From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kirk Wise is an American animator, director and producer known for his work at Disney Wise graduated from Palo Alto High School and went on to study character animation at California Institute of the Arts. Wise worked as an animator on The Brave Little Toaster, and Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories episode "Family Dog". At Disney, he began as an assistant animator on The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company before eventually landing in the story department, where he was reunited with former CalArts classmate Gary Trousdale. After working as storyboard artists on The Rescuers Down Under and The Prince and the Pauper, Wise and Trousdale were responsible for helming the celebrated Beauty and the Beast (1991), the first animated feature to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. They collaborated on two more features for Disney, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Wise also directed the English dubb of Hayo Miyazaki's Spirited Away. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kirk Wise, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 24, 1963 (63)
- San Francisco, California, USA
- Director, writer and producer
- 11 on MovieCove · 16 credits in all
What are Kirk Wise's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 1
Grounded 2 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 3
Gentle 3 · Charged 4 · Intense 1
Steady 4 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 1
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Kirk Wise's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (8).
- The Lion King (1994) · writer
- Beauty and the Beast (1991) · director
- Oceans (2008) · producer
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) · director
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) · director, writer
- Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) · producer
- The Rescuers Down Under (1990) · writer
- Oliver & Company (1988) · writer
Subscription and free streaming for Kirk Wise's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
16 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Bobbleheads: The Movie(2020)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Oceans(2008)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
The Lion King(1994)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Beauty and the Beast(1991)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
The Rescuers Down Under(1990)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Oliver & Company(1988)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Sport Goofy in Soccermania (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Amazing Stories(1985)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows
Child Proof (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Let's Misbehave (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Paws (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
X Factor in the Jungle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 15 titles, 14 of them dated from 1983 to 2022.
How do Kirk Wise's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 10; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 86th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 55/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Kirk Wise's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films and sex & nudity and profanity lighter.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Kirk Wise work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kirk Wise's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Gary Trousdale shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Gary TrousdaleShared titles: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Oliver & Company (1988)See all 5 shared titles with Gary Trousdale
Writers
- Tab MurphyShared titles: Bobbleheads: The Movie (2020), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)See all 3 shared titles with Tab Murphy
- Brenda ChapmanShared titles: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 3 shared titles with Brenda Chapman
- Burny MattinsonShared titles: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 3 shared titles with Burny Mattinson
- Kevin HarkeyShared titles: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 3 shared titles with Kevin Harkey
Actors
- Michael J. FoxShared titles: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Michael J. Fox
- David Ogden StiersShared titles: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 2 shared titles with David Ogden Stiers
- Cheech MarinShared titles: The Lion King (1994), Oliver & Company (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Cheech Marin
Composers and editors
- Ellen KenesheaShared titles: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 3 shared titles with Ellen Keneshea
- Alan MenkenShared titles: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 2 shared titles with Alan Menken
- John CarnochanShared titles: The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 2 shared titles with John Carnochan
Producers
- Don HahnShared titles: Oceans (2008), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 5 shared titles with Don Hahn
- Sarah McArthurShared titles: The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991)See all 2 shared titles with Sarah McArthur
Mixed roles
- George ScribnerShared titles: The Lion King (1994), Oliver & Company (1988)See all 2 shared titles with George Scribner
- Roger AllersShared titles: The Lion King (1994), Oliver & Company (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Roger Allers
