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{{Short description|New Zealand filmmaker (born 1966)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Andrew Adamson
| honorific_suffix   = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MNZM|size=100%}} 
| image              = Andrew Adamson (cropped).jpg
| imagesize          = 
| caption            = Adamson in 2013
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1966|12|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Auckland]], New Zealand
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
*Film director
*film producer
*screenwriter
*animator
}}
| yearsactive        = 1990–present
| spouse             = 
| children           = 2<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0011470/|title=Andrew Adamson &#124; IMDbPro|website=pro.imdb.com}}</ref>
| website            = 
}}

'''Andrew Ralph Adamson''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MNZM|size=85%}} (born 1 December 1966)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/adamson-andrew-1966|title=Adamson, Andrew 1966- &#124; Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> is a New Zealand film director, producer, screenwriter and animator. He is best known for directing the [[DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks]] animated films ''[[Shrek]]'' (2001) and its sequel ''[[Shrek 2]]'' (2004), both based on [[Shrek!|the book of the same name]] by [[William Steig]]. He was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature|Academy Award]] for ''Shrek 2''. He also directed and co-wrote the live-action film adaptations of [[C. S. Lewis]]'s novels, ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'' (2005) and its sequel ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian]]'' (2008).

== Personal life ==
Adamson's parents were a homemaker and a [[computer engineer]]. Born in New Zealand, Adamson moved to [[Papua New Guinea]] with his parents when he was eleven years old. He returned to [[Auckland]] seven years later. At age 24, he moved to [[San Francisco]], and divided his time between there and Los Angeles. Since making the ''Narnia'' films, he has settled back in New Zealand. Adamson has two children.<ref>{{cite news | author = Mark Moring | title = The Weight of Story | publisher = [[Christianity Today]] | date = 6 May 2008 | url = http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/interviews/2008/andrewadamson.html | access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref>

==Career==
{{Moresources | section|date=April 2024}}
Adamson wanted to be an architect, but missed a university enrollment deadline because of a car accident.<ref>Joe Strike: ''Adamson Gets Animated About Narnia and VFX in 1991''. VFXWorld, 2008-05-17</ref> He was recruited by [[Pacific Data Images]] to work in the USA. The company opened an office in Los Angeles. There he served as a [[Technical director#Film|technical director]] for ''[[Toys (film)|Toys]]'' (1992), starring [[Robin Williams]], and ''[[Angels in the Outfield (1994 film)|Angels in the Outfield]]'' (1994), starring [[Danny Glover]]. Previously, Adamson specialised in ads {{clarify|date=May 2024}} but preferred the idea of telling a story in longer format. He served as visual effects supervisor in the 1995 film ''[[Batman Forever]]'', ''[[A Time to Kill (1996 film)|A Time to Kill]]'' (1996), and ''[[Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin]]'' (1997).

Adamson directed ''[[Shrek]]'' (the first installment in the series), based on the 1990 picture book written by [[William Steig]]<ref>{{cite news | author = Patrick Kevin Day | title = Shrek | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = 17 October 1990 | url = http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/shrek/ | access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref> with a modest budget of US$60 million in 2001. However, the film became a worldwide success, taking in nearly $500 million in the box office, including more than $40 million in its opening weekend. The film featured the lead voices of [[Mike Myers]], [[Eddie Murphy]], [[Cameron Diaz]] and [[John Lithgow]]. The next film in the series, ''[[Shrek 2]]'' (2004), had a big Hollywood budget of around $150 million, and was even a bigger success than the first film, taking in more than $900 million worldwide. The film opened to over $100 million, one of the highest openings ever at the time. Adamson directed this film and also wrote the story.{{cn|date=May 2024}}
 
However, he did not direct the next film in the series, ''[[Shrek the Third]]'', as he had been contracted by Walden Media to work on ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]''. Instead, the film was directed by [[Chris Miller (animator)|Chris Miller]] and [[Raman Hui]] while Adamson served as executive producer. The script of the film was written by J. David Stem and Joe Stillman. The third film was financially successful, taking in more than $795 million worldwide with a budget of no more than $160 million, but received mixed reviews from critics.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Adamson achieved commercial success and worldwide attention with ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', which he co-produced, co-wrote and directed.  The film is based on the [[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe|book of the same name]] by [[C. S. Lewis]], and won various awards, gained critical praise and was a box office success, becoming the third highest-grossing film worldwide of 2005 according to [[Box Office Mojo]]. The film opened in the US and Canada with totals of higher than $65 million and the film ended up with a worldwide gross of $744,783,957 with a budget of $180 million according to [[Box Office Mojo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=narnia.htm|title=The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)|publisher=Box Office Mojo}}</ref>

He returned as director to the next Narnia film: ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian]]'', which had a worldwide release in May 2008 and grossed over $419 million at the box office. Adamson returned as producer of ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]'', released in Australia on 9 December 2010, and in the United States and UK on 10 December the same year. [[20th Century Fox]] and [[Walden Media]] still hold the rights to the series, and they currently retain the option to make ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair'' in the future. However, 20th Century Fox and Walden Media decided to produce ''The Magician's Nephew'' as the next Narnia film instead of ''The Silver Chair''. But, in October 2011, Douglas Gresham confirmed that Walden Media's contract with the C. S. Lewis estate had expired, and any production of a future film was on hold indefinitely.

