Neal Scanlan, a British-born artist, embarked on his career at the tender age of nineteen as a Stop Motion Designer for Cosgrove Hall, contributing to the production of 'Wind in the Willows' in 1981. Three years later, he made the move to London, marking the beginning of his animatronics career on Walt Disney's 'Return to Oz' in 1984. This collaboration with designer Lyle Conway laid the foundation for a long-term working relationship, as they went on to work together on various projects, including Dennis Potter's 'Dream Child' in 1984, Jim Henson's 'Labyrinth' in 1985, and the 1986 Oscar-nominated film adaptation of 'Little Shop of Horrors'.
As one of the founder members of the Jim Henson Creature Shop, Neal enjoyed a successful eight-year tenure, initially serving as an Animatronics Supervisor and later as Creative Supervisor. During this period, he was involved in the creation of several notable projects, including 'The Storyteller' in 1987, 'Witches' in 1988, 'Greek Myths' in 1989, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 & 2' in 1988 and 1990, and 'Dinosaurs' in 1991.
The success of Kennedy Miller's 'Babe' in 1993 and Neal's own achievements led to his team at the Henson Creature Shop producing the animatronic effects for Walt Disney's '101 Dalmatians' in 1995, as well as the Special Make-Up Effects for Anthony Minghella's Academy Award-winning film 'The English Patient' in 1994. In addition to these feature films, Neal's team worked on numerous television commercials.
In 1996, Neal left the Jim Henson Organisation to establish the Neal Scanlan Studio, which went on to build a reputation for design and innovation over the course of 10 successful years. The studio's first major project was 'Babe: Pig in the City', which received a BAFTA Award nomination for Visual Effects.
After closing the studio in 2011 to pursue other interests outside of the film industry, Neal was recruited to head up the creature and make-up FX department for the new series of Star Wars films. The release of 'The Force Awakens' in 2015 marked a major milestone in Neal's career, and he went on to complete the Skywalker Saga, as well as work on spin-off films 'Rogue One' and 'Solo'. Additionally, he contributed to other projects, including 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'.
In recent years, Neal has been involved in the creation of several Disney+ shows, including 'Andor' and 'Willow'. He was also consulted during the pre-production phase of 'Wednesday', suggesting the use of a performer rather than an animatronic version for the character of the Thing, a concept that was ultimately adopted by director Tim Burton.
Neal is currently working on a variety of exciting projects that are set to be released in the coming years.
