Mark Swift is a British film producer at DreamWorks Animation.
Early life and education Mark Swift was born in Bearwood, West Midlands in England to Jim Swift, a bus driver, and Eileen, a cleaner, with Mark being the fifth of seven children. He was raised in Birmingham, attending school in Edgbaston at Cardinal Newman School and at St Philip's College before taking economics at Manchester University.
Career After graduation, Swift became acquainted with American filmmaker Steven Spielberg after being hired as a runner for the 1988 animated/live-action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which was shot in London. He later became an assistant production manager at Spielberg's Amblimation, an animation studio he worked at from 1989 to 1995.
After Spielberg co-founded the film studio DreamWorks SKG with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen in 1994, Swift moved to the United States to work at DreamWorks Animation. At DreamWorks, Swift served as production supervisor for The Prince of Egypt (1998) and as production manager for The Road to El Dorado (2000). His role as a film producer began with the 2004 film Shark Tale, for which he served as associate producer; a year later, he received full producer credit alongside Teresa Cheng for the short film The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. By 2008, Swift received his first full producer credit for a feature-length film in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, released in November 2008. He would eventually serve as producer for the succeeding Madagascar films: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) and Penguins of Madagascar (2014).
In the 2010s, Swift pushed for an adaptation of the Captain Underpants book series among DreamWorks executives, having enjoyed reading the books with his children and knowing that the studio already acquired the adaptation rights. Although CEO Jeffery Katzenberg was not inclined to adapting the book series, the project was announced in 2013, and Swift was brought onboard to produce Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) alongside Mireille Soria. Swift helped ensure that the film's computer animation style remained a faithful translation of author Dav Pilkey's illustrations for the books.
In 2017, in the aftermath of Comcast's acquisition of DreamWorks Animation (through NBCUniversal), Swift was brought on as producer for The Croods: A New Age, in which he helped director Joel Crawford in deciding how to revise the story from initial scripts while maintaining its basic premise. The film was eventually released during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and in recent years, Swift continued serving as producer for films involving Crawford and Januel Mercado, such as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) and Forgotten Island (2026). He has since cited Puss in Boots as his favorite among the films he has produced for DreamWorks.
Personal life Swift is married to an American wife, with whom he has three children in San Francisco. He has described himself as a lapsed Catholic.
Filmography Film As producer Year Title Director Note(s) 2004 Shark Tale Vicky JensonBibo BergeronRob Letterman as associate producer 2005 The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper Gary Trousdale short filmwith Teresa Cheng 2007 Bee Movie Simon J. SmithSteve Hickner as co-producer 2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Eric DarnellTom McGrath with Mireille Soria 2011 Megamind: The Button of Doom Simon J. Smith short film 2012 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Eric DarnellConrad VernonTom McGrath with Mireille Soria 2014 Penguins of Madagascar Eric DarnellSimon J. Smith with Lara Breay 2017 Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie David Soren with Mireille Soria 2020 The Croods: A New Age Joel Crawford 2022 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Joel CrawfordJanuel Mercado (co-director) 2023 Puss in Boots: The Trident Matt Flynn short filmas executive producer 2026 Forgotten Island Joel CrawfordJanuel Mercado
As story writer Year Title Director Note(s) 2021 Dear Diary: World's First Pranks Januel P. Mercado short filmwith Joel Crawford, Januel P. Mercado, James Ryan
Miscellaneous Year Title Credited as Director Note(s) 1991 An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Production assistant Phil NibbelinkSimon Wells 1993 We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story Assistant to directors Dick & Ralph ZondagPhil NibbelinkSimon Wells 1995 Balto Assistant production manager Simon Wells 1998 The Prince of Egypt Production supervisor Brenda ChapmanSteve HicknerSimon Wells 2000 The Road to El Dorado Production manager Bibo BergeronDon Paul 2009 Merry Madagascar David Soren television specialspecial thanks
Accolades Year Award-giving body Category Work Result Ref. 2018 45th Annie Awards Best Animