Tony Award for Best Musical. After nearly four years on Kingdom of the Sun, Allers was decided to leave the project due to creative differences with Peter Schneider, head of animation at Disney. Ultimately, the project was reworked into The Emperor's New Groove (2000), and Allers left to work on Lilo & Stitch (2002) as a story artist. In 2001, he was approached by Hahn to direct the short film, The Little Matchgirl (2006). The project underwent about two years of work, as it was planned to be attached with the proposed Fantasia 2006 film, and was accompanied as a bonus feature on The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition DVD. Meanwhile, Allers pitched the Celtic folk ballad tale Tam Lin to Michael Eisner, who at the time was in a corporate struggle with Roy E. Disney. Once Eisner recognized the project was Disney's "baby", he declined to green-light the project. Post-Disney In May 2003, it was announced that Allers and Brenda Chapman would direct Tam Lin for Sony Pictures Animation. However, one year later, Allers was recruited as an additional director on Open Season (2006) alongside director Jill Culton and co-director Anthony Stacchi, featuring the voice talents of Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher. In January 2012, it was announced that Allers will oversee the narrative structure, as well as supervise the production of an animated adaptation of The Prophet. In May 2014, a work-in-progress version of The Prophet (2014) was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and was given a limited release in August 2015. Personal life Allers married Leslee Hackenson in 1977. In March 2020, Allers filed for divorce from Hackenson. They have a daughter, Leah, and a son, Aidan. Filmography References External links 1949 births 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male artists 21st-century American male writers American animated film directors American art directors American male screenwriters American storyboard artists Animators from Arizona Animators from California Animators from New York (state) Animation screenwriters Arizona State University alumni Film directors from Arizona Film directors from Los Angeles Film directors from New York (state) Living people People from Rye, New York People from Venice, Los Angeles Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from New York (state) Sony Pictures Animation people Walt Disney Animation Studios people