Biography
Tim McCanlies is an American screenwriter and film director born in 1953 in McAllen, Texas. He attended high school in Bryan, Texas, took courses at Texas A&M University, studied Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin, and later took graduate film classes at Southern Methodist University while working as a police officer in Dallas.
McCanlies worked for Walt Disney Studios in the 1980s and wrote for major studios. He made his directorial debut with Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998). He wrote the screenplay for the animated film The Iron Giant (1999), for which he received an Annie Award and a BAFTA Award. He directed and wrote Secondhand Lions (2003), and has also directed Alabama Moon (2009) and Angels Sing (2013). Other writing credits include Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! (1998).
