Monster Hit

“As long as I can remember, I wanted to draw – and I wanted to draw for Disney,” storyboard artist Dean Kelly 98 IL told the Boston Globe in a June interview. Now that the Disney-Pixar summer hit Monsters University – his first full-length feature –has been getting rave reviews, he couldn’t be happier. “Monsters University aces a two-part test,” notes Time Out New York – “first, appealing to kids with gorgeous, hyper-realistic animation that teases out every pink hair on a beastly art student; then luring in parents with several knowing jokes about strumming your guitar on the quad or playing beer pong.”

In the Globe interview, Kelly explains how the team collaborated to create the 102-minute prequel to the 2001 blockbuster Monsters, Inc. “Drawing is just 50 percent of it. Story artists need good ideas and problem-solving skills. The director tells us what the characters need to do, and then we brainstorm and pitch ideas. We lay the foundation. The animators don’t come in until later.”

After majoring in Illustration, Kelly got his start in the animation business at Nickelodeon, working on various animated series. “What I got at RISD was a well-rounded education that helped me become better prepared,” he notes.

“Dean is a phenomenal artist,” Monsters U director Dan Scanlon says in the Globe story. “I relied on him to bring passion and excitement to key moments. He was a big part of the team.”