Dean DeBlois

Lore & Background

DeBlois began his career as an assistant animator and layout artist for Hinton Animation Studios/Lacewood Productions in Ottawa, Ontario, while attending Sheridan College's two year Classical Animation program. From 1988 to 1990, he contributed to productions such as The Raccoons (TV series), The Teddy Bears' Picnic (TV special), and The Nutcracker Prince (feature animated film). After graduating in 1990, he was hired by Sullivan Bluth Studios in Dublin, Ireland, working as a layout artist, character designer, and storyboard assistant to Don Bluth on A Troll in Central Park and Thumbelina.

In 1994, he moved to Los Angeles to work for Walt Disney Feature Animation as a storyboard artist, becoming Head of Story on Mulan alongside frequent collaborator Chris Sanders. They re-teamed to create Lilo & Stitch, with DeBlois leaving production on Atlantis: The Lost Empire to work on it. Following its 2002 release, DeBlois sold several original live action feature film projects to write, direct, and produce, including an Irish ghost story titled The Banshee and Finn Magee, a psychological thriller titled The Lighthouse, and a family adventure series titled Sightings, optioned at Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, and Universal Studios respectively.

In October 2008, he returned to feature animation to co-write and co-direct DreamWorks Animation's then-troubled How to Train Your Dragon, once again re-teaming with Sanders. The duo re-envisioned the film's story and shepherded the production to its March 2010 release, which became the studio's top-grossing film in North America outside of the Shrek franchise. DeBlois also directed another feature-length music film for Sigur Rós front-man Jónsi, entitled Go Quiet, as well as a feature-length concert film entitled Jónsi: Live at The Wiltern.

He wrote and directed How to Train Your Dragon 2 (released June 13, 2014) and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (released February 22, 2019). On September 23, 2019, he was attached to write and direct a film adaptation of the Micronauts. In February 2023, a live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon was announced, with DeBlois set to write and direct, making the film his live action debut.

Did You Know?

• DeBlois was born and raised in Aylmer, Quebec, Canada, and grew up in poverty, visiting a smoke shop on weekends where the proprietor let him read comics for free.
• He attended Sheridan College's two year Classical Animation program in Oakville, Ontario, from 1988 to 1990.
• DeBlois is openly gay, and told The Advocate that people in the industry 'knew that one of us was gay' but mistakenly assumed it was his heterosexual writing partner Chris Sanders, because DeBlois 'hobbled in there looking like a redneck'.