---
name: "David Goetz"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-goetz"
fi1m_id: "david-goetz"
tmdb_id: 1552863
roles: ["Art direction"]
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-04T19:34:41.984757+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."
---

# David Goetz

## Identity

David Goetz

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/david-goetz
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** david-goetz
- **TMDB ID:** 1552863
- **Same entity:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1552863

Art direction.

## Details

- **Work:** Art direction
- **Active:** 1982–2016
- **Also known as:** Dave Goetz
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 72 (2), 1990s 70 (1), 2010s 78 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 74 to 68 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Animation 5, Family 5, Adventure 4, Drama 3, Comedy 2, Fantasy 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $2,042m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1552863

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Zootopia*](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

David Goetz, also credited as Dave Goetz, is a production designer and art director who has worked primarily in animation. He began his career in the early 1980s as a background designer on *The Secret of NIMH* (1982) and contributed to several Don Bluth productions, including title design on *An American Tail* (1986).

Goetz joined Walt Disney Animation Studios and served as art director on *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1996), *Atlantis: The Lost Empire* (2001) and *Tangled* (2010). He was production designer on *Zootopia* (2016), for which he led the creation of the film's animal metropolis and its distinct districts.

*Sources: imdb.com, variety.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Zootopia* (2016), Fi1m 82, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md)
- *Tangled* (2010), Fi1m 75, Art Direction — [page](https://film.one/film/tangled.md)
- *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1996), Fi1m 70, Art Direction — [page](https://film.one/film/the-hunchback-of-notre-dame.md)
- *An American Tail* (1986), Fi1m 71, Title Designer — [page](https://film.one/film/an-american-tail.md)
- *The Secret of NIMH* (1982), Fi1m 74, Background Designer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-nimh.md)

## Complete filmography (11)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Sea Beast* (2022), as Visual Development
- *Zootopia* (2016), Production Design — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/zootopia.md)
- *Tangled* (2010), as Art Direction — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/tangled.md)
- *Atlantis: The Lost Empire* (2001), as Art Direction
- *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1996), as Art Direction — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/the-hunchback-of-notre-dame.md)
- *The Pebble and the Penguin* (1995), Production Design, Production Designer
- *A Troll in Central Park* (1994), Production Design
- *Thumbelina* (1994), Production Design
- *Rock-A-Doodle* (1991), Production Design
- *An American Tail* (1986), Title Designer — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/an-american-tail.md)
- *The Secret of NIMH* (1982), Background Designer — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-nimh.md)

---
© 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/david-goetz