Steve Purcell
Steve Purcell | |
---|---|
Pixar Animation Studios (2000–2023)[1] | |
Notable work | Sam & Max |
Spouse |
Collette Michaud (m. 1993) |
Children | 2 |
Website | Personal Blog |
Steven Ross Purcell
A graduate of the
Purcell collaborated with Nelvana to create a Sam & Max television series in 1997, and briefly worked as an animator for Industrial Light & Magic after leaving LucasArts.
Career
Early career
Purcell entered into a career with comic books while an undergraduate at the
LucasArts
Purcell was hired by
After a positive reaction to the Sam & Max strips in The Adventurer and wanting to expand into other franchises following Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island, LucasArts offered to create a graphic adventure game on the characters in 1992.[11] Sam & Max Hit the Road was conceived and developed by a small team headed by Purcell, Sean Clark, Michael Stemmle and Collette Michaud.[12] Purcell decided to base the game on one of his earlier Sam & Max stories, the 1988 story "On The Road".[7] In 1995, Purcell combined all published Sam & Max printed media into a 154-page paperback compilation titled Sam & Max: Surfin' the Highway.[13] After producing the cover art for Herc's Adventures and concept art for The Curse of Monkey Island, Purcell left LucasArts.[14][15]
Later work
Purcell joined with story editor Dan Smith from Canadian studio
Pixar and Telltale Games
After the brief stint at ILM, Purcell moved to Pixar.[9] Despite being employed by Pixar, Purcell acted as an advisor in the development of Sam & Max: Freelance Police, a sequel to Sam & Max Hit the Road that began development in 2002 under LucasArts. Purcell provided Michael Stemmle's development team with concept art and assisted in the creation of the game's plot.[20] Despite its smoothly proceeding development, LucasArts abruptly canceled the project in March 2004. Purcell was unable to understand why development halted; he described himself as "frustrated and disappointed" at the decision.[21]
In 2005, LucasArt's license with Purcell that gave them the right to produce games based on the Sam & Max franchise expired; this allowed Purcell to take the franchise to
At Pixar's story development department, Purcell contributed screenplay material and voice work for the 2006 film
In 2014, Purcell wrote and directed the Pixar Christmas special Toy Story That Time Forgot which aired on ABC on December 2, 2014.[35] Purcell is not considering the possibility of Pixar adapting Sam & Max into a film, as the characters' moral ambiguity is inconsistent with traditional Pixar stories.[36] Purcell was among 75 Pixar employees laid off by The Walt Disney Company as part of an ongoing company-wide restructuring.[1]
Personal life
Purcell grew up in California, where he still resides. In a 2000 interview, Purcell said that he had been drawing all his life, and that he still possesses drawings from when he was three years old.
The characters of Sam and Max were created in Purcell's youth; Purcell's younger brother Dave originally came up with several comics around the idea of a dog and rabbit detective duo. Dave would often leave unfinished comics around the house. Deliberately making the characters mix up each other's names, shoot at each other and mock the way in which they had been drawn, Steve, in a case of sibling rivalry, would sometimes finish the stories in parodies of their original form. This developed from Steve mocking his brother's to the creation of his own stories with the characters. In the late 1970s, Dave Purcell gave Steve the rights to the characters; he signed them over in a contract on Steve's birthday and allowed him to develop the characters in his own way.[38][39][40] Purcell believes that his younger brother has recovered and forgiven him from their earlier years.[41] Having kept one as a pet in his youth, Purcell has an interest in rats, which are commonly featured in his artistic work.[5]
Credited works
Films
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Story Artist | Other | Voice | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Cars | No | No | Yes | Yes | Additional Voices | Additional Screenplay Material |
2007 | Ratatouille | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Productions | |
2012 | Brave | Co-Director | Screenplay | No | Yes | The Crow | Song Lyricist: "Song of Mor'du" |
2017 | Coco | No | No | No | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
2018 | Incredibles 2 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
2019 | Toy Story 4 | No | No | No | Yes | The Dummies | |
2022 | Turning Red | No | No | No | Yes | ||
Lightyear | No | No | No | Yes | |||
2023 | Elemental | No | No | No | Yes |
Shorts
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Story Artist | Other | Voice | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Mater and the Ghostlight | No | No | No | Yes | Screamin' Banshee[42] | Additional Character Designer |
2009 | George and A.J. | No | No | No | Yes | Carl | |
