| Cal Brunker | |
| Birth Name: | Callan Stuart Brunker |
| Birth Date: | 16 November 1978 |
| Birth Place: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Years Active: | 2002–present |
Callan Stuart "Cal" Brunker (born November 16, 1978) is a Canadian animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, and film director. He is best known for directing The Weinstein Company's animated film Escape from Planet Earth (2013), (2017), Nickelodeon's (2021) and (2023), all of which he co-wrote with his business partner Bob Barlen.
Cal Brunker has frequently collaborated with his partner Bob Barlen since 2009's Ollie & the Baked Halibut, who has later written films alongside since. Before his directorial debut in Ninjamaica and then 2013's Escape from Planet Earth, Brunker has worked as a storyboard artist and an animator on films such as , Horton Hears a Who!, and Despicable Me.[1] He directed films such as Escape from Planet Earth and . Brunker and Barlen have written screenplays for Arctic Dogs, , and The Son of Bigfoot in which they co-executive produced.[1]
He also directed the film , a feature film adaptation of the Nick Jr. Channel's PAW Patrol animated series. Serving as the director and co-writer and once more collaborating with Barlen alongside Billy Frolick, it was produced by Spin Master and Nickelodeon Movies, and released by Paramount Pictures in August 2021.[2] [3]
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Clean-up in-between artist | ||
| 2005 | Kronk's New Groove | Animator Direct-to-video | |
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! | Storyboard artist | |
| 2009 | |||
| 9 | |||
| Ollie and the Baked Halibut | Animator Short film | ||
| 2010 | Jonah Hex | Pre-visualization | |
| Despicable Me | Storyboard artist | ||
| 2012 | Additional storyboard artist | ||
| 2013 | Escape from Planet Earth | Director Writer (with Bob Barlen) | |
| 2015 | Minions | Additional storyboard artist | |
| 2016 | Ratchet & Clank | Storyboard artist Designer | |
| The Secret Life of Pets | Storyboard artist | ||
| 2017 | The Son of Bigfoot | Writer & co-executive producers (with Bob Barlen) | |
| Director Writer (with Bob Barlen and Scott Bindley) Voice of Charming Chipmunk | |||
| 2019 | The Puppet Master | Director Writer (with Bob Barlen) Short film | |
| Arctic Dogs | Writer (with Bob Barlen, Matt Lyon, Aaron Woodley, and Bryan Thompson) | ||
| 2020 | Writer (with Bob Barlen) | ||
| Bigfoot Family | Writer (with Bob Barlen) Executive producers | ||
| 2021 | Director Writer (with Bob Barlen and Billy Frolick) | ||
| 2023 | Director Writer (with Bob Barlen) |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Cyberchase | Designer | |
| 2009 | Ninjamaica | Director Storyboard artist Television film Directional debut | |
| 2009–2010 | Spliced | Storyboard artist |