Cal Brunker is a Canadian animator, storyboard artist, and filmmaker. He is best known for directing The Weinstein Company's animated film Escape from Planet Earth (2013), The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017), Nickelodeon's Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021) and its sequels Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023) and Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie (2026), all of which he co-wrote with his business partner Bob Barlen.
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Career
Cal Brunker has frequently collaborated with his partner Bob Barlen since 2009's Ollie & the Baked Halibut. Before his directorial debut with Ninjamaica and then 2013's Escape from Planet Earth, Brunker has worked as a storyboard artist and an animator on films such as Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Horton Hears a Who!, and Despicable Me. He directed films such as Escape from Planet Earth and The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. Brunker and Barlen have written screenplays for Arctic Dogs, Cranston Academy: Monster Zone, and The Son of Bigfoot in which they co-executive produced.
He also directed the film Paw Patrol: The Movie, a feature film adaptation of the Nick Jr. Channel's Paw Patrol animated series. Serving as the director and co-writer and once more collaborating with Barlen alongside Billy Frolick, it was produced by Spin Master and Nickelodeon Movies, and released by Paramount Pictures in August 2021.
By May 2026, Brunker wrote the screenplay for Doctor Dolittle: King of the Wild, an animated reimagining of the Dr. Dolittle franchise, for Sycamore Studios.
