David Soren (animator)

David Soren (born April 19, 1973)[1][2] is a Canadian director, writer, voice actor, and storyboard artist at DreamWorks Animation. His most notable work are TV specials based on the Madagascar film franchise: Merry Madagascar and Madly Madagascar. He directed the 2013 animated feature film Turbo, which is based on his own original concept, as well as the 2017 animated film Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie based on Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants book series.[3]
== Early life and career[edit] ==
Soren was born in Toronto, Canada, was raised in Hamilton,[4] and graduated from Sheridan College. His final student project, an animated short film, Mr. Lucky, received many accolades, and was accepted into competition for the 1997 Academy Award. Before joining DreamWorks Animation, he worked at Toronto-based Nelvana as an animator and storyboard artist.
At DreamWorks, he worked as a story artist on Chicken Run, Shrek and Over the Hedge, and as head of story on Shark Tale.[5] In 2009, he directed and wrote his first film, a TV Christmas special, Merry Madagascar, followed by a 2013 TV Valentine's Day special, Madly Madagascar, also written and directed by Soren.[6]
Soren made his feature directorial debut in 2013, directing Turbo. It received mixed-to-positive reviews which won him an Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production. He was also the creative consultant on its television series, Turbo Fast.
He voiced the muscle-sized baby Jimbo in The Boss Baby and directed his second feature film Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie and voiced Tommy which is based on Dav Pilkey's comic books Captain Underpants, which the movie and books would later get adapted into an Netflix television series titled The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants. However, Soren was not involved with the show. He reprised his role as Jimbo in The Boss Baby's sequel, The Boss Baby: Family Business.
Soren directed a full-length feature film for Paramount Animation titled Under the Boardwalk.[7][8]
In February 2023, Radar Pictures acquired the rights to make a feature film based on Geronimo Stilton. The film is a co-production between Radar and Italian company Atlantyca Entertainment, which also produced the television series, with DreamWorks Animation veteran David Soren attached to write and direct and Anthony Tringali, Michael Napoliello and Maria Frisk set to produce under Radar Pictures.[9]
== Filmography[edit] ==
=== Film[edit] ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2000	The Road to El Dorado 	 	Storyboard artist
2000	Chicken Run 	 	Additional storyboard artist
2001	Shrek 	 	Story artist
2004	Shark Tale 	Shrimp/Worm/Starfish #1/Killer Whale #2 	Head of story/actor
2006	Over the Hedge 	 	Story artist
2008	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa 	Lemur 	Actor
2010	How to Train Your Dragon 	 	Special thanks
2013	Turbo 	Worker Snail #1, Can't Tuck Snail, Gagné Crew Chief, Indy Network Executive, Newspaper Boy, Autotune Kid	Director/writer/actor
2014	Penguins of Madagascar 	 	Special thanks
2017	The Boss Baby 	Jimbo 	Actor/special thanks
2017	Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie 	Tommy 	Director/additional screenplay material/actor
2019	How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World	 	Special thanks (uncredited)
2021	The Boss Baby: Family Business 	Jimbo 	Actor
2023	Under the Boardwalk 	Yoga Crab 	Director/writer
TBD 	Geronimo Stilton 	 	Director/writer
=== Television[edit] ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
2009 	Merry Madagascar 	Lookout lemur/additional lemurs	Director/writer
2010 	Neighbors from Hell	Josh Hellman 	Actor
2013 	Madly Madagascar[6]	 	Director/writer
2013–2016	Turbo FAST 	 	Creative consultant
Category:Artists from Toronto
Category:Canadian male voice actors
Category:Canadian male screenwriters
Category:Canadian storyboard artists
Category:Canadian animated film directors
Category:Canadian television directors
Category:Film directors from Toronto
Category:Male actors from Toronto
Category:Writers from Toronto
Category:21st-century Canadian screenwriters