# Dan Kuenster

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{{short description|American character animator and director (born 1955)}}
'''Dan Kuenster''' (born December 29, 1955, in [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago%2C_Illinois)) is an American [character animator](/source/character_animator) and director, who worked for [Walt Disney Animation Studios](/source/Walt_Disney_Animation_Studios), BrainPower Studio and [Sullivan Bluth Studios](/source/Sullivan_Bluth_Studios), before pursuing educational multimedia projects.<ref>{{cite news|last=Karon|first=Paul|title=Animation of a Different Character|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-09-23-fi-46765-story.html|access-date=14 June 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=September 23, 1996}}</ref> He is also formerly Executive Vice President of Design and Animation at [Istation](/source/Istation) in [Dallas](/source/Dallas), [Texas](/source/Texas).

==Career==
While working on ''[The Fox and the Hound](/source/The_Fox_and_the_Hound_(film))'', Kuenster met animator [Don Bluth](/source/Don_Bluth), and later left Disney for Bluth's newly formed independent studio. He continued to work through the growth of Sullivan Bluth studios, and when production facilities moved to [Dublin](/source/Dublin), [Ireland](/source/Ireland), he relocated to co-direct two of its most ambitious films, ''[All Dogs Go to Heaven](/source/All_Dogs_Go_to_Heaven)'' and ''[Rock-a-Doodle](/source/Rock-a-Doodle)''. He returned to Los Angeles in the mid-1990s, to focus on the budding interactive and multimedia industry, where he designed games and animated for software developer [7th Level](/source/7th_Level). Kuenster has also worked on many live action projects as a [director](/source/Film_director), [screenwriter](/source/screenwriter), and [storyboard artist](/source/storyboard_artist), and he has [voice acted](/source/voice_actor) in many of his films.

The Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation was presented to him in 2004, for [storyboarding](/source/storyboarding) the PBS show ''[Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks](/source/Jakers!_The_Adventures_of_Piggley_Winks)''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Daly |first=Cheryl |title=31st Annual Emmy Awards |url=http://www.emmyonline.org/emmy/daytime_31st_creative.htm |work=Press Release |publisher=National Television Academy |access-date=14 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524000021/http://www.emmyonline.org/emmy/daytime_31st_creative.htm |archive-date=24 May 2012 }}</ref>

'''He retired in''' '''October 2024 from his role as Executive Vice President of Design and Animation at Istation (Imagination Station), a software developer and publisher of integrated reading and math intervention programs.”'''

In 2017, Kuenster was a 2D animator and storyboard artist for the HBO Show, A Little Curious for "The Mop Mambo", "Terrible Terrible", "Sweet Soda" and "Hot or Cold".

==Selected filmography==
* ''[The Small One](/source/The_Small_One)'' (assistant animator: The Donkey, Boy's Father, Auctioneer) (uncredited)
* ''[Banjo the Woodpile Cat](/source/Banjo_the_Woodpile_Cat)'' (special thanks)
* ''[Xanadu](/source/Xanadu_(film))'' (assistant animator: animated sequence)
* ''[The Fox and the Hound](/source/The_Fox_and_the_Hound)'' (assistant animator: Big Mama, Vixey, Widow Tweed) (uncredited)
* ''[The Secret of NIMH](/source/The_Secret_of_NIMH)'' (animator)
* ''[Dragon's Lair](/source/Dragon's_Lair)'' (animator)
* ''[An American Tail](/source/An_American_Tail)'' (directing animator, uncredited voice of Jake)
* ''[The Land Before Time](/source/The_Land_Before_Time_(film))'' (directing animator: Littlefoot's mother)
* ''[All Dogs Go To Heaven](/source/All_Dogs_Go_To_Heaven)'' (co-director, voice of Doberman Bookie)
* ''[Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp](/source/Dragon's_Lair_II%3A_Time_Warp)'' (animation staff)
* ''[Rock-A-Doodle](/source/Rock-A-Doodle)'' (co-director, uncredited voice of Rhino Waiter)
* ''[FernGully: The Last Rainforest](/source/FernGully%3A_The_Last_Rainforest)'' (character animation lead: Batty Koda)
* ''[Tom and Jerry: The Movie](/source/Tom_and_Jerry%3A_The_Movie)'' (animator: Creative Capers Cartoons)
* ''[Once Upon A Forest](/source/Once_Upon_A_Forest)'' (animator: The Hollywood Cartoon Company) (uncredited)
* ''[A Troll in Central Park](/source/A_Troll_in_Central_Park)'' (storyboard artist)
* ''[Felidae](/source/Felidae_(film))'' (director and producer: Kuenster Bros. Animation) (uncredited)
* ''[The Pagemaster](/source/The_Pagemaster)'' (additional animator) (uncredited)
* ''[Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games](/source/Timon_%26_Pumbaa's_Jungle_Games)'' (game designer, animation director: [7th Level](/source/7th_Level))
* ''[The Pebble and the Penguin](/source/The_Pebble_and_the_Penguin)'' (additional character animator)
* ''[The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue](/source/The_Secret_of_NIMH_2%3A_Timmy_to_the_Rescue)'' (storyboard artist)
* ''[Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks](/source/Jakers!_The_Adventures_of_Piggley_Winks)'' (storyboard artist)
* ''[Tamagotchi Video Adventures](/source/Tamagotchi)'' (actor, animator)
* ''[Tamagotchi CD-ROM](/source/Tamagotchi)'' (animator, writer)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0473941}}

{{Walt Disney Animation Studios|state=autocollapse}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuenster, Dan}}
Category:1954 births
Category:Living people
Category:Artists from Chicago
Category:Animators from Illinois
Category:Animators from Texas
Category:Film directors from Illinois
Category:American animated film directors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American storyboard artists
Category:American video game designers
Category:American video game writers
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dan Kuenster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Kuenster) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Kuenster?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.