Travis Knight (animator)

Travis Knight
Knight at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International
Born	1973 (age 43–44) Hillsboro, Oregon, U.S.
Education	Jesuit High School
Alma mater	Portland State University
Occupation	Animator, film producer, film director, former rapper
Years active	1993–present
Parent(s)	Phil Knight Penny Knight

Travis Knight (born 1973) is an American animator, film producer and former rapper, known for working as the lead animator for Laika Entertainment and for directing Kubo and the Two Strings (his directorial debut).

As Chilly Tee, Knight released one rap album, 1993's Get Off Mine, and single of the same name. It featured production from The Bomb Squad and Knight wrote most of the lyrics. Knight is quoted in the Portland Monthly as saying:

Nobody bought that record... I liked making music, but I hated the performing part of it. I think there’s a reason most animators are hidden behind giant curtains. They’re not meant for the spotlight."

Travis worked at Will Vinton Studios for ten years starting as an intern, then worked as a stop-motion animator soon after, working on the Emmy Award-winning television series The PJs, produced with Eddie Murphy Productions and Imagine Entertainment, as well as the animated series Gary & Mike on UPN. He animated numerous television commercials and promo spots, including the NFL campaign on Fox.

Since 2005, Knight has been one of the key members of the stop motion animation studio Laika, serving as Vice President of Animation, producer and Lead Animator, for both the stop-motion and CG animation staff, on Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. He also sits on the Laika board of directors. Along with Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable, Knight was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, for The Boxtrolls. In 2014, Knight began working on his directorial debut, Kubo and the Two Strings, which was released in 2016.