| Clay Kaytis | |
| Birth Date: | 22 March 1973 |
| Birth Place: | Orange County, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Animator, film director |
| Years Active: | 1995–present |
| Spouse: | Monica Lago-Kaytis |
Clay Kaytis (born March 22, 1973) is an American animator and film director, best known for directing the animated film The Angry Birds Movie (2016), the Christmas comedy film The Christmas Chronicles (2018), and the A Christmas Story sequel A Christmas Story Christmas (2022).
Kaytis started his career as an animator at the Walt Disney Animation Studios.[1] His main credits at Disney included Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and Frozen.[2] After working for nineteen years, he left the studio in 2013.[3]
Kaytis made his directing debut with The Angry Birds Movie, which he co-directed with Fergal Reilly for Sony Pictures Entertainment. The film was based on the Rovio Entertainment's video game Angry Birds. Jon Vitti wrote the screenplay for the film, which was released on May 20, 2016.[4] Kaytis then made his live-action directing debut with The Christmas Chronicles for Netflix, which was released on November 22, 2018.[5]
In late September 2016, it was announced that Kaytis will direct The Lunch Witch for Amblin Partners.[6]
In 2022, Kaytis directed a sequel to the 1983 film A Christmas Story entitled A Christmas Story Christmas for Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, and HBO Max (now Max).[7] [8]
Kaytis is married to producer Monica Lago-Kaytis.[9]
| Year | Title | Credits | Characters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Pocahontas | Inbetweener: Additional Clean-Up Animation | ||
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Breakdown Animator | Clopin | |
| 1997 | Hercules | Rough Inbetweener | ||
| 1998 | Mulan | Rough Inbetweener | ||
| 1999 | Tarzan | Additional Rough Inbetweener | ||
| 2000 | Fantasia 2000 | Animating Assistant | ||
| The Emperor's New Groove | Animator | Pacha | ||
| 2002 | Treasure Planet | Animator | Scroop | |
| 2004 | Home on the Range | Animator | Farm Animals | |
| 2005 | Chicken Little | Animator | Buck "Ace" Cluck | |
| 2007 | Meet the Robinsons | Animator | ||
| 2008 | Bolt | Supervising Animator | ||
| 2009 | Super Rhino (Video short) | Animator | ||
| 2010 | Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition (TV Series) | Voice | Himself - "The Creative Team Behind Tangled" | |
| Tangled | Animation Supervisor | |||
| 2012 | Tangled Ever After (Short) | Animation Supervisor | ||
| Paperman (Short) | Final Line Animator | |||
| Wreck-It Ralph | Animator / End Credit Animation Designer | |||
| 2013 | Get a Horse! (Short) | Additional Thanks | ||
| Frozen | Animator | |||
| 2016 | The Angry Birds Movie | Director with Fergal Reilly/ Voice | Clayton the Waiter Bird | |
| 2018 | The Christmas Chronicles | Director | ||
| 2020 | The Christmas Chronicles 2 | Executive producer | ||
| 2021 | (TV Special) | Director / Writer with Alex Galatis and Scott Montgomery | ||
| 2022 | (TV Special) | Creative Consultant | ||
| (TV Special) | Director | |||
| Snoopy Presents: Lucy's School (TV Special) | Creative Consultant | |||
| A Christmas Story Christmas |