American animator (born 1982)
Ward Taylor Pendleton Johnston
(born July 8, 1982),
[1]
known professionally as
Pendleton Ward
, is an American
animator
,
screenwriter
, producer, director, and voice actor who has worked for
Cartoon Network Studios
,
Frederator Studios
, and
Netflix Animation
. He created the series
Adventure Time
,
[2]
the Internet series
Bravest Warriors
, and the adult animated interview series
The Midnight Gospel
.
[3]
Early life
[
edit
]
Ward grew up in
San Antonio, Texas
and is the youngest of three brothers. Today he resides in
Los Angeles
. His mother Bettie (born 1947) is an artist.
[4]
Ward became interested in animation at an early age, inspired by his mother, who is an artist and worked with animators. He started drawing flipbooks in first grade. He often worked with his best friend, Alec "The Logdog" Coates, on short comic books. He graduated from
North East School of the Arts
in San Antonio.
[5]
Ward attended
CalArts
, where he became friends with
J. G. Quintel
and
Alex Hirsch
. They later worked on
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
together. Eric Homan, vice president of
Frederator Studios
, offered Ward a job at the studios after watching one of his films at the annual CalArts animation screenings.
[6]
Ward is a graduate of the school's Animation Program.
[7]
Career
[
edit
]
In 2002?2003, Ward published a webcomic titled
Bueno the Bear
. He later took down the comics because he thought they were "terrible".
[8]
However, he retains the name "buenothebear" for his website and his handle on sites such as
Twitter
. Ward created a student film titled
Barrista
starring Bueno the Bear, released in 2005 on
Channel Frederator
.
[9]
Ward continued to work on short animations for Frederator's
Random! Cartoons
, which aired on the
Nicktoons Network
. There he worked with several people who would later join him on the
Adventure Time
series, including composer Casey James Basichis,
Adam Muto
and
Niki Yang
, many of whom had attended the
California Institute of the Arts
alongside Pen. His two shorts were
The Bravest Warriors
and the
Adventure Time
animated short. The
Adventure Time
short was made in 2006 and went on to become an internet phenomenon in 2007, with over a million views by November of that year. Ward initially pitched
Adventure Time
to
Nickelodeon
, but was rejected. It also took some time before
Cartoon Network
decided to pick it up.
[
citation needed
]
In 2007, Ward was hired to work on the first season of Cartoon Network's
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
as a writer and storyboard artist. Created by
Thurop Van Orman
,
Flapjack
was a storyboard-driven show which allowed the storyboard artists to write all the dialogue and draw all the action based on an outline assigned to them. The artists each worked in pairs; Ward was partnered up with Mike Roth (who became the supervising producer of
Regular Show
) and later
Alex Hirsch
(who has since gone on to create
Gravity Falls
and develop
Fish Hooks
). Pen credits his experience with
Flapjack
and working under Orman's "fun factory" philosophy had a significant impact upon his own writing process.
[10]
In 2012, Frederator Studios developed
Bravest Warriors
and turned it into a web series for the relaunch of Cartoon Hangover, however Ward has little involvement in the series. Former
Adventure Time
lead designer Phil Rynda worked on the redesigns of the characters for the series. The series premiered during the fall of 2012 through Cartoon Hangover's
YouTube
channel alongside a comic book series of the same name by
Boom! Studios
.
[
citation needed
]
Ward released a short animation in support of
LA Game Space
that November, a project intending to build a games-focused exhibition space in Los Angeles.
[11]
[12]
Ward announced development of a short game with
Bennett Foddy
entitled
Cheque Please
intended to be part of
Experimental Game Pack 01
, which the organization released in 2013.
[13]
[14]
[15]
Sometime during the fifth season of
Adventure Time
, Ward abruptly stepped down as
showrunner
, explaining it was negatively affecting his "quality of life". In the October 2, 2014 edition of the
Rolling Stone
magazine, Ward stated "I quit because it was driving me nuts". However, he continued to work as one of the show's writers and storyboard artists until the end of season six, and still served as an executive producer up until the series finale.
