Marc Handler is an American writer, producer and voice director best known for his work on Cowboy Bebop, Astro Boy, FLCL, Stitch & Ai, and Voltron. He is a pioneer in bringing Asian animation to Western audiences, and is the first American to work in Japan as a story editor on a Japanese anime series, the 2003 Astro Boy series.[1][2][3]
Marc Handler | |
|---|---|
| Born | North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Executive producer, script writer, voice director |
| Website | marchandler |
Marc was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. As a young adult, he formed the Subject To Change Theatre Troupe, which was active in political causes such as support for Nelson Mandela in South Africa. He studied at the University of Southern California where he earned two Master's degrees in directing theatre and writing for film and television.[4]
Marc wrote original episodes for American animation series such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Widget the World Watcher, and Denver, the Last Dinosaur. He became involved in the first major wave of imported anime for Western audiences, writing English language scripts and adaptations for Voltron, Saber Rider and Transformers. As anime evolved, he worked as a writer and voice director on projects such as Cowboy Bebop (TV series and film), FLCL, Ghost in the Shell, Steamboy, and Metropolis. He also voice directed Stephen Chow in Hong Kong for the English language version of Shaolin Soccer, and wrote episodes for the 2011-2012 successful revival of Power Rangers based on the Japanese Super Sentai series.[2][4][5] Marc was later involved in bringing original Chinese and Korean animation to the West, including Stitch & Ai (Disney, China); Peking Duckling (UYoung, China/ Little Airplane, USA); Kioka (Goldilocks, Korea); and Mix Master Final Force (Sunwoo, Korea).
Marc was a guest speaker at the Conference On Dialogue Of Asian Civilization in Beijing in 2019;[6] which was hosted by President Xi Jinping. Marc also spoke at The Great Hall of the People for the Beijing Film Academy in 2019, and he has been a judge for the Canadian BANFF awards; a guest speaker at Tokyo University; a guest speaker at San Diego Comic-Con and Anime L.A., and has organized and led a series of annual workshops in the U.S. for Chinese Animation professionals hosted by Disney, China and Disney, Burbank..
He has written two books on writing and presentations which were published by Beijing University Press in China and Freelec Publishers in Korea.[7]
Marc is a member of the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild. He has also been a lecturer at the University of Southern California and Glendale College.[8]
Marc is married to Annet Yorn; they have one son, Kai Handler. They live alternately in Shanghai, China and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
| Year | Title | Award | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Stitch & Ai | CCG Award - Best Animation Series in China | Executive Producer, Writer, Voice Director & Consulting Producer | Won |
| 2017 | Stoney & Rocky | SMG Award - Best International Collaboration | Executive Producer, Writer, Voice Director & Consulting Producer | Won |
| 2003 | Astro Boy | Tokyo International Animation Fair: Best TV Animation | Executive Story Editor & Writer | Won |
| 2004 | Astro Boy | Tokyo International Animation Fair: Best TV Series | Executive Story Editor & Writer | Won |
| 2012 | Kioka | Shanghai TV Festival: Best Pre-School Animation Series[9][10] | Voice Director | Won |
| 2013 | Kioka | Cynopsis Kids Awards, NYC[11] | Voice Director | Nominated |
| 2007 | FLCL | American Anime Awards: Best Comedy[12] | ADR Writer & Voice Director | Won |
| 2007 | FLCL | American Anime Awards: Best Short Series[12] | ADR Writer & Voice Director | Won |
| 1998 | The New World of the Gnomes | Premios Midia Awards: Best Animated Series in Latin America/Spain | Writing Staff | Won |
| 1990 | De Donde | L.A. Dramalogue Award for Stage Directing | Director | Won |