Dindal as director (1991–2000)
Dindal’s first time in the director’s chair was for a short, 1940s style wartime propaganda segment for the 1991 superhero film, The Rocketeer. Working with a crew of 3 other animators, Dindal took inspiration from Disney wartime cartoons like Victory Through Air Power and Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series.[7]
Dindal's feature-length debut was Cats Don't Dance, which was released in 1997, three years before The Emperor's New Groove was released in 2000.[3] In Cats Don't Dance Dindal voiced Max. The film won the Annie Award for Best Animated Film and Dindal was nominated for directing. The Emperor's New Groove was initially expected to be a Disney musical feature called Kingdom of the Sun. However, the idea did not work out, so Dindal, along with Chris Williams and David Reynolds changed the script to a comedy. During the six-year production, he started to work on Cats Don't Dance, a Turner Broadcasting (since merged into Warner Bros.) animated musical production.
Post-Disney (2006–present)
In March 2006, a day after the DVD release of Chicken Little, Dindal and producer Randy Fullmer left the company because they were reportedly tired of dealing with then-WDFA head David Stainton.[8] Over the span of three years, Dindal was attached to direct several live-action films, including Sherlock's Secretary[9] and Housebroken,[10] both for Walden Media, and a film adaptation of the children's book Kringle for Paramount Pictures.[11]
In December 2010, Dindal was directing at DreamWorks Animation the animated film Me and My Shadow, based on his own pitch that would've combined both computer and traditional animation.[12] In January 2012, he was no longer directing the film[13] and was replaced by story artist Alessandro Carloni as director, and the film has been in development limbo since 2013.[14]
In July 2014, he provided illustrations for the documentary film Restrung, centering on colleague Randy Fullmer on his career at Wyn Guitars from 2006. On November 12, 2018, it was announced that Dindal will direct an animated Garfield feature for Alcon Entertainment, with pre-production beginning the following month in Los Angeles.[15] In March 2019, Dindal was involved as a story artist and helped design the characters, Gus and Cooper,[16] for the 2019 Nickelodeon film, Wonder Park. That same year, it was announced that Dindal, along with Pixar veteran Teddy Newton, would develop a film based on the Funko toys for Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, with the former serving as director.[17]
In November 2021, it was announced that The Garfield Movie was picked up by Sony Pictures Releasing for a worldwide release (excluding China), and would star Chris Pratt as the titular role. The film also reunited Dindal with New Groove screenwriter David Reynolds, who wrote the script.[18] In September 2022, the film was scheduled to be released on May 24, 2024.[19] The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics but was a commercial success. In July 2025, a sequel was announced [20] with Dindal possibly returning as director.[21]
