We wanted to get this right at any cost. We really had a belief in the original material, in the original story, and in the design

Almost inevitably it seems it is difficult to find out much about directors of children’s films in general and animated films in particular, particularly when they are combined efforts such as in this case.  So here are the basic facts - with one link to an interview with Jimmy Hayward.

Steve Martino (photo on left) went to Ohio State University where he graduated in design, following up with a masters in art education.  I believe he taught for a while.  According to the IMDB he seems to have begun his film career working on two Monty Python films - The Quest for the Holy Grail and The Meaning of Life back in the late 90s.  His next significant work was as Art Director on Robots.

Jimmy Hayward (photo on right)  has always wanted to be a filmmaker, and, in his youth, was inspired by the great epics - Spartacus, Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars.  In his own words, “animation just sort of happened.”  His goal however, was to be a director because, “I wanted to be able to tell a good story.”  He has previously worked on Finding Nemo, Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Robots.