Sandro Corsaro
Sandro Mario Corsaro is an American animator, producer, and author. He is the SVP and CCO of Fandango. He is primarily known for creating the Disney XD animated series "". Early life. Growing up in Stoneham, Massachusetts, Corsaro began showing interest in drawing at age 3 while attending St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, MA., and continued to pursue this passion throughout his adolescence. His father, Mario, owned a shoe store in the North End. Like his show's protagonist, Corsaro often performed downhill stunts via skateboards, bikes, and toboggans. However, a leg injury from one bike trick  required him to be hospitalized at Lahey Hospital. Career. In 1999, he moved across to the West Coast to attend the University of Southern California, where he majored in both Fine Arts and Animation. While still in college, he worked as a production associate on "The Iron Giant". After graduating, he was a development intern on "Osmosis Jones".<ref name="Shvorin/Correspondent"></ref> While working as an animator in 2002, Corsaro came up with his show's titular protagonist, which he then named "Kid Knievel." He allotted time, often at 4 A.M., to work an animated pitch introducing characters from the proposed  show. His hometown of Stoneham inspired the fictional town in "," evident from landmarks including the Stoneham library, the town square, and streets including Broadway, Main Street, Bear Hill Road, and Kenneth Terrace. In 2006, his proficiency in Flash helped him become creative director of Disney Online. After finishing the animated short, he hired an agent to help him pitch the cartoon to Disney. After 8 years of concept and pitching, with many rejections, it was officially picked up in 2010 and the protagonist's name was changed from Kid Knievel to Kick Buttowski. Corsaro has worked at numerous entertainment companies  and is also an author. In his books, he shares his distinctive techniques for applying traditional animation principles in the digital environment. Sandro has spoken at Siggraph, NAB, Flashforward, and on G4. He also served as a consultant to Adobe. In 2013, Corsaro became Chief Creative Executive at Fandango. References. Boston Globe article