LIVINGSTON, NJ — DreamWorks Supervising Animator Sean Sexton, Livingston High School Class of 1993 alum, has nearly completed his work on the highly anticipated animated feature “Kung Fu Panda 3.” As “Kung Fu Panda 3” wraps up its final weeks of production, Sexton is anxious to see how his young audience will react to the intimate work he did with the story’s hero, Master Po Ping.

From the time he was five years old, Sexton knew he wanted to work in animation and now he is a Supervising Animator at one of the biggest American animation studios with titles like “Shark Tale,” “Over the Hedge,” “Bee Movie,” “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Megamind,” “Puss in Boots,” “The Croods,” and award-winning titles like "Futurama," “How to Train Your Dragon,” and “How to Train Your Dragon 2” under his belt.

“It’s a dream come true—to actually get to a studio like DreamWorks is really something I could not have imagined,” said Sexton. “As much as I’ve dreamed of it I didn’t think it would ever actually happen and it’s pretty amazing that I get to work there every day and got to meet Steven Spielberg and got to work with Jerry Seinfeld and I see these actors come in and out, so it’s just really a dream.”

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Sexton spent his years at Livingston High School focusing on art before he achieved an Associates Degree in animation from Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in Dover, NJ. Sexton, whose favorite movie is “Jaws” and favorite director is Steven Spielberg, said it was always his ambition to work at DreamWorks.

Following his aspirations, Sexton moved to Los Angeles with no friends and no prospects, working on a portfolio and learning computer animation at Glendale Community College, and eventually landing his first entry-level job at Rough Draft, working on the cartoon series “Futurama," which was produced by 20th Century Fox.

“Kung Fu Panda 3,” which is currently set to release in theaters on Jan. 29, is still in production but is expected to be fully complete in the coming weeks. According to Sexton, who works closely on actor Jack Black’s animated scenes as the panda Po, the animators are in the process of reworking the ending and having test screenings so that the sequel can reach its fullest potential.

“It’s a fun production and it’s one of the most fun characters I’ve ever worked on,” said Sexton. “For these last few weeks of production we’re just going to tighten the movie up, make it better and add some new shots that I think are going to make it great.”

Once “Kung Fu Panda 3” is completed, Sexton will begin his new project as the Supervising Animator on “The Croods 2.” In the meantime, Sexton is most looking forward to seeing “Kung Fu Panda 3 “in its entirety with the completed score—and more specifically seeing how the audience will react to the scenes he worked on with Po.





“My favorite part of the whole experience is being in the audience and seeing everyone’s reactions,” said Sexton. “I love being able to sneak into a theater and see an audience’s first-time reaction to a shot that I animated and hearing the laughter—that’s what makes it all worth it.”