Grosse Pointer and Hollywood Animator's 'Rise of the Guardians' Nominated for Golden Globe Award

Longtime Grosse Pointe resident and now Hollywood movie animator Dave Hardin's latest feature film Rise of the Guardians has been nominated for a Golden Globe award for best animated film.  The Golden Globe Awards air Sunday, January 13 at 8 pm on NBC.

Rise of the Guardians, released on Nov. 21, has grossed $279 million dollars worldwide.  The movie about an evil spirit that launches an assault on Earth and the Immortal Guardians that team up to protect the innocence of children has been a popular choice of movie goers with children throughout the holiday season.

Hardin, a senior animator for Dreamworks Pictures, was a 2000 graduate of Grosse Pointe North High School and a promising student in Robert Thies' computer graphics classes while a student there.  Hardin said became hooked on animation as a career path after watching the movie A Bug's Life when he was a sophomore.  

After graduating from North, Hardin finished a four-year degree at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit and with the success of his senior project film, Anything for Buck, landed his first animation job with Sony Pictures.

During his time as a Sony animator, Hardin was nominated for an Annie, the animation industry's highest award for his work on the 2007 film Surf's Up. Shortly after his nomination for the award, Hardin was hired by Dreamworks Pictures, listed as number 17 of the top 100 companies to work for in world.

Now a senior character animator, Hardin has an extensive filmography including 

• 2012 Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters
• 2011 Puss in Boots
• 2011 Kung Fu Panda 2
• 2010 Alice in Wonderland
• 2009 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
• 2008 Speed Racer
• 2007 I Am Legend
• 2007 Surf's Up
• 2006 Boog & Elliot's Midnight Bun Run
• 2006 Open Season
• 2004 Tristella's Tears

In addition to its nomination for a Golden Globe, Rise of the Guardians, has also been nominated for the following Annie Awards, which take place on Feb. 2, 2013.

• Best Animated Effects in an Animated Production
• Best Animated Feature   
• Best Character Animation in a Feature Production
• Music in an Animated Feature Production
• Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
• Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
• Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

Hardin, who has returned several times to talk to North students in Thies' classes, recently visited North's campus to talk about his career with aspiring student animators.

"You get out of college what you put into it," Hardin told North students this fall.  "If you love what you do, you'll have a hard time knowing whether you're working or playing every day."