John R. Dilworth

Dilworth attended the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts.

Many of Dilworth's influences included Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, and Salvador Dalí, as well as Charlie Chaplin. Dilworth also had some contemporary influences as well, including Michael Sporn, as well as Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell; while not a narrative influence, but was influential just for sheer dynamics of action and technology. Some of that stuff that appeals to him the most are Miyazaki's Porco Rosso and My Neighbor Totoro, giving him the love of the mix between fantasy and innocence.

After graduation, Dilworth became an art director at Baldi, Bloom and Whelan Advertising, but continued to work on his own films in his spare time, providing much of his own funding.[2] His animated short, The Chicken from Outer Space, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996. Cartoon Network later commissioned Dilworth to turn the short into a series, which eventually became Courage the Cowardly Dog. Dilworth is the president of Stretch Films, a New York-based design and animation studio, which he founded in 1991. He also worked on the original opening for Nicktoons and for shows such as Doug, Rugrats, and My Life as a Teenage Robot, as well as the Disney animated series PB&J Otter. Dilworth created the series of nine animated shorts for Sesame Street based on his independent film, "Noodles & Nedd". "Nedd" is named after the author Nedd Willard, a mentor.

Dilworth's short Angry Cabaret was also featured in MTV's 1994 Animation Weekend. His breakout film was The Dirdy Birdy, which aired on MTV's Cartoon Sushi and on Comedy Central. He was animation consultant of Gumby: The Movie, and was also one of the directors of Drew Carey's Green Screen Show.

Dilworth appears in pixilation sequences in the 2013 animated short Subconscious Password by Chris Landreth.[3]

In 2017 Dilworth completes his latest animation "Goose in High Heels". The process may be viewed on his YouTube Channel, Stretch Films.

• Pierre (1985) (student film; appeared on Showtime)
• The Limited Bird (1989)
• Earthday Birthday (1990)
• When Lilly Laney Moved In (1991)
• Psyched For Snuppa (1992) (Jumbo Pictures for Nickelodeon)
• Smart Talk with Raisin (1993) (Appeared on MTV's Liquid Television in 1994)
• The Dirdy Birdy (1994) (Redux aired in 2014)
• Angry Cabaret (1994) (Also appeared on MTV Animation Weekend)
• Cartoon Network (ID's) (1994–1997)
• The Chicken from Outer Space (1996)
• Noodles and Nedd (1996) (later appeared on Sesame Street)
• Big Bag: Ace and Avery (1998)
• Hector The Get-Over Cat (1998) – Indent for Nickelodeon.
• A Little Curious (short films) (1999)
• Courage the Cowardly Dog (series) (1999–2002)
• Catch Of The Day (featuring Noodles and Nedd) (2000)
• Courage in Scary Monsters (2000; Web Premiere Toons short)
• The Mousochist (2001)
• Life In Transition (2005)
• The Return of Sergeant Pecker (2006, credited as Pierre Delarue)
• Garlic Boy (2008)
• Rinky Dink (2009)
• Bunny Bashing (2011)
• Pumpkin Reports (2012) – CGI pilot episode made by Spanish studio Motion Pictures, S.A., that hired John for direct the pilot. In 2016, was turned in a TV series.
• The Fog of Courage (2014) – A special CGI short starring Courage the Cowardly Dog.
• The Dirdy Birdy Redux (2014)
• Dirdy Birdy II: A Night at Club Sheik (2015) – A cancelled sequel to The Dirdy Birdy.
• Prudence and the Imps (2016) – An unfinished animated pilot
• Goose in High Heels (2017)
• Mom got eaten by a Spider Demon (2017)
• Before Courage (TV series) (2020)
• Howl if You Love Me (TBA)

• StretchFilms.com, Homepage of Dilworth's Animation Company
• John R. Dilworth at IMDb
• Interview with Dilworth