He is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, born on November 30, 1952 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts, after which he worked at Walt Disney Studios as an animator trainee. He is known for his work in stop-motion animated films, most notably James and the Giant Peach (1996), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Coraline (2009).