Basic Values: Sex, Shock & Censorship in the 1990s — Composer • 1999 — Olive, the Other Reindeer — Animation Director • 2006 — The Ant Bully — Video game director • 2010–13 — Planet Sheen — Creative consultant • 2016 — Cartoons VS Cancer — Himself • Nickelodeon Animation Podcast
Astrophotography
Since about 2007, Davis has become a recognized astrophotographer, publishing high-resolution, generally wide-field images in astronomy magazines, and in NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. In 2009, Davis largely founded and continues to lead APSIG, the Astrophotography Special Interest Group, associated with the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,934 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Johannes ZahnPerson
- Johannette ZomerPerson
- Johanns Face RecordsOrganisation
- John 5Person
- John AbellPerson
- John AbercrombiePerson
- John AddisonPerson
- John Adolphus I of Saxe-WeissenfelsPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by John A. Davis?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.