Bob Kurtz, founder of the Burbank-based animation studio Kurtz & Friends, writes, designs and directs animated short films, title sequences and tv commercials.
Kurtz’ first animated main title was Max Dugan Returns (1983). More recently, he completed the main title animations for The Pink Panther (2006) and Are We Done Yet? (2007)
Kurtz received numerous awards for his short films. Several are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Kurtz was born in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from the Chouinard Art Institute (now the California School of the Arts).
“My philosophy is fairly simple,” says Kurtz, I am a communicator, therefore the message comes first, then the graphics. I want to stimulate, excite, scare or create laughter. I don’t want a passive audience. I don’t expect a captive audience. It is the film artist’s obligation to reach out and touch that audience.”
According to Kurtz, animation is very closely related to the dance: “To be aware of this is to realize the film form is choreography in time, space, sound and light,” says Kurtz. “In our films, we try to develop as many styles and approaches as the opportunity provides. My role in these films is writer, director and producer, but Kurtz & Friends is far from a one man studio, it is a group effort of incredibly talented and dedicated artists.”
