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Rob Dressel

Cinematographer

Rob Dressel got his start in CG in 1993, doing commercials at a small house in Hollywood called Sidley Wright MotionWorks. A year later he started working in visual effects at Dream Quest Images which was later bought by Disney and became The Secret Lab. There Rob worked on many films like Crimson Tide, Deep Rising, Armageddon, Mighty Joe Young, 102 Dalmatians and Reign of Fire eventually becoming a supervising animator and creature supervisor. He left Disney to be the animation supervisor on Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow which, because of having to previs the entire film, opened the world of cinematography to him. This new passion led Rob to continue working in live action previs at Unit Eleven LLC. There he worked on Transformers 1 and 2 as well as Hancock. In 2008 Rob returned to Disney to become the layout supervisor for Prep and Landing at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Layout was the ultimate job for cinematic storytelling.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Cinematographer
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 13 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 18% in 30 days

What are Rob Dressel's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
40%
Self
25%
Society
18%
Morality
8%
Survival
6%
Ideas
3%
Community4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
4
Thrilling
5
Warm
4
Hopeful
3
Bittersweet
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Feel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy5
  • Bittersweet1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Rob Dressel's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (11).

Subscription and free streaming for Rob Dressel's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

13 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.

  • Zootopia 2(2025)

    Layout Supervisor

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Iwájú(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • Wish(2023)

    Other

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Baymax!(2022)

    Show Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows

  • Raya and the Last Dragon(2021)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Gone Fishing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Cinematographer

  • Moana(2016)

    Layout

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Big Hero 6(2014)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Wreck-It Ralph(2012)

    Cinematographer · Layout

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Tangled(2010)

    Layout

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa(2010)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Prep & Landing(2009)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Crimson Tide(1995)

    CG Animator

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 10 titles from 1995 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Big Hero 6 (2014)

$672M worldwide

Highest rated

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Midcredits 97th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Cinematography4 of 10: 4 only cinematography, 0 with another roleOther crew6 of 10: 6 only other crew, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score95th

By decade

1990s1 · crew2010s5 · crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Rob Dressel's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 93rd percentile, the median of all 10; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

91stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 12 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · cinematographer

Iwájú (2024)

74th percentile spread · 17% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Midcredits 97th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 84/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 87, detractors 68. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Rob Dressel's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 36 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 11 · minimalMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 11 · minimalMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 7 · minimalMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 37 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Rob Dressel work with?

People who share at least 2 of Rob Dressel's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; John Lasseter shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles