Yahoo News ‘Moana’ Co-Director Don Hall Inks Deal With Skydance Animation
Skydance Animation is getting into business with Oscar-winning filmmaker Don Hall.
Hall, known for such Disney movies as Big Hero 6 and the original Moana, has closed a deal with the company. The pact will see him create, develop and produce an original animated feature for Skydance, although project details are not currently available.
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The filmmaker launched his career with Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he worked on such features as Tarzan (1999), The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) and Chicken Little (2005). Later, he was credited as head of story on Meet the Robinsons (2007) and The Princess and the Frog (2009) before directing the animated musical movie Winnie the Pooh (2011).
Hall directed the 2014 Disney film Big Hero 6, in addition to serving as executive producer for its Disney+ spinoff series Baymax! He earned an Oscar alongside fellow director Chris Williams and producer Roy Conli when the title prevailed for best animated feature at the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony.
After that film, he served as co-director on the original 2016 film Moana that featured the voice talents of Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson. Moana is back in the zeitgeist currently, with an animated sequel coming out later this year and a live-action remake set for release in 2026.
During his Disney tenure, Hall also contributed to such hits as Frozen, Zootopia, Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph as part of the studio’s “story trust” and creative leadership team. Additionally, he directed Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) and Strange World (2022).
Skydance Animation’s projects include Apple TV+’s 2022 feature Luck and such forthcoming Netflix films as director Vicky Jenson’s Spellbound, Nathan Greno’s Pookoo, Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk movie from Rich Moore. The studio’s television projects include WondLa, launching later this month on Apple TV+.
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