Talks

Forgotten Island

Sean Sexton always knew he wanted to be an animator. With a passion for drawing at a very early age, combined with the declaration of Steven Spielberg's Jaws as his favorite movie at the age of five, pursuing a career in animation seemed like the natural fit.

A graduate of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in Dover, New Jersey, Sexton embarked on his career as a Character Layout Artist on the hit TV show Futurama, which subsequently lead to a position on one of DreamWorks Animation's first films where he worked as a rough in-betweener on the feature film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. Sexton was instrumental in navigating DreamWorks' transition to computer animation and quickly assumed leadership roles on a number of films.

Most recently, he served as Head of Character Animation (HOCA) on the highly anticipated film Forgotten Island, for writers/directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado. He previously served in the same capacity on the global blockbuster Kung Fu Panda 4 for director Mike Mitchell, and starring Jack Black, Awkwafina, and Viola Davis. In a nod to Sexton's favorite film, there is reference to the famed shark in the opening sequence of the film. With the release of the franchise's fourth film, the Kung Fu Panda series of films have grossed more than two billion dollars at the global box-office.

His credits also include — as HOCA — on Spirited Untamed as well as Supervising Animator on How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Croods, and Puss in Boots.

Sexton's additional credits as an animator include Trolls Band Together, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Boss Baby, Kung Fu Panda 3, Megamind, How to Train Your Dragon, Monsters vs. Aliens, Bee Movie, and Over the Hedge.

Along with his work at DreamWorks Animation, Sexton is an instructor for Animation Mentor, the first global online school dedicated to mentoring and teaching the next generation of artists. Because Sexton himself found it difficult to secure that elusive “first break,” he credits his love of teaching to the fact that his passion is helping up-and-coming students realize their dream jobs.

Sexton is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.