Chris Sanders

Chris Sanders creates animated worlds that balance humor with heart. Born in Colorado Springs in 1962, he grew up enchanted by animation and comic strips, later studying at CalArts. At Disney, he designed characters for Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King before creating Stitch in 1985—a character born from an abandoned children's book pitch that became the unlikely hero of Lilo & Stitch (2002). He co-directed that film with Dean DeBlois and voiced Stitch himself, launching a franchise that defined a generation.