David Kirschner

David Kirschner
Kirschner at the 2024 WonderCon
Born	(1955-05-29) May 29, 1955 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	USC School of Cinematic Arts
Occupations	Film producer television producer screenwriter
Years active	1983–present

David Maxwell Kirschner (born May 29, 1955) is an American film and television producer and screenwriter. His producing credits include Don Bluth's An American Tail (also wrote) and Titan A.E. animated features as well as the Child's Play horror film series.

Career

After studying at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, Kirschner began his career designing album cover art for Neil Diamond, most notably Neil Diamond's The Jazz Singer, and illustrating characters for the Muppets and Sesame Street. In 1983, Kirschner created and released children's book series Rose Petal Place, which spawned two Television specials, toys, clothing, and a wide array of licensed consumer products. In 1986, Kirschner created and executive produced An American Tail, which was co-executive produced by Steven Spielberg, and, at its release, was the highest-grossing non-Disney produced animated feature of all time. It was followed by its theatrical sequel An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991), the television series Fievel's American Tails, and two direct-to-video sequels. In 1986, David Kirschner signed a deal with United Artists Pictures and MGM/UA Television for development, production and distribution of major motion picture and television projects for a two-year deal. Kirschner was appointed chairman of Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1989, where he wrote / created and executive produced many films, specials and shows, including Wake, Rattle & Roll, Gravedale High and The Pirates of Dark Water.

Kirschner is also creator of the Chucky animatronic doll which is featured in the Chucky series. He has produced all seven films in the original franchise, including the recent Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky, direct-to-video films made by Universal 1440 Entertainment. Other notable productions include 1997's Cats Don't Dance, winner of the 25th annual Annie Award for Best Animated Feature, 2006's Curious George, based upon the book series of the same name, Martian Child, and Golden Globe-nominated Miss Potter. His 2010s/2020s work includes executive producer on Curious George, Hocus Pocus 2 (Disney+), Cult of Chucky (for Universal 1440 Entertainment), Random (In Pre-Production for The Weinstein Company) and Garden District (In-Development for Dimension Films). Kirschner is currently head of his own production company, David Kirschner Productions.

Filmography

Title	Year(s)	Functioned as			Notes
		Producer	Executive producer	Writer
Rose Petal Place	1984	Yes	No	Creator	Television animated short film
Rose Petal Place: Real Friends	1985	Yes	No	Creator	Television animated short film
An American Tail	1986	No	Yes	Creator / Story	Theatrical animated film
Child's Play	1988	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film / Created dolls
Poochinski	1990	No	Yes	Story	Television unsold pilot
Child's Play 2	1990	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film / Created dolls
Gravedale High	1990	No	Yes	Creator	Television animated series (13 episodes)
The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story	1990	No	Yes	Story	Television film
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures	1990	No	Yes	No	Television animated series (13 episodes)
Wake, Rattle and Roll	1990–1991	No	Yes	Creator	Television live action / animated series (50 episodes)
Child's Play 3	1991	No	Yes	No	Theatrical film / Created dolls
The Last Halloween	1991	No	Yes	No	Television live action / animated special
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West	1991	No	Yes	Creator	Theatrical animated film
The Pirates of Dark Water	1991–1993	No	Yes	Creator	Television animated series (21 episodes)
Fievel's American Tails	1992	No	No	Creator	Television animated series (13 episodes) / Creative consultant
Fish Police	1992	No	Yes	No	Television animated series (6 episodes)
Monster in My Pocket: The Big Scream	1992	No	Yes	No	Television animated short film
The Addams Family	1992–1993	No	Yes	No	Television animated series (21 episodes)
Capitol Critters	1992–1995	No	Yes	No	Television animated series (13 episodes)
Once Upon a Forest	1993	Yes	No	No	Theatrical animated film
Hocus Pocus	1993	Yes	No	Story	Theatrical film
The Halloween Tree	1993	No	Yes	No	Television animated film
The Town Santa Forgot	1993	No	Yes	No	Television animated short film
The Flintstones	1994	No	Yes	No	Theatrcial film
The Pagemaster	1994	Yes	No	Yes	Theatrcial live action / animated film
Cats Don't Dance	1997	Yes	No	No	Theatrical animated film
Earth: Final Conflict	1997–1999	No	Yes	Yes	Television series (49 episodes) / Writer (episode: "Law & Order")
Bride of Chucky	1998	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film / Created dolls
Titan A.E.	2000	Yes	No	No	Theatrical animated film
Frailty	2001	Yes	No	No	Theatrcal film
Secondhand Lions	2003	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film
Five Days to Midnight	2004	No	Yes	No	Television mini-series (5 episodes)
Seed of Chucky	2004	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film / Created dolls
Thru the Moebius Strip	2005	Yes	No	No	Theatrical animated film
Curious George	2006	Yes	No	No	Theatrical animated film
Miss Potter	2006	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film
Curious George	2006–2022	No	Yes	No	Television animated series (198 episodes + 3 specials)
Martian Child	2007	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey!	2009	No	Yes	No	Direct-to-DVD animated film
Curse of Chucky	2013	Yes	No	No	Direct-to-DVD film / Created dolls
Kristy	2014	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film
Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle	2015	No	Yes	No	Direct-to-DVD animated film
Cult of Chucky	2017	Yes	No	No	Direct-to-DVD film / Created dolls
Curious George: Royal Monkey	2019	No	Yes	No	Direct-to-DVD animated film
Curious George: Go West, Go Wild	2020	No	Yes	No	Direct-to-DVD animated film
Curious George: Cape Ahoy	2021	No	Yes	No	Direct-to-DVD animated film
Chucky	2021–present	No	Yes	No	Television series; 9 episodes
Hocus Pocus 2	2022	No	Yes	Story	Direct-to-streaming film for Disney+
Curious George	TBA	Yes	No	No	Theatrical film

External links

• David Kirschner at IMDb