Early Pioneers and Golden Age (1900-1960)

• Winsor McCay – Animator and cartoonist known for Gertie the Dinosaur (1914).

• Walt Disney – Animator, producer, and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company.

• Ub Iwerks – Animator and inventor, a key collaborator to Disney, co-creator of Mickey Mouse, and a general pioneer in animation technology.

• Max Fleischer – Animator and producer, founder of Fleischer Studios which created creator of Betty Boop, Popeye, and the Superman cartoons. He also is key in advancing rotoscope animation.

• Lotte Reiniger – Animator and director known for The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), one of the earliest animated feature films using shadow puppet animation.

• Tex Avery – Director and animator, known for creating iconic characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

• Chuck Jones – Animator and director at Warner Bros.

• John Hubley – Animator and co-founder of UPA (United Productions of America). He is known for his stylistic, modernist animation in films like Gerald McBoing-Boing.

• William Hanna and Joseph Barbera – Animators and producers, co-creators of Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo through Hanna Barbera Studios.

• Walter Lantz – Animator and producer, creator of Woody Woodpecker.

Expansion of Television and Film Animation (1960s-1980s)

• Hayao Miyazaki – Director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli.

• Isao Takahata – Director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli.

• Ralph Bakshi – Director of adult-oriented animation with films like Fritz the Cat and Heavy Traffic, pioneering the concept of adult animation.

• Friz Freleng – Animator and director, known for Looney Tunes and for creating characters like “Pink Panther.”

• Osamu Tezuka – Known as the “God of Manga” and “Father of Anime,”; creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion.

• Gene Deitch – Director and producer, creator of Tom Terrific.

• Don Bluth – Animator and director, known for films like The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, and The Land Before Time.

• Art Clokey – Animator, creator of Gumby and Davey and Goliath. A pioneer of stop-motion animation on TV.

• Terry Gilliam  - Created animated segments for Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1974).

• Tim Burton Director best known for the dark, gothic visual style of his celebrated stop-motion films.

• Wes Anderson Director of Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, stop-motion “new classics” celebrated for their meticulous visual detail, wit, and storytelling.

• Guillermo del Toro A creator with a singular vision, he brought his dark fairy-tale sensibility to animation with Trollhunters and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.

• George Lucas A pioneer of CGI in Star Wars: Episode IV, and CGI animation in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, inspiring a generation of animators.

• Steven Spielberg Co-producer of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Animaniacs (1993-1998), which both brought animation into mainstream pop culture by blending live-action and animated characters in innovative ways.

• Robert Zemeckis Directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), a groundbreaking blend of live-action and animation, and pioneered motion-capture technology in animated films like The Polar Express and Here.

Renaissance and CGI Era (1990s-2000s)

• John Lasseter – Animator, director, and co-founder of Pixar; he directed Toy Story and helped revolutionize CGI animation in feature films.

• Brad Bird – Director known for The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille, some of Pixar’s most iconic and successful films.

• Matt Groening – Creator of The Simpsons and Futurama, his groundbreaking work satirized American life and established animation as a medium for adult television.

• Mike Judge – Creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill, series that advanced the use of social commentary in animated television.

• Trey Parker and Matt Stone – Creators of South Park, pushing the boundaries in satire and exploring controversial topics through animation.

• Genndy Tartakovsky – Animator and director, known for Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Primal.

• Bruce Timm – Animator, producer and co-creator of the DC Animated Universe (Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League), who brought cinematic quality to superhero animation.

• Eric Goldberg – Animator and director, known for animating the Genie in Aladdin, and for innovating character animation with expressive, energetic style.

• Seth MacFarlane – Creator of Family Guy, American Dad!, and The Cleveland Show, who is recognized for edgy humor and integrating pop culture in animated television.

• Nancy Cartwright – Voice actress famous for voicing Bart Simpson, she is a prominent figure in voice acting and animated television.

• Toshio Suzuki – Producer and Studio Ghibli co-founder, instrumental in expanding the studio’s global reach and support for Hayao Miyazaki’s vision.

• Phil Tippett – Visual effects supervisor, known for stop-motion work in Jurassic Park and the Star Wars films, bridging traditional and CGI animation.

• Glen Keane – Disney animator known for animating characters like Ariel, Beast, and Aladdin, contributing to the “Disney Renaissance.”

Modern Influencers and Technology Innovators
(2010-Present)

• Rebecca Sugar – Creator of Steven Universe, bringing LGBTQ+ representation and a unique voice to animated storytelling.

• Pendleton Ward – Creator of Adventure Time, revolutionizing animated television with surreal, imaginative, sophisticated storytelling that appeals across age groups.

• Henry Selick – Director of stop-motion films The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline.

• Alex Hirsch – Creator of Gravity Falls.

• Pete Docter – Pixar director known for Monsters, Inc., Up, and Inside Out.

• Gorō Miyazaki – Director at Studio Ghibli and son of Hayao Miyazaki.

• Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – Directors and producers known for The LEGO Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Clone High and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

• Hiroyuki Imaishi – Japanese animator and co-founder of Studio Trigger.

• Jennifer Yuh Nelson – Director of Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3.

• Travis Knight – Animator and director at Laika.

• Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León – Chilean animators and directors of The Wolf House.

• Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland – Co-creators of Rick and Morty.

• Phil Tippett – Visual effects artist and stop-motion animator.

• Michaël Dudok de Wit – Dutch animator and director of The Red Turtle.

• Thurop Van Orman – Creator of Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.