For the San Diego student detained in a DEA holding room, see Incarceration of Daniel Chong.
Daniel Chong
Birth placeFargo, North Dakota, U.S.[1]
Occupation
  • Animator
  • storyboard artist
  • writer
  • director
  • producer
Years active2008–present
Known for
Employer

Daniel Chong is an American animator, storyboard artist, writer, director, and producer. He is best known as the creator of Cartoon Network's television series We Bare Bears (2015–2019), and as the director, writer, and executive producer of We Bare Bears: The Movie (2020). He has worked as a member of Pixar's senior creative team and wrote and directed Hoppers (2026).[2]

Career

Chong began his career as an intern for Cartoon Network Studios, and went on to work as a storyboard artist for numerous animation studios, including Walt Disney Animation Studios, Illumination Entertainment, and Pixar Animation Studios.[3] He worked as a storyboard artist on the animated films Bolt (2008), Cars 2 (2011), Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012), Free Birds (2013), and Inside Out (2015).

While working at Pixar, Chong worked on the television specials Toy Story of Terror! (2013) and Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014), the former of which won him an Annie Award.[4]

Chong went on to create the animated series We Bare Bears, which premiered on Cartoon Network in 2015. The initial idea for We Bare Bears came from a webcomic that he had created in 2010 called The Three Bare Bears. The webcomic ended almost a year later, but he carried the idea with him.[3] Chong has cited Seinfeld, Broad City, Peanuts, Aardman Animations and Wes Anderson as inspirations for the style and tone of the show.[5] Chong directed, wrote, and executive produced a film adaptation of the series, We Bare Bears: The Movie, which was released in June 2020, thus ending the series.[6] A spinoff series titled We Baby Bears premiered in 2022; Chong serves as executive producer.[7]

In December 2020, Chong revealed on Twitter that he had returned to Pixar and was working on a project there.[8] The film was officially revealed as Hoppers in August 2024; it was released on March 6, 2026.[2][9]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterExecutive
Producer		Story
Artist		Pixar Senior
Creative Team
2008Bolt
2011Cars 2
2012Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
2013Free Birds
2015Inside Out
2020We Bare Bears: The Movie
2022Turning Red
Lightyear
2023Elemental
2024Inside Out 2
2025Elio
2026Hoppers[2]
2028

Television

YearTitleCreatorWriterExecutive
Producer		Story
Artist		Notes
2010–2011Cars Toon: Mater's Tall TalesShort films: "Moon Mater", "Mater Private Eye", "Air Mater"
2013Toy Story of Terror!TV specials
2014Toy Story That Time Forgot
2015–2019We Bare Bears140 episodes
2022–presentWe Baby Bears63 episodes

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult
2014Annie AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast ProductionToy Story of Terror
2016BAFTA Children's AwardsBest InternationalWe Bare Bears
2018Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Short Form Animated Program

References

  1. ^ "Angry Reader of the Week: Daniel Chong". Angry Asian Man. January 26, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  2. ^ Taylor, Drew (August 10, 2024). "Pixar Reveals New Original Film Hoppers Featuring Jon Hamm and Robotic Beavers". thewrap.com. The Wrap. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Interview with Daniel Chong, creator of We Bare Bears". Animac Magazine. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  4. ^ "49th Annual Annie Awards"
  5. ^ DeVoe, Elise (July 23, 2015). "A Q&A with We Bare Bears Creator Daniel Chong". Time Warner. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  6. ^ "We Bare Bears The Movie will now be available starting Tuesday 6/30... Available on Apple, Google Play, Amazon! (USA and CA only)". No. 1269027955491168256. 5 June 2020.
  7. ^ DeVore, Britta (2021-12-01). "'We Baby Bears' Animated Spin-Off Gets Premiere Date on Cartoon Network". Collider. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  8. ^ Daniel Chong (10 December 2020). "WELP guess there's no hiding it now- Happy to be back and developing something @Pixar!". No. 1337202378144006148.
  9. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 13, 2024). "Frozen 3 Gets Official Thanksgiving 2027 Release; Pixar's Hoppers Sets Spring 2026". Deadline Hollywood. Archived August 13, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 13, 2024.