Bob Barlen

Bob Barlen
Bob Barlen during production of Escape from Planet Earth
Born
Robert George Barlen

(1980-07-27) July 27, 1980 (age 44)
Alma materRyerson University
Canadian Film Centre
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, producer
Years active2003–present
Notable workEscape from Planet Earth
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature
Paw Patrol: The Movie
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie

Robert George Barlen (born July 27, 1980) is a Canadian screenwriter and producer. He is best known for having co-written The Weinstein Company's animated film Escape from Planet Earth (2013), The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017), and Nickelodeon's Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021) and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023), all are in collaboration with his business partner Cal Brunker, who served as the director for these films.

Career

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Upon graduating from Ryerson University, Barlen attended the Directors' Lab at the Canadian Film Centre.[1]

He co-wrote the screenplay for Escape from Planet Earth,[2] which was released to theaters February 15, 2013.

Barlen produced and co-wrote the sequel The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, starring Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph and Katherine Heigl, which was theatrically released by Open Road Films on August 11, 2017.[3]

He co-wrote the screenplay for The Son of Bigfoot, a Belgian CGI-animated film, for nWave Pictures that was released in August 2017, and for Arctic Dogs, a Canadian CGI-animated feature film, for AMBI Pictures that was released in November 2019. His next screenplay work is Cranston Academy: Monster Zone, a Mexican-British-Canadian animated horror-comedy film starring Jamie Bell and Ruby Rose, which is produced by Ánima Estudios and Prime Focus World.[4]

On 21 February 2020, following the announcement, Barlen confirmed via his Twitter that he's collaborating with Brunker once more as a co-writer, along with Billy Frolick, for Paw Patrol: The Movie, a film based on the popular Nick Jr. Channel animated series, Paw Patrol.[5][6] It was released on August 20, 2021, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Spin Master, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.[6]

Filmography

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Miscellaneous Notes
2002 Deportation at Breakfast Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2003 Enrico, Stammi Vicino No No No Yes Short film
Cinematographer
2007 Push and Turn Yes Yes Yes No Short film
Co-written with David Knobel
2009 Ollie & the Baked Halibut No No No Yes Short film
Titles
First collaboration with animator Cal Brunker
2009 Ninjamaica No No Line No Television film
2013 Escape from Planet Earth No Yes No No Co-written with Cal Brunker
Feature film debut
2017 The Son of Bigfoot No Yes Executive No Co-written with Cal Brunker
2017 The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature No Yes Yes Yes Co-written with Cal Brunker and Scott Bindley
Voice of Handsome Mouse
2019 Arctic Dogs No Yes No No Co-written with Matt Lyon, Cal Brunker, Aaron Woodley, and Bryan Thompson
2019 The Puppet Master No Yes Yes No Short film
Co-written with Cal Brunker
2020 Cranston Academy: Monster Zone No Yes No No Co-written with Cal Brunker
2020 Bigfoot Family No Yes Executive No Co-written with Cal Brunker; sequel to The Son of Bigfoot
2021 Paw Patrol: The Movie[6] No Yes Associate No Co-written with Cal Brunker and Billy Frolick
2023 Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie No Yes Associate No Co-written with Cal Brunker; sequel to Paw Patrol: The Movie

References

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  1. ^ "The Canadian Film Centre :: Alumni". Cfccreates.com. 2013-01-28. Archived from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  2. ^ Fleming, Mike. "Animated Film 'Escape From Planet Earth' Gets Voice Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  3. ^ Hipes, Patrick. "'The Nut Job 2' Gets May 2017 Release Date". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  4. ^ Grater, Tom (1 November 2019). "Jamie Bell, Ruby Rose To Voice Animation 'Cranston Academy: Monster Zone' For DDI – AFM". Deadline. Deadline. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  5. ^ Barlen, Bob (21 February 2020). "Bob Barlen on Twitter: "Excited to share what @calbrunker and I have..." Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Galuppo, Mia (21 February 2020). "'PAW Patrol' Feature Coming From Paramount, Spin Master". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media, LLC. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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