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Spike Brandt is an American cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, director and producer of animated films. He is best known for his varying roles as an executive producer, director and animator for such television series as Duck Dodgers, The Looney Tunes Show and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. He is also noted for his work on Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale and Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes.

Early life
Spike Brandt was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but raised in Gary, Indiana where he graduated from Horace Mann High School. He then attended Concordia College in Ann Arbor, Michigan as an English Major. His lifelong interest in animation began at an early age, making his first stop motion films at the age of nine and continuing his passion for animation throughout high school. Wishing to pursue a career as an artist and animator, he later went on to attend the liberal arts oriented, Columbia College in Chicago, where he graduated with a Fine Arts Degree.

Career
Career

While taking animation classes at Columbia College, the college approached him to make a film to show for prospective students, which in turn secured Brandt an internship at Sinnott & Associates, a local animation and live action studio. While at Sinnott & Associates he created and produced animation for commercials and industrial films. His work at Sinnott led to freelance opportunities with other established Chicago animation studios and companies such as Cioni Artworks, Kinetics Animation and Calabash Studios.

While working at Calabash, Jon McClenahan, the founder of Chicago's StarToons Studio, hired Brandt to work on Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, which were created by producer Tom Ruegger as part of Steven Spielberg’s first collaborative effort with Warner Bros. Animation Studios. Tiny Toons and Animaniacs were immensely successful programs, being nominated for and winning multiple Emmys and other outstanding Awards.

When the final season of Animaniacs came to a close, Brandt, along with fellow StarToons animator and frequent collaborator Tony Cervone, whom he had initially met while working at Calabash, left Chicago for Los Angeles seeking more opportunity. Shortly after their arrival in Los Angeles, they were both immediately hired at Warner Bros. Animation Studio.

Brandt's first project for Warner Bros. Animation was as the Assistant Director for the theatrical Bugs Bunny short Carrotblanca. Shortly after, Brandt was hired as an animator on the blockbuster hit Space Jam. Produced by Ivan Reitman and directed by Joe Pytka, Space Jam was a unique mix of live action and animation starring basketball player Michael Jordon along with Bugs Bunny and other members of the Loony Toons Gang.

Brandt continued working at Warner Classic Animation developing projects and eventually directing the theatrical short, Little Go Beep. At this time and working with collaborator Tony Cervone, he developed, directed and produced the critically acclaimed Duck Dodgers television series, which was based on the classic 1952 Chuck Jones short. The series was noted for its legendary guest appearances with talents like Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys, Burt Reynolds, Henry Winkler, Tom Jones and Quentin Tarantino.

In 2004 Brandt was then enlisted to direct and produce Daffy Duck for President, an animated theatrical short based upon the book of the same name, written and illustrated by cartoon legend Chuck Jones. The book was created to coincide with the release of the first Bugs Bunny Postage Stamp by the United States Postal Service in 1997. The film was dedicated to Jones who passed away in 2002.

Brandt, along with Tony Cervone, also had the honor of working with Joseph Barbera on The Karate Guard, which was the last Tom and Jerry cartoon short that Barbera would write, co-direct and co-produce before his death in December of 2006. This would also be the last theatrical Tom and Jerry cartoon ever released. Brandt was nominated for Best Character Animation for his work on this film in 2006.

Brandt continued to work on various animated television series, videos and movies such as Tom and Jerry Tales and Nickelodeon's Back at the Barnyard, created by Steve Oedekerk. In 2008, Brandt directed and produced a number of Scooby-Doo direct to video releases, along with such features as Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes, which incorporated such voice acting talent as Michael York, Malcolm McDowell and John Rhys-Davies.

Still with Warner Bros. Animation Studios, Brandt, with longtime collaborator Tony Cervone, produced and directed Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and The Looney Tunes Show.

His latest projects at Warner Bros. Animation include an untitled Scooby-Doo project and an upcoming animated Flintstones Feature, which has them teaming up with the WWE.