[16]
In an interview with
IndieWire
prior to the debut of
season seven
, head writer
Kent Osborne
noted that Ward had stopped writing episode outlines at the beginning of season 7 but still looked over them and provided input.
[17]
In 2017, Ward was credited as "Story Consultant" for the current hard-cover adventure for the 5th Edition of
Dungeons & Dragons
, "Tomb of Annihilation".
[
citation needed
]
In 2019,
Card of Darkness
, an
Apple Arcade
exclusive game, was released with Ward serving as art director.
[
citation needed
]
On March 16, 2020, a trailer was released for the adult animated
Netflix
original show
The Midnight Gospel
,
[18]
co-created by Ward and comedian
Duncan Trussell
. The plot reads, "Clancy is a space-caster who uses a multiverse simulator to interview beings living in other worlds."
[18]
Eight episodes of the show were released on Netflix on April 20, 2020.
In 2021, Ward was credited with special thanks in the
Double Fine
-developed video game
Psychonauts 2
.
[19]
Allegedly, Ward created an animatic that expressed interest in having the opening of the game be about a pregnant Raz; this can be seen in-game in the level "Hollis' Hot Streak", where players are made to shoot a pen at a sign that spells out "Ward".
[20]
At the
inaugural
Children's and Family Emmy Awards
ceremony held in 2022, Ward and colleagues received an Emmy for "Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program" (alongside
Ako Castuera
, Luis Grane, Elizabeth Ito, and Bob Logan) for their work in
City of Ghosts
.
[21]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Pendleton Ward television work
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
2008?2009
|
Random! Cartoons
|
Director, storyboard artist and character designer
Episodes: "
Adventure Time
", "
Bravest Warriors
" and "6 Monsters"
|
2008?2009
|
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
|
Writer and storyboard artist
|
2010?2018
|
Adventure Time
|
Creator, writer, storyboard artist, co-producer (Seasons 1?2), executive producer (Seasons 3?10) and showrunner (Seasons 1?5)
|
2014
|
Over the Garden Wall
|
Writer and storyboard artist
Episode: "Songs of the Dark Lantern"
|
2015
|
Uncle Grandpa
|
Director, writer, storyboard artist and writer
Episode: "
Guest Directed Shorts
"
|
2018
|
Steven Universe
|
Storyboard artist
Episode: "Familiar"
|
2020
|
The Midnight Gospel
|
Co-creator, director, writer, storyboard artist and executive producer
|
2020?2021
|
Adventure Time: Distant Lands
|
Creator
|
2021
|
City of Ghosts
|
Director and writer
Episode: "Bob & Nancy"
|
2022
|
Bee and PuppyCat
|
Writer
Episode: "Gentle Touch" and "Funny Lying"
|
2023
|
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake
|
Creator
|
Pendleton Ward web series work
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
2012?2013
|
Animation Pals
|
Animator
|
2012?2018
|
Bravest Warriors
|
Creator
|
2014, 2016
|
Bee and PuppyCat
|
Animatic editor, voice director and writer
[22]
Episodes: "Food" and "Toast"
|
Pendleton Ward short film work
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
2007
|
Barrista
|
Director, writer and animator
|
2011
|
Pikapew Poop Chu
|
Director, Story, animatic and soundmixing
|
Influences
[
edit
]
Ward has previously stated that his friends, many of whom he works alongside on
Adventure Time
, are his biggest drawing and animating influences.
[23]
In another interview, he explained that he was influenced by shows like
The Ren & Stimpy Show
,
Beavis and Butt-Head
, and
The Simpsons
.
[24]
He would later go on to be a
couch gag
singer in the latter show's episode "
Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus
" in
Season 28
.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Ward is known for his reclusive nature and has no spouse or children.
[25]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Ward Taylor Pendleto Johnston, Texas Birth Index"
.
familysearch.org
.
- ^
Weisman, Jon (August 14, 2013).
"Emmy Wins Come Early for 'Adventure Time,' 'Portlandia,' 'Simpsons'
"
.
Variety
.
Penske Business Media
. Retrieved
August 14,
2013
.
- ^
Sims, Chris. "
'Adventure Time' Creator Pendleton Ward's Next Project, 'Bravest Warriors,' Looks Awesome
Archived
2012-05-14 at the
Wayback Machine
and Flapjack".
Comics Alliance
. February 8, 2012.
- ^
"Bettie-Ward-Biography"
.
www.anartegallery09.com
. Archived from
the original
on June 23, 2016.
- ^
"San Antonio native created one of Cartoon Network's best shows"
. November 10, 2022.
- ^
Farago, Andrew. "
Random Thoughts from Frederator Cartoonists
Archived
2012-06-26 at the
Wayback Machine
".
Animation World Network
. Thursday January 29, 2009. Retrieved on July 28, 2011.
- ^
"Pendleton Ward Bio"
. Turner
. Retrieved
August 16,
2012
.
- ^
Xerexes, Xaviar (June 17, 2008).
"Catching Up With Pendleton Ward"
.
Comix Talk
. Retrieved
February 1,
2023
.
- ^
Baisley, Sarah (October 31, 2005).
"Frederator Studios Launches Channel Frederator for Cartoon Podcasts"
.
Animation World Network
. Retrieved
February 1,
2023
.
- ^
Lange, Ariane (September 15, 2014).
"Inside The Marvelous Mind Of Thurop Van Orman"
.
BuzzFeed
. Retrieved
June 26,
2023
.
- ^
"Support LA Game Space ? Pendleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time"
.
- ^
"
"Adventure Time" Creator Needs Your Help with Games"
.
Complex Networks
.
- ^
"LA Game Space Kickstarter games now available for non-backers"
.
Polygon
. September 18, 2013.
- ^
"LA Game Space: Experimental Game Pack 01 - Windows"
.
- ^
"Archived copy"
.
gamepacks.net
. Archived from
the original
on July 21, 2018
. Retrieved
January 12,
2022
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
Strauss, Neil (October 2, 2014).
"
'Adventure Time': The Trippiest Show on Television"
.
Rolling Stone
. Archived from
the original
on October 4, 2014
. Retrieved
June 22,
2015
.
- ^
Kohn, Eric (June 18, 2015).
"Kent Osborne Explains the Crazy Logic Behind 'Uncle Kent 2' and the 'Adventure Time' Connection"
.
Indiewire
.
Snagfilms
. Retrieved
June 22,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"YouTube"
.
www.youtube.com
.
Archived
from the original on December 15, 2021
. Retrieved
March 27,
2020
.
- ^
"Psychonauts 2 Full Cast And Crew"
.
IMDb
.
- ^
"Psychonauts 2 Hides An Mpreg Secret By The Creator of Adventure Time"
. September 8, 2021.
- ^
Tinoco, Armando (December 11, 2022).
"Children's & Family Emmys Complete Winners List: 'Heartstopper' Leads & 'The Baby-Sitters Club' Gets Recognition After Cancellation"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
December 15,
2022
.
- ^
"Bee and PuppyCat (TV Series 2013? )"
.
IMDb.com
. Retrieved
October 21,
2017
.
- ^
Ewalt, David.
"It's Adventure Time! Pendleton Ward Talks About His Hit Cartoon"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
August 16,
2012
.
- ^
DeMott, Rick. "
Time for Some Adventure with Pendleton Ward
."
Animation World Network
. Sunday April 25, 2010. Retrieved on November 20, 2010.
- ^
Owens, Richard (August 15, 2019).
"Who is Pendleton Ward Dating Now - Girlfriends & Biography (2023)"
.
DatingCelebs
. Retrieved
December 23,
2023
.
External links
[
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]
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