[[Experimental hip hop]] group [[Death Grips]] worked with Adamson on their 2018 album ''[[Year of the Snitch]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/death-grips-say-theyre-working-on-new-music-with-shrek-director/|title=Death Grips Working on New Music With Shrek Director|last=Minsker|first=Evan|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=12 March 2018|access-date=21 June 2018}}</ref> He appears on the track "Dilemma," delivering a spoken word introduction to the song.

== Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year!!Title!!Director!!Writer!!Producer
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Shrek]]'' || {{Yes}} || {{No}} || {{No}} 
|-
| 2004 || ''[[Shrek 2]]'' || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{No}}  
|-
| 2005 || ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'' || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{partial|Executive}} 
|-
| 2007 || ''[[Shrek the Third]]'' || {{No}} || {{partial|Story}} || {{partial|Executive}} 
|-
| 2008||''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian]]'' || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} 
|-
|2010|| ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]''|| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2012 || ''[[Mr. Pip]]'' || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} 
|-
| ''[[Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away]]'' || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}} 
|-
|}

'''Executive producer only'''
*''[[Ballast (film)|Ballast]]'' (2008)
* ''[[Shrek Forever After]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Puss in Boots (2011 film)|Puss in Boots]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Puss in Boots: The Last Wish]]'' (2022)

'''Other credits'''
{| class="wikitable" 
!Year
!Title
!Role
|-
| 1992 
| ''[[Toys (film)|Toys]]'' 
| Technical director
|-
| 1993 
| ''[[Heart and Souls]]'' 
| Animation supervisor
|-
| 1994 
| ''[[Angels in the Outfield (1994 film)|Angels in the Outfield]]'' 
| rowspan="2"| Visual effects supervisor
|-
| 1995 
| ''[[Batman Forever]]'' 
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1996 
| ''[[The Frighteners]]'' 
| Digital effects supervisor
|-
| ''[[A Time to Kill (1996 film)|A Time to Kill]]'' 
| rowspan="2"| Visual effects supervisor
|-
| 1997 
| ''[[Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin]]'' 
|-
| 2000 
| ''Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes'' 
| Grip
|-
|rowspan=2| 2001 
| ''[[Shrek]]'' 
| Voice of Duloc Mascot, Songwriter: Merry Men
|-
| ''Pâté'' 
| Grip; short film
|-
| 2004 
| ''[[Shrek 2]]'' 
| Voice of Captain of the Guards, Songwriter: Fairy Godmother's Song
|-
| 2007 
| ''[[Shrek the Third]]'' 
| Additional screenplay material
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Mirror Mirror (2012 film)|Mirror Mirror]]'' 
| Very special thanks
|-
| 2014 
| ''[[The Dark Horse (2014 film)|The Dark Horse]]'' 
| Special thanks
|-
| 2018 
| ''[[Year of the Snitch]]'' 
| Spoken word on "Dilemma"
|-
|2020
|''[[Prop Culture]]''
|Himself, Episode: "The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe"
|-
|}

== Accolades and honour ==
Adamson has directed films which have received several accolades. ''Shrek'' won the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature]], the [[BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay]], and the [[National Board of Review Award for Best Animated Film]]. ''Shrek 2'' won the [[People's Choice Awards]] for Favorite Movie Comedy, Favorite Sequel, and Favorite Animated Movie. ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'' won the [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling]], the [[BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair]], the [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film]], and the [[Saturn Award for Best Make-up|Saturn Awards for Best Make-up]] and [[Saturn Award for Best Special Effects|Best Special Effects]].

Adamson was appointed a [[Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit]], for services to film, in the [[2006 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)|2006 Queen's Birthday Honours]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2006 |title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2006 |date=5 June 2006 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|0011470}}

{{Andrew Adamson}}
{{Annie Award for Directing in an Animated Feature Production 1996–2010}}
{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Andrew}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century New Zealand writers]]
[[Category:20th-century New Zealand male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century New Zealand writers]]
[[Category:21st-century male writers]]
[[Category:Annie Award winners]]
[[Category:Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:DreamWorks Animation people]]
[[Category:Fantasy film directors]]
[[Category:New Zealand male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit]]
[[Category:New Zealand animated film directors]]
[[Category:New Zealand expatriates in Papua New Guinea]]
[[Category:New Zealand expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:New Zealand film directors]]
[[Category:New Zealand screenwriters]]
[[Category:New Zealand film producers]]
[[Category:Comedy film directors]]