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Gary Trousdale

Gary Trousdale

Director and writer · Born June 8, 1960 (66) · La Crescenta, California, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Gary A. Trousdale (born June 8, 1960) is an American film director known for directing movies such as Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He frequently directs films with Kirk Wise. Trousdale planned to become an architect, but decided instead to study animation at CalArts, where he studied for three years. He was hired in 1982 to design storyboards and do other animation. He then went to work designing restaurant menus and t-shirts. Trousdale was hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1985 as an effects animator on The Black Cauldron. He gained true prominence in his field with the success of his animated film directorial debut Beauty and the Beast, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and won a LAFCA Award. He later directed The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996. In 2001 he directed Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He moved to DreamWorks Animation in 2003, where he worked on projects such as The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, Shrek the Halls and more recently Scared Shrekless. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gary Trousdale, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 8, 1960 (66)
From
La Crescenta, California, USA
Works as
Director and writer
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Up 26% in 30 days

What are Gary Trousdale's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
31%
Morality
20%
Society
16%
Self
14%
Ideas
13%
Survival
5%
Family bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themePrejudice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 5 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

Heightened: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their heightened movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 5

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 6 · Intense 1

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 8 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
5
Absurd
3
Tense
3
Romantic
2
Manic
2
Other
9

How their films linger

Hopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy6
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Gary Trousdale's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (7).

Subscription and free streaming for Gary Trousdale's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

22 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Rocky and Bullwinkle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Shrek Stories (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Screenplay

  • Dreamworks: Holiday Classics (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director

  • Shrek's Thrilling Tales(2012)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • The Pig Who Cried Werewolf(2011)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Thriller Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Shrek's Yule Log (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Santa Claus (voice)

  • Megamind(2010)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Scared Shrekless(2010)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Shrek the Halls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · Screenplay · as Santa (voice)

  • Dreamworks 5 Holiday Classics Collection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Show 5 episodes · Director · Writer

  • The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • DreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories Collection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Show 3 episodes · Director · Creator · Writer

  • Atlantis: The Lost Empire(2001)

    Director · Story

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame(1996)

    Director · as The Old Heretic (voice)

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • The Lion King(1994)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Beauty and the Beast(1991)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • The Rescuers Down Under(1990)

    Storyboard

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Little Mermaid(1989)

    Storyboard

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Oliver & Company(1988)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Hoomania (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Animation

  • Stanley, the Ugly Duckling (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Animation

Career shape

A full career of 21 titles from 1982 to 2014.

Biggest box office

The Lion King (1994)

$979M worldwide

Highest rated

The Lion King (1994)

Midcredits 99th

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting3 of 21: 1 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting12 of 21: 5 only directing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score82ndWriting11 of 21: 5 only writing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rdOther crew4 of 21: 3 only other crew, 1 with another role

21 titles, 7 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1980s4 · crew1990s4 · 1 acting · 4 crew2000s5 · 1 acting · 5 crew2010s8 · 1 acting · 7 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Gary Trousdale's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 11; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

73rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

97thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 11 titles divides audiences: 7 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Mixed1

Most loved · writer

The Lion King (1994)

Midcredits 99th · 93% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 72/100 and the pacing 61/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Gary Trousdale's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films and sex & nudity and profanity lighter.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles37–54 · median 41 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles17–28 · median 18 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles7–18 · median 8 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles14–35 · median 28 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles44–62 · median 51 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Gary Trousdale work with?

People who share at least 2 of Gary Trousdale's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kirk Wise shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles