Dean DeBlois is a Canadian writer, director, and producer who has made a significant impact in the animation industry. Born and raised in Canada, DeBlois began his career in the animation industry as an assistant animator and layout artist for Hinton Animation Studios in Ottawa, Ontario. During this time, he attended Sheridan College's three-year Classical Animation program, where he honed his skills in animation.
After graduating in 1990, DeBlois was hired by Don Bluth Studios in Dublin, Ireland, where he worked as a layout artist, character designer, and storyboard assistant on several films, including Thumbelina (1994) and A Troll in Central Park (1994). In 1994, DeBlois left Ireland to work for Walt Disney Feature Animation as a storyboard artist, where he eventually became the Head of Story on Mulan (1998).
DeBlois's next major project was Lilo & Stitch (2002),a film that he co-wrote and co-directed with Chris Sanders. The film was a critical and commercial success, and is often credited as one of the last great hand-drawn films produced by Disney. Following the success of Lilo & Stitch, DeBlois went on to develop several original live-action feature projects, including "The Banshee and Finn Magee," "The Lighthouse," and "Sightings," which were set up at Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, and Universal Studios, respectively.
In 2007, DeBlois made his debut as a documentary filmmaker with the feature-length music film Sigur Rós: Heima (2007),which chronicled the homecoming concert odyssey of Iceland's famed post-rock phenomenon, Sigur Rós. The film received widespread critical acclaim and helped to establish DeBlois as a versatile filmmaker.
In 2008, DeBlois returned to feature animation to co-write and co-direct How to Train Your Dragon (2010),a film that he again collaborated on with Chris Sanders. The film was a major commercial and critical success, earning DreamWorks Animation its highest critical acclaim to date and becoming the studio's top-grossing film outside of the "Shrek" franchise.
In addition to his work on How to Train Your Dragon, DeBlois has also directed several other feature-length music films, including Go Quiet (2010) and Jónsi: Live at The Wiltern. He is currently writing, directing, and executive producing the highly anticipated sequel to How to Train Your Dragon, which he describes as "the epic second act of a much larger story."
