DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. today announced that its summer blockbuster, Kung Fu Panda 2, has grossed over $650 million globally to date, making Jennifer Yuh Nelson the highest-grossing female director of a film at the worldwide box office.
“On behalf of everyone at the studio, it is my pleasure to congratulate Jen on having reached this awesome milestone on ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ a particularly notable achievement given that this was her directorial debut,” said DreamWorks Animation’s Chief Creative Officer, Bill Damaschke.
“I am humbled and happy that audiences around the world continue to respond to the story and characters in ‘Kung Fu Panda 2.’ No animated movie gets made without a huge team of people so I want to offer my sincere thanks and shared congratulations to all of the talented and inspiring artists who worked with me on the movie,” added Nelson.
Prior to directing Kung Fu Panda 2, Jennifer Yuh Nelson served as head of story and “dream sequence director” on 2008’s Kung Fu Panda, which remains one of the top ten animated movies of all time. Before that, Nelson served as story artist on DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar, head of story on Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and story artist on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Prior to joining DreamWorks Animation, she served as director, story artist and character designer at HBO Animation. Nelson’s animation career has spanned several countries, including Korea, Japan and Australia, and she has also published several independent comic books.
