Chris Bailey

Chris Bailey is an animation director, showrunner and educator with more than four decades of experience in feature animation, visual effects, television and themed entertainment. His career began as an animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he contributed to The Little Mermaid and The Lion King, and directed the Academy Award-nominated Mickey Mouse short Runaway Brain. He is currently contributing as a character layout artist on an upcoming Simpsons feature.

Bailey’s directing career includes the Emmy-nominated series Kim Possible and creating and directing animation for major theme park attractions, including Disney’s It’s Tough to Be a Bug and Illumination/Universal’s Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, which won both the Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production and the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue.

Bailey has particular expertise in hybrid live-action/animation productions, with credits including X-Men II, Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Inspector Gadget, Mighty Joe Young and Eragon, where he was brought in to redesign the 3D animatics for the climactic battle sequence, providing the editorial team with the coverage needed to restructure the film’s ending. He has also worked with Fox, DreamQuest, Rhythm & Hues and Illumination.

In addition to teaching at Dodge College, Bailey has mentored students at Magic, Miami Dade College’s animation and gaming program. He previously served as the animation director at Exceptional Minds, an academy and working studio dedicated to training neurodivergent animators and VFX artists, where students developed professional skills through real-world production experience. He also produces short-form branded animation through his own studio, Damaged Films.