--- name: "Andrew Adamson" canonical: "https://film.one/person/andrew-adamson" fi1m_id: "andrew-adamson" imdb_id: "nm0011470" tmdb_id: 5524 wikidata_id: "Q432845" roles: ["Writer","Producer","Director"] born: "1 December 1966" reviewed_on_fi1m: 8 average_fi1m_score: 55 average_as: "writer" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-10-05T12:06:56.366641+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Andrew Adamson ## Identity Andrew Adamson - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/andrew-adamson - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** andrew-adamson - **IMDb ID:** nm0011470 - **TMDB ID:** 5524 - **Wikidata ID:** Q432845 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Adamson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q432845, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0011470/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5524 Writer and producer. Born 1 December 1966 in Auckland, New Zealand. ## Details - **Work:** Writer, Producer, Director - **Born:** 1 December 1966, Auckland, New Zealand - **Active:** 1996–2011 - **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 3 directing, 2 writing, 2 producing, 1 crew - **Frequently works with:** [Anna Popplewell](https://film.one/person/anna-popplewell.md), [Christopher Markus](https://film.one/person/christopher-markus.md), [Georgie Henley](https://film.one/person/georgie-henley.md), [Mark Johnson](https://film.one/person/mark-johnson.md), [Skandar Keynes](https://film.one/person/skandar-keynes.md), [Stephen McFeely](https://film.one/person/stephen-mcfeely.md), [Aron Warner](https://film.one/person/aron-warner.md), [Ben Barnes](https://film.one/person/ben-barnes.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Average Fi1m score:** 55, as writer, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 55 (1), 2000s 67 (4), 2010s 61 (3) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Adamson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q432845, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0011470/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5524 ## Coming up - *Shrek 5* (2027-06-30), Characters ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*Shrek*](https://film.one/film/shrek.md) (80), [*The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian*](https://film.one/film/the-chronicles-of-narnia-prince-caspian.md) (58), [*The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*](https://film.one/film/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader.md) (56) - **Peacock:** [*Shrek 2*](https://film.one/film/shrek-2.md) (80) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Andrew Adamson > Andrew Adamson’s fantasy films work best when their characters matter more than the cleverness around them. We recommend *Shrek* for the warmth he and Vicky Jenson find beneath its bad manners, with reservations about the pop-culture jokes. An ogre and a talkative donkey give *Shrek* (2001) its lasting appeal. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson make their company matter, even as the film teases the fairy-tale conventions around them. We warmed to the pair because the directors let us enjoy their bad manners without withholding affection. There is enough feeling here to keep a family comedy going when its cleverness starts to wear thin. The teasing of fairy-tale conventions is less consistently funny. At times, recognising a pop-culture reference is most of the joke, and the storytelling settles for the familiar. We would recommend it for the voices before the references. It is also a shared achievement: Jenson’s co-direction matters to any account of what works, and there is no reason to credit Adamson alone for the affection beneath the rudeness. Adamson came to directing through computer animation and visual effects. After *Shrek 2* (2004), he moved into live action with *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* (2005). He brought animation’s storyboarding and pre-visualisation with him to tighten the scripting and planning. *The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian* (2008) put greater emphasis on action. The smaller-scale *Mr. Pip* (2012), adapted from Lloyd Jones’s novel, took him beyond those two fantasy series. His adaptations draw on childhood memories of the material, rather than literal fidelity alone. His work with the child ensemble in *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* also suggests that the preparation leaves room for performers. In *Shrek*, that attention to performance gives us a reason to forgive the weaker jokes, though it cannot make them funnier. Start with the ogre and donkey; there is no need to recognise every reference to enjoy their company. ## Biography Andrew Adamson is a New Zealand film director, producer, screenwriter and animator. Born in Auckland on 1 December 1966, he began his career in computer animation in New Zealand before moving to the United States, where he worked as a visual effects supervisor on films including *Batman Forever* (1995) and *Batman & Robin* (1997). He co-directed the DreamWorks animated feature *Shrek* (2001), which won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and directed and co-wrote its sequel *Shrek 2* (2004). Adamson later directed and co-wrote the first two live-action adaptations of C. S. Lewis’s *The Chronicles of Narnia*: *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* (2005) and *Prince Caspian* (2008). He was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (8) ### Directed (3) - *The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian* (2008), Fi1m 58, Producer, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-chronicles-of-narnia-prince-caspian.md) - *Shrek 2* (2004), Fi1m 80, as Captain of the Guards (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/shrek-2.md) - *Shrek* (2001), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/shrek.md) ### Wrote (2) — the average rests on these - *Shrek Forever After* (2010), Fi1m 60, Characters, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/shrek-forever-after.md) - *Shrek the Third* (2007), Fi1m 50, Executive Producer, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/shrek-the-third.md) ### Produced (2) - *Puss in Boots* (2011), Fi1m 66, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/puss-in-boots.md) - *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader* (2010), Fi1m 56, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader.md) ### Crew (1) - *A Time to Kill* (1996), Fi1m 55, Visual Effects Supervisor — [page](https://film.one/film/a-time-to-kill.md) ## Complete filmography (20) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Shrek 5* (2027), Characters - *Puss in Boots: The Last Wish* (2022), Executive Producer - *Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away* (2012), Director, Producer, Screenplay - *Mr. Pip* (2012), Director, Screenplay, Producer - *Puss in Boots* (2011), Executive Producer — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/puss-in-boots.md) - *Shrek's Yule Log* (2010), Writer - *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader* (2010), Producer — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader.md) - *Shrek Forever After* (2010), Executive Producer, Characters — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/shrek-forever-after.md) - *Ballast* (2008), Executive Producer - *The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian* (2008), Director, Screenplay, Producer — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/the-chronicles-of-narnia-prince-caspian.md) - *Shrek the Third* (2007), Executive Producer, Story — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/shrek-the-third.md) - *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* (2005), Director, Executive Producer, Screenplay - *Shrek 2* (2004), as Captain of the Guards (voice) · Director, Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/shrek-2.md) - *Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party* (2001), Director - *Shrek* (2001), Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/shrek.md) - *Batman & Robin* (1997), Visual Effects Supervisor — Fi1m 35, [page](https://film.one/film/batman-and-robin.md) - *A Time to Kill* (1996), Visual Effects Supervisor — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/a-time-to-kill.md) - *Batman Forever* (1995), Visual Effects Supervisor — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/batman-forever.md) - *Angels in the Outfield* (1994), Visual Effects Supervisor - *Curious George*, Director ## Gallery - ![Andrew Adamson](https://film.one/media/person/97283/gallery-16c6cca73189.jpg) Andrew Adamson — New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Andrew_Adamson_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Dignitaries at the "Our Nation's Children" launch on 29 November 2013. Left to right: MC Sue Foley, Simon Power of Westpac, the Governor-General, Sir Jerry Mate](https://film.one/media/person/97283/gallery-a257c3bddb2a.jpg) Dignitaries at the "Our Nation's Children" launch on 29 November 2013. Left to right: MC Sue Foley, Simon Power of Westpac, the Governor-General, Sir Jerry Mate — New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Our_Nations_Children_launch_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 2005: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *Shrek 2* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/andrew-adamson