Joel Crawford (director)

This article is about the film director. For the politician, see Joel Crawford (politician).

Joel Crawford is an American film director, storyboard artist and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the DreamWorks Animation films The Croods: A New Age (2020) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), with the latter nominated him for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Joel Crawford
Alma mater	CalArts[1]
Occupations	Film director storyboard artist Screenwriter
Years active	2006–present

Career

In 2006, Joel Crawford joined DreamWorks Animation, where he served as a story artist on Shrek Forever After, Rise of the Guardians, the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, and Bee Movie.^[1] In October 2017, Crawford signed on to direct The Croods: A New Age, replacing both Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders as director.^[2] In November 2017, Crawford directed Trolls Holiday, a half-hour Christmas-themed spinoff of the 2016 film Trolls.^[3] In March 2021, Crawford replaced Bob Persichetti as director of the 2022 film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.^[4][5]

On June 3, 2023, Crawford received an honorary degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design for his contributions to animation.^[6] In April 2025, he signed on to write and direct Forgotten Island (2026) for DreamWorks Animation.^[7]

Filmography

Year	Title	Credited as					Notes
		Director	Story artist	Writer	Actor	Other
2007	Bee Movie	No	Yes	No	No	No
2008	Kung Fu Panda	No	Yes	No	No	No
2010	Shrek Forever After	No	Yes	No	No	No
2011	Kung Fu Panda 2	No	Yes	No	No	No
2012	Rise of the Guardians	No	Yes	No	No	No
2015	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water	No	Yes	No	No	No
2016	Kung Fu Panda 3	No	Yes	No	No	No
	Trolls	No	Yes	No	No	No	Head of story[8]
2017	Trolls Holiday	Yes	No	No	No	No	TV special[3]
2019	The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part	No	Yes	No	No	No
	Trouble	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
2020	The Croods: A New Age	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Role: Guy's Dad[2]
2022	Puss in Boots: The Last Wish	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Role: Baker's Dozen Member, Band Player[9]
2023	Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken	No	No	No	No	Yes	Creative leadership: DreamWorks Animation Special thanks
	Trolls Band Together	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
2024	Kung Fu Panda 4	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
	The Wild Robot	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
2025	Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie	No	No	No	No	Yes	Special thanks
2026	Forgotten Island	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	[7]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Film	Result	Ref.
Golden Globe Awards	February 28, 2021	Best Animated Feature Film	The Croods: A New Age	Nominated	[10]
Visual Effects Society Awards	April 6, 2021	Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature		Nominated	[11]
Golden Globe Awards	January 10, 2023	Best Animated Feature Film	Puss in Boots: The Last Wish	Nominated	[12]
British Academy Film Awards	February 19, 2023	Best Animated Film		Nominated	[13]
Academy Awards	March 12, 2023	Best Animated Feature		Nominated	[14]