2009-10 | Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales | No | No | No | Yes | Additional Voices | Episodes 5-9 |
2012 | The Legend of Mor'du | No | Yes | No | Yes | The Crow | |
2013-14 | Cars Toons: Tales from Radiator Springs | No | No | No | Yes | Additional Voices/Sandy Dunes | Episodes 3-4 |
2015 | Borrowed Time | No | No | No | Yes | Additional Voices | |
2022 | Cars on the Road | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Randy/Wraith Rod | Disney+ Original short films; Pixar Senior Creative Team |
Television
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Other | Voice | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley | No | No | Yes | Production crew | |
1997-98 | The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police | No | Yes | Yes | Writing and design | |
2014 | Toy Story That Time Forgot | Yes | Yes | Yes | The Cleric | TV special |
Bibliography
- Amazing High Adventure(1984) – cover artwork
- Different Worlds #33, #35, #36 and #37 (1984) – cover artwork
- New Mutants #43 (1986) – pencils
- Fish Police #6 (1987) – pencils
- Fish Police #7 (1987) – pencils, inks and letters
- Fish Police #9 (1987) – pencils and inks
- Alpha Flight #47 (1987) – pencils
- Sam & Max: Freelance Police special edition (1987)
- Critters #19: Sam & Max in "Night of the Cringing Wildebeest" (1987)
- Tournament of Dreams (1987) – cover artwork
- RuneQuest (1987–88) – cover artwork
- Gumby's Winter Fun Special (1988) – writing
- GrimJack #52: Sam & Max in "Fair Wind to Java" (1988)
- Sam & Max: Freelance Police special (1989)
- Critters #50: Sam & Max in "The Damned Don't Dance" (1990)
- Marvel Comics Presents #41: "Wolverine" (1990) – pencils and inks
- Sam & Max: Freelance Police: "Bad Day on the Moon" (1992)
- Sam & Max: Freelance Police special color edition (1992)
- Fast Forward #3 (1992) – pencils, inks and color
- Defenders of Dynatron City (1992)
- The Collected Sam & Max: Surfin' The Highway (1995)
- Dark Horse Presents #107: "Rusty Razorclam, President of Neptune" (1996) – writing
- Hellboy Christmas Special (1997) – writing, pencils, ink and color
- Wizard: Sam & Max in "Belly of the Beast" (1997)
- Oni Double Feature #10: Sam & Max in "Skeptical Investigators" (1998)
- Totally Fox Kids Magazine #10: Sam & Max in "Something's Not Right Here" (1998)
- Totally Fox Kids Magazine #31: Sam & Max in "Action Figure Surgery" (1998)
- Batman Villains Secret Files and Origins #1: "If A Man Be Clay!" (2005)
- Sam & Max: The Big Sleep (2005–2007)
- The Age of S&M (2006)
- The Effigy Mound (2007)
- Sam & Max: Surfin' The Highway anniversary edition (2008)
- Brave: One Perfect Day (2012)
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Developer |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Maniac Mansion | Artwork | Lucasfilm Games |
1988 | Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | ||
1989 | Their Finest Hour |
Testing
| |
Pipe Dream |
Artwork | The Assembly Line | |
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure | Animation, artwork and whip research | Lucasfilm Games | |
1990 | Loom | Animation, graphics and artwork | |
The Secret of Monkey Island | Graphics and artwork | ||
1991 | Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | Animation, graphics and artwork | LucasArts |
ToeJam & Earl | Original concept art character Designs | Johnson Voorsanger Productions
| |
1993 | Zombies Ate My Neighbors | Artwork | LucasArts |
ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron | Original concept art Character Designs | Johnson Voorsanger Productions | |
Sam & Max Hit the Road | Design, graphics and artwork | LucasArts | |
1994 | The Horde | Artwork | Toys For Bob
|
1996 | Mortimer and the Riddles of the Medallion | LucasArts | |
1997 | Herc's Adventures | LucasArts Big Ape Productions | |
The Curse of Monkey Island | LucasArts | ||
2006 | Cars | Writing and additional voices | Various |
Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures | AWE Games | ||
2007 | Cars Mater-National Championship | Various | |
2006–2007 | Sam & Max Save the World | Writing and design | Telltale Games |
2007–2008 | Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space | ||
2009 | Tales of Monkey Island | Artwork | |
2010 | Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse | ||
2020 | Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual |
Writing, design and the voice of Duncan Dills | HappyGiant |
References
- ^ a b Taylor, Drew (July 5, 2023). "Inside Pixar's Existential Crisis and How It Can Bounce Back After Disney+ Stole Its Mojo". TheWrap. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Staff (2010-04-29). "Interview with Steve Purcell". Sam & Max.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ^ Intelius report on Steven R Purcell in California.[dead link]
- ^ "100+ Alumni of Note". California College of the Arts. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
Steve Purcell ('82): cartoonist and creator of Sam & Max.
