Chris Sanderswho is known for his work on many films including Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch”has filed for divorce from Jessica Steele-Sanders after eight years of marriage.
‘Lilo & Stitch’ creator Chris Sanders does not want to pay spousal support
According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, Chris Sanders filed for divorce from his wife of eight years last Thursday, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
In the filing, Sanders claims he wants the court to end the ability to order spousal support. The former couple has no minor children, so child support is not an issue. As for their homes, cars and other money, they still have to determine “separate and community ownership.”
Chris Sanders has demands within divorce
The Disney film creator also says he wants them both to pay their own legal fees, according to the documents.
Chris Sanders is an American animator, director, screenwriter, producer, illustrator and voice actor. He is best known for his work on Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” (2002) and DreamWorks’s “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010), both of which he co-wrote and directed with Dean DeBlois.
In 2007, Sanders left Disney due to creative differences with studio executives, including John Lasseter, over his film “American Dog,” and joined DreamWorks.
When speaking about working with DreamWorks on the comedy “Crood Awakenings,” Sanders said, “I really wanted to start working on things, so I talked to a lot of people… I love the way DreamWorks looks at animation. Animation still has a lot of different possibilities, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to try some new things with it.”
He added: “The idea of stripping away all the modern conveniences and social structures we are familiar with and just being left with a pure form of human beings was a lot of fun to work with.”
Looking back at Jessica Sanders’ iconic Halloween costume
A few years ago, Chris Sander and Jessica Steele-Sanders attended Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Disneyland, where Jess dressed up as Karina — a character her husband, Chris, helped create.
“Jess is dressed as Katrina from Disney’s classic animated film based on ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’” Sanders wrote on social media alongside a photo of Jess in her Halloween costume.
Chris Sanders’ performance
Sanders first began his career as a character designer for Jim Henson’s “Muppet Babies” before becoming lead storyboard artist for Walt Disney Feature Animation.
He was also a storyboard artist, artistic director, production designer and character designer for Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), “Aladdin” (1992), “The Lion King” (1994) and “Mulan’ (1998), but is probably best known for his work on Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch,” which was released in 2002 and won awards such as the Critics Association of Central Florida Awards and the Tokyo Anime Award.
The film is described as “In Lilo and Stitch, prepare to crash land on Earth with Stitch, a runaway genetic experiment from a distant planet. While wreaking havoc across the Hawaiian Islands, he becomes the mischievous, adopted alien “puppy” of an independent little girl named Lilo and learns about loyalty, friendship and ‘ohana, the Hawaiian family tradition.’
Sanders even voiced Stitch, the iconic blue alien in the film.