Chris Appelhans

Chris Appelhans is an American illustrator, production designer, and film director born in Idaho.^[1] His independent artistic work appears in galleries around the United States.^{[2][failed verification]} He is known for illustrating two children's books, A Greyhound, A Groundhog and Sparky.^[3] He won the Children's Choice Book Award in 2015.^[4] He is also the writer and director of the 2021 film Wish Dragon^[5][6] and the 2025 film KPop Demon Hunters, serving as co-director with Maggie Kang in the latter.^[5][7]

In 2012, he married author Maurene Goo, with whom he resides in Los Angeles.^[8][9] Their son was born in 2020.^[10][9][11]

Filmography

Year	Title	Credited as				Notes
		Director	Writer	Storyboard artist	Other
2006	Monster House	No	No	No	Yes	Character Designer Concept Artist
2008	City of Ember	No	No	No	Yes	Concept Artist
2009	Coraline	No	No	No	Yes	Illustrator
2009	Fantastic Mr. Fox	No	No	No	Yes	Environment Designer
2009	The Princess and the Frog	No	No	No	Yes	Visual Development Artist
2011	Puss in Boots	No	No	No	Yes	Visual Development Artist
2012	Rise of the Guardians	No	No	No	Yes	Additional Story Material Character Designer
2016	The Angry Birds Movie	No	No	No	Yes	Additional Artist
2019	Wonder Park	No	No	Yes	No
2021	Wish Dragon	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Film debut Role: Hot Towel Waiter and Nomani Retailer
2025	KPop Demon Hunters	Yes	Yes	No	No