John Stevenson
John Stevenson is a British animator, film director and puppeteer. He is best known for directing (along with Mark Osborne) DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda (2008), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
John Stevenson

Levinasstroar · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- John Stevenson
- Birthplace
- London, England
- Occupation
- Animator, art director, film director, motion capture performer, puppeteer, storyboard artist, voice actor
- Born
- 1958. · United Kingdom.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom.
- Fields
- film production.
- Honours
- Annie Award.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary evidence
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gnd · 172150477 · wikidata · Q6263287
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — John Stevenson • Birthplace — London, England • Occupation — Animator, art director, film director, motion capture performer, puppeteer, storyboard artist, voice actor • Years Active — 1978–present
Life and career
Life and career
Stevenson worked as a story artist on the feature films The Great Muppet Caper, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and Little Shop of Horrors and as a character designer and story artist on shows and films like The Dreamstone, Count Duckula, Back to the Future: The Animated Series, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, two of the Fox Tales specials and FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue. He also worked as an art director on Back to the Future: The Animated Series and a puppeteer on James & the Giant Peach and Motion Capture Performer on The Moxy Pirate Show. In 1991, Stevenson moved to the United States, and in 1998, he was hired as a head of story at DreamWorks Animation. There he worked for many years in the art department on many films such as Shrek, Shrek 2, Madagascar and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, in addition to helming a number of episodes of their animated primetime show Father of the Pride. He worked for four years bringing Kung Fu Panda to the screen. In 2009, Stevenson was nominated for an Academy Award with Mark Osborne for Best Animated Feature for Kung Fu Panda and won the Annie Award with Osborne for Directing in a Feature Production. In 2011-12, Stevenson directed a six-minute animated short film for The Coca-Cola Company produced by Ridley and Tony Scott called The Polar Bears. Since 2012, Stevenson has been directing for Rocket Pictures the sequel of Gnomeo & Juliet, titled Sherlock Gnomes, The film was released on 23 March 2018 to negative reception. Stevenson was originally set to work as director for an upcoming film based on the character created by Mattel, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He was also attached to various projects like The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break, We3, Alien Rock Band and Rotten Island. In August 2014, it was announced that Stevenson will direct for Unified Pictures a CG-animated feature film The Ark and the Aardvark inspired by Noah's Ark.
Filmography
Filmography
• Year — Title — Director — Producer — Notes • 2008 — Kung Fu Panda — Co-directed with Mark Osborne • 2018 — Sherlock Gnomes • 2026 — The Ark and the Aardvark — Executive
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article John Stevenson (director), revision 1357024343 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Oscars.org : Nominees & Winners for the 81st Academy Awards
- 2.The Annie Awards. 36th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients.
- 3.Beltrone, Gabriel. Ad of the Day: Coca-Cola The brand's polar bears weather some family drama in this six-minute short, produced by Ridley Scott. Adweek. 7 January 2013.
- 4.Fleming, Mike. John Stevenson Tapped To Direct 'Gnomeo & Juliet' Sequel 'Sherlock Gnomes'. Deadline. 5 September 2012.
- 5.Robinson, Will. Johnny Depp takes lead in Sherlock Gnomes. Entertainment Weekly. 7 November 2015.
- 6.Latino Review. Exclusive: From Kung-Fu Panda to He-Man?!. 19 November 2008.
- 7.O'Hara, Helen. John Stevenson To Direct Minotaur. Empire Online. 14 May 2009.
- 8.Rotten, Ryan. Stevenson Attached to Direct Comic Adaptation We3. ShockTillYouDrop.com. 8 December 2008.
- 9.DeMott, Rick. Panda's Stevenson Joins Vanguard's Alien Rock Band. Animation World Network. 8 November 2010.
- 10.Beck, Jerry. John Stevenson Tapped To Direct "Noah's Ark" For Unified Pictures. Animation Scoop. 20 August 2014.
References
Citations
References
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reference 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 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
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