SCAD AnimationFest 2025 honorees

Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh are the co-creators of Disney's beloved Phineas and Ferb franchise. Born in California and raised in Alabama, Povenmire made his first forays into animation as a freelance storyboard artist on shows like James Bond Jr. and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while California native Marsh got his start as a character designer and storyboard artist on Little Dracula. The duo first met as layout artists on The Simpsons and reconnected as writing partners on Rocko's Modern Life, where they conceived the original pitch for Phineas and Ferb. Marsh left for London in 1996 and contributed to English animated series like Bounty Hamster, Legend of the Dragon, and Postman Pat over the next decade. Povenmire worked as a director and storyboard artist on Family Guy and SpongeBob SquarePants in the same timespan while continuing to pitch Phineas and Ferb, which Disney finally greenlit in 2005. Since then, Povenmire and Marsh have overseen the original series, which ran from 2007 to 2015, its highly anticipated 2025 revival, two feature-length films, the spin-off series Milo Murphy's Law, and more. Povenmire and Marsh are also performers, voicing series characters Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz and Major Monogram, respectively. Outside of Phineas and Ferb, Povenmire is the creator of the Disney animated series Hamster & Gretel, while Marsh adapted the bestselling Pete the Cat series of children's books into a series for Amazon Prime Video.

Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang are the directors and screenwriters of Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation's smash-hit KPop Demon Hunters. An Idaho native, Appelhans began his entertainment career as a concept artist and illustrator for live-action and animated films, including City of Ember, Coraline, The Princess and the Frog, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. He also illustrated the children's book Sparky, winning a Children's Choice Book Award in 2021. Appelhans made his feature film directorial debut in 2021 with Sony and Netflix's Wish Dragon, which he also wrote. Born in South Korea and raised in Canada, Kang was recruited by DreamWorks Animation out of college, where she worked on franchises like Shrek, Trolls, Kung-Fu Panda, and Madagascar as a story and storyboard artist. She has also contributed to other hit animated films like Minions: The Rise of Gru and The LEGO Ninjago Movie, serving as head of story for the latter. KPop Demon Hunters, based on Kang's own original story idea, is her feature film directorial debut.