Craig McCracken is the creator of Wander Over Yonder. Craig is also known for creating The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends and Kid Cosmic For Netflix. He is married to fellow cartoonist, Lauren Faust.
Personal Life
McCracken got involved in drawing at an early age. After he graduated from California High School in Whittier, California, he attended the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he honed his animation skills and met his classmate Genndy Tartakovsky, with whom he would occasionally collaborate throughout his career. During his first year, he created a series of short cartoons featuring a character named No Neck Joe, which were picked up by Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. While at CalArts, he also created a short entitled Whoopass Stew!, which would later become the basis for The Powerpuff Girls.
Career
In 1993, McCracken was tapped by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons to be an art director on the Turner Broadcasting System series 2 Stupid Dogs, where he would also work with Tartakovsky. While McCracken was at Hanna-Barbera, studio president Fred Seibertbegan a new project: an animation incubator consisting of 48 new cartoons running approximately seven minutes each. DubbedWhat a Cartoon!, it motivated McCracken to further develop his Whoopass Girls! creation, renaming it The Powerpuff Girls in the process. His new pilot, "The Powerpuff Girls in: Meat Fuzzy Lumkins", premiered on February 20, 1995, on Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toon-In, and a second short, "Crime 101", followed on January 28, 1996. The first short to be picked up by the network was Tartakovsky's Dexter's Laboratory, which McCracken would contribute to in early seasons. McCracken's Powerpuff was the fourth cartoon to be greenlit a full series, which premiered on November 18, 1998. The show soon became a hit and has won bothEmmy[2] and Annie[3] awards. In 2002 McCracken directed The Powerpuff Girls Movie, a prequel to his series. McCracken left The Powerpuff Girls after four seasons, focusing on his next project, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. It premiered with the 90-minute television special "House of Bloo's" on August 13, 2004, on Cartoon Network. He developed the series with wife Lauren Faust. The show ran for six seasons, all directed by McCracken, and concluded on May 3, 2009. It also won Emmy[4] and Annie[5] awards.
In April 2008, he became executive producer of a new Cartoon Network showcase project called The Cartoonstitute. After 15 years of employment, he resigned from Cartoon Network and created Wander Over Yonder for Disney Television Animation and the Disney Channel in 2013.
Gallery
The gallery for Craig McCracken may be viewed here.
Credits
Episodes he directed
Season 1
- The Greatest
- The Little Guy
Episodes he wrote
Season 1
- The Greatest
- The Picnic (Story)
- The Egg
- The Fugitives (Story)
- The Good Deed (Story)
- The Pet (Story)
- The Prisoner (Story)
- The Bad Guy (Story)
- The Troll (Story)
- The Box (Story)
- The Hat (Story)
- The Little Guy (Story)
- The Ball (Story)
- The Bounty (Story)
- The Hero (Story)
- The Birthday Boy (Story)
- The Nice Guy (Story)
- The Time Bomb (Story)
- The Tourist (Story)
- The Day (Story)
- The Night (Story)
- The Lonely Planet (Story)
- The Brainstorm (Story)
- The Toddler (Story)
- The Fancy Party (Story)
- The Epic Quest Of Unfathomable Difficulty!!! (Story)
- The Void (Story)
- The Party Animal (Story)
- The Gift 2: The Giftening (Story)
- The Date (Story)
- The Buddies (Story)
- The Liar (Story)
- The Stray (Story)
- The Big Job (Story)
- The Helper (Story)
- The Funk (Story)
- The Enemies (Story)
- The Rider (Story)
- The Gift (Story)
Season 2
- The Greater Hater
- The Breakfast
- The Big Day (Story)
- The Fremergency Fronfract (Story)
- The Boy Wander (Story)
- The Wanders
- The Axe (Story)
- The Loose Screw
- The It (Story)
- The Cool Guy (Story)
- The Catastrophe (Story)
- The Rager
- The Good Bad Guy (Story)
- The Battle Royale (Story)
- The Matchmaker (Story)
- The New Toy (Story)
- The Black Cube (Story)
- The Eye On The Skullship (Story)
- The Secret Planet (Story)
- The Bad Hatter (Story)
- The Hole... Lotta Nuthin' (Story)
- The Show Stopper (Story)
- The Cartoon (Story)
- The Bot (Story)
- The Family Reunion (Story)
- The Rival (Story)
- My Fair Hatey (Story)
- The Legend (Story)
- The Bad Neighbors
- The Party Poopers (Story)
- The Waste Of Time (Story)
- The Hot Shot
- The Night Out (Story)
- The Search For Captain Tim (Story)
- The Heebie Jeebies (Story)
- The Sick Day (Story)
- The Sky Guy (Story)
- The Robomechabotatron (Story)
- The Flower (Story)
- The End Of The Galaxy (Story)
Episodes he storyboarded
Season 1
- The Greatest
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1989 | Panic Attack! | Creator, Director, Writer, Voice Actor and Animator |
1992 | Whoopass Stew | Creator, Director, Writer and Animator |
1997 | No Neck Joe | Creator, Writer and Director |
1999 | Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip | Writer |
2002 | The Powerpuff Girs Movie | Creator, Writer, Director, Executive Producer, Storyboard Artist and Character Designer |
2009 | The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!! | Writer, Director, Executive Producer, Story Editor, Storyboard Artist and Character Designer |
Television
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1993 - 1995 | 2 Stupid Dogs | Art Director and Storyboard Artist |
1995 | Space Ghost Coast To Coast | Himself, (Episode: "President's Day Nightmare") |
1995 - 1997 | What a Cartoon! | Writer, Director and Art Director |
1995 - 1996 | Dumb and Dumber | Character Designer |
1996 - 2003 | Dexter's Laboratory | Director, Art Director, Model Designer and Storyboard Artist |
1998 - 2005 | The Powerpuff Girls | Creator, Executive Producer, Writer, Recording Director and Director |
2004 - 2009 | Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends | Creator, Executive Producer, Developer, Writer, Director and Story Editor |
2007 | Diggs Tailwagger: Galactic Rover | Executive Creative Consultant |
2007 | Enter Mode 5 | Executive Creative Consultant |
2007 - 2010 | Chowder | Writer and Storyboard Artist (Episode: "The Birthday Suits") |
2008 | Uncle Grandpa | Executive Producer (Episode:"Pilot") |
2009 | Regular Show | Executive Producer (Episode:"Pilot") |
2010 | My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic | Special Thanks and Costume Designer for the Wonderbolts uniform |
2013 - 2016 | Wander Over Yonder | Creator, Writer, Storyboard Artist, Director, Executive Producer and Additional Voices |
Social Media
Tumblr - Crackmccraigen
Twitter - Crackmccraigen
DeviantART - cmcc