Biography
Chris Appelhans is an American film director, writer, illustrator and designer. He studied illustration at the Art Center College of Design and began his career in animation as a concept artist and character designer on films including Monster House (2006), The Princess and the Frog (2009) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). He later worked as a production designer on the stop-motion feature Coraline (2009), for which he received an Annie Award nomination.
Appelhans made his directorial debut with Wish Dragon (2021), which he also wrote. He co-directed and co-wrote the animated film KPop Demon Hunters (2025) with Maggie Kang. He has illustrated children's books including Sparky! (2014) and A Greyhound, a Groundhog (2017).