- ^ a b c d "The Early Years (part 2)". The History of Sam & Max. Telltale Games. 2007-06-12. Archived from the original on 2008-01-05. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ a b Mamen, Erik-André Vik; Jong, Philip (2008-01-01). "Steve Purcell – Interview". Adventure Classic Gaming. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ a b c d "The Golden Era". The History of Sam & Max. Telltale Games. 2007-06-26. Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ a b "Interviews: Steve Purcell". The World of Monkey Island. LF Network, LLC. 2006-04-11. Archived from the original on 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "Defenders of Dynatron City". The International House of Mojo. LF Network, LLC. 2004-09-12. Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "Sam & Max Hit the Road". gamesTM Retro. 1. United Kingdom: Highbury Entertainment: 128–129.
- Allgame. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ a b "Sam & Max Hit it Big". The History of Sam & Max. Telltale Games. 2007-07-10. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- Allgame. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "Game Credits for The Curse of Monkey Island". MobyGames. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "Hellboy Christmas Special profile". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "Monkey Island movie art?". SCUMM Bar. LF Network, LLC. 2005-01-09. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ Day, Ashley (2009). "Tales from Monkey Island". Retro Gamer. No. 70. Imagine Publishing. p. 35.
- ^ "Steve Purcell artwork". The World of Monkey Island. LF Network, LLC. 2007-06-07. Archived from the original on 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ "After Darkness Comes Light". The History of Sam & Max. Telltale Games. 2007-07-24. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ Rodkin, Jake (2004-03-05). "Steve Purcell comments on Sam & Max 2's cancellation". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ Sinclair, Brendan (2005-11-15). "Sam & Max resurrected". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ Kietzmann, Ludwig (2007-03-06). "Joystiq interviews Sam & Max creator, Steve Purcell". Joystiq. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- Comic-Con International. 2007. Archived from the originalon June 26, 2010. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ^ McLean, Gary (2008-02-08). "Sam & Max Comic Book Series to be Re-issued". Voodoo Extreme. IGN. Archived from the original on April 4, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- 1UP.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- Allmovie. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ Crystal, Billy; Goodman, John (2004). Pixar Short Films Collection – Volume 1 (DVD). United States: Pixar.
- Allgame. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- Allgame. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "Game Credits for Disney/Pixar Cars: Mater-National Championship". MobyGames. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "Ratatouille (2007) – Cast and Credits". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- ^ Mariotti, Greg (2009-11-11). "iTunes Version of Up Includes Exclusive Short: George and A.J.!". Pixar Talk. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ^ Rizvi, Samad (2012-05-04). "Sam & Max Creator Steve Purcell Credited As Co-Director Of Brave". Pixaar Times. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ Hill, Jim (2014-12-02). "Galyn Susman Talks About Pixar's First Ever Christmas Special, "Toy Story That Time Forgot"". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-12-04.
- ^ Day, Ashley (2009). "Tales from Monkey Island". Retro Gamer. No. 70. Imagine Publishing. p. 32.
- ^ a b c Rodkin, Jake; Grubaugh, Sebastian (2000). "Interview!". Sam & Max: The Unofficial Website. Archived from the original on 2004-08-22. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ "The Early Years (part 1)". The History of Sam & Max. Telltale Games. 2007-06-12. Archived from the original on 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- Shout! Factory.
- Wired News. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ Trimlett, Andy (2008-07-26). "Sam & Max Creator Steve Purcell". KPBS. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ Raffe, Jon. "Hitting the road with Steve Purcell". Thunder Chunky. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
External links
- Media related to Steve Purcell at Wikimedia Commons
- Quotations related to Steve Purcell at Wikiquote
- Steve Purcell at MobyGames
- Steve Purcell at IMDb