Patrick McHale (artist)

(Redirected from Patrick McHale (cartoonist))

Patrick Nolen McHale (born November 17, 1983) is an American animator, artist, screenwriter, director, and musician.

Patrick McHale
McHale at the 2014 New York Comic Con
Born
Patrick Nolen McHale

(1983-11-17) November 17, 1983 (age 40)
Occupation(s)Animator, artist, screenwriter, director, musician
Years active2007–present
Known forOver the Garden Wall
Websitehttp://www.oldsidelinghill.com/2021.html

Known for his work in animation, he served as writer, creative director and storyboard artist for both the television series Adventure Time from 2010 to 2017, and the miniseries Over the Garden Wall in 2014, the latter of which he also created; he also co-wrote the 2022 film Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.[1][2]

Life and career edit

Early career edit

McHale graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2006 with a BFA in Character Animation. He began his professional career at Cartoon Network Studios in 2007, as writer and storyboard artist on Thurop Van Orman's The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. He helped Van Orman to create ten episodes in total.[3] The one-shot character Punsie McKale was inspired by and modeled after McHale.

After leaving Flapjack, he joined fellow CalArts alum and Flapjack storyboard artist Pendleton Ward to help develop Ward's Adventure Time short into an animated series. Once the show got picked up, McHale stayed on board as the show's creative director through the show's second season. He then moved to New York City with his wife and fellow filmmaker Jiwook Kim. He continued to freelance for the show in the capacity of writing some songs and providing input on story outlines. This lasted until the middle of season five.

Tome of the Unknown and Over the Garden Wall edit

In October 2011, he started work on the eight-minute animated short Tome of the Unknown,[4] which was produced as part of Cartoon Network's shorts development program. Unlike the other pilots, released online on Cartoon Network Video, the film was selected to be showcased during the festival circuit throughout 2013 and early 2014. It received The Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animated Short Film at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.[5]

The short became the basis for a ten-part miniseries Over the Garden Wall, which premiered over five consecutive nights in November 2014. Tome of the Unknown was streamed online in May 2015. McHale won a National Cartoonists Society Reuben award[6] as the creator of Over the Garden Wall, in the category for TV Animation.[7] The series won an Emmy Award for Best Animated Program.[8] That same year, McHale's Over the Garden Wall won Best Animated Feature at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.[9]

In 2016, McHale received an Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids as the creator and a writer of the Over the Garden Wall comic book featuring the characters first appearing in the television series.[8]

Other works edit

In early 2015, McHale self-published his first short novel, Bags, via Etsy.[10]

In 2015, Frederator Studios announced that McHale would direct an 11-minute adaptation of Costume Quest.[11]

On February 22, 2015, McHale released an original album via his Bandcamp page titled The End.[12]

In 2017, director Guillermo del Toro announced that McHale would co-write the script to del Toro's stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio.[13]

In February 2021, Netflix announced that McHale would serve as scriptwriter for an animated film adaptation of the novel Redwall by Brian Jacques. By December 2022, McHale left the project due to changes at Netflix Animation.[14][15]

In April 7, 2023, McHale released the album Those Wild Days in collaboration with J.R. Kaufman of The Blasting Company through Bandcamp.[16]

Filmography edit

Short films edit

Films edit

Year Title Role
2022 Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Screenplay co-writer and lyricist for "Fatherland March", "The Late Lamented" and "Big Baby II Duce March"

Television edit

Year Title Role
2007–2008 The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack Writer and storyboard artist
2010–2013
2016–2017
Adventure Time Creative director (Seasons 1–2), writer, and storyboard artist ("The Enchiridion!" and "Blenanas")
2014 Over the Garden Wall Creator, executive producer, writer, storyboard artist, and songwriter
2015–2016 Gravity Falls Voice role as Hectorgon; 3 episodes
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Songwriter: "Winter Wonder World" and "Baked with Love"

Internet edit

Year Title Role
2014 Blackford Manor[18] Writer and voice director
2019 Costume Quest[11] Director

References edit

  1. ^ "Patrick McHale". IMDb.
  2. ^ "Adventure Time (TV Series 2010–2018)". IMDb.
  3. ^ "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (TV Series 2008–2010)". IMDb.
  4. ^ "Tome of the Unknown (2013)". IMDb.
  5. ^ "2014 Award Winning Films Announced". February 9, 2014.
  6. ^ "'Song of the Sea,' 'Over the Garden Wall' Win Reubens". May 26, 2015.
  7. ^ "Reuben Awards Winners 2015".
  8. ^ a b "Over The Garden Wall". Television Academy.
  9. ^ "'Small People with Hats,' 'Over the Garden Wall' Top Ottawa 2015". September 19, 2015.
  10. ^ "Patrick McHale on Etsy". Etsy.
  11. ^ a b Moser, Cassidee (May 15, 2015). "Adventure Time Studio Creating Costume Quest Cartoon".
  12. ^ "Bandcamp Page for "The End"". Bandcamp.
  13. ^ "Guillermo del Toro's Stop-Motion Movie 'Pinocchio' Adds 'Over the Garden Wall' Creator". Collider. January 23, 2017.
  14. ^ Lang, Brent (February 10, 2021). "Netflix Adapting 'Redwall' Books Into Animated Movies, TV Series". Variety. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  15. ^ Motamayor, Rafael (December 15, 2022). "Netflix's Redwall movie in limbo, reveals writer Patrick McHale". Inverse. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  16. ^ "Those Wild Days, by Patrick McHale & J.R. Kaufman".
  17. ^ "'The Zombie' by Patrick McHale". July 27, 2016.
  18. ^ CartoonHangover (August 28, 2014). "NEW CARTOON: "Blackford Manor" (Cartoon Hangover Shorts # 10)" – via YouTube.

External links edit