- Born
- Birth nameChristopher Michael Sanders
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- Born and raised in Colorado, Chris Sanders fell in love with animation at the age of ten after seeing Ward Kimball animated shorts on 'The Wonderful World of Disney'. He began drawing, and applied to CalArts after his grandmother told him about the animation program at the school. He majored in character animation, and graduated in 1984, moving on to work at Marvel Comics. He helped draw the characters for the show _Muppet Babies (1984)_. He then moved over to the Walt Disney Company in 1987, working in the visual development department. After doing some minor work on The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Sanders catapulted to the top of Disney animation through his work on Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1994). He helped write the 1998 Disney animated hit Mulan (1998), which moved him into the position to write, direct, and voice Lilo & Stitch (2002). Sanders moved to Dreamworks where he co-wrote, co-directed and did character design for How to Train Your Dragon (2010). Regardless of which studio he works for, he has become a recognizable force as an animator in both cel- and CGI-based features.- IMDb mini biography by: Matt Dicker
- SpouseJessica Steele-Sanders(May 18, 2015 - present)
- RelativesSibling(Sibling)
- Strong, tough female characters
- Main characters are often loners or misfits
- Movies often contain surprise twists
- Quirky sense of humor and art style
- Often works with Dean DeBlois
- Became the voice of Stitch almost by accident. The character was originally intended to be silent, but when they decided for him to talk, Sanders recorded a few lines, and the filmmakers got so used to his voice that they cast him in the role.
- The movie Lilo & Stitch (2002) was based on an unpublished book he wrote in 1985.
- Toothless' appearance in How to Train Your Dragon (2010) was partially based on Stitch from Sanders and Dean DeBlois' earlier work Lilo & Stitch (2002), and the two movies follow a similar story.
- He has worked on two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant: Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1994).
- His first live-action work as well as his first solo directorial effort was The Call of the Wild (2020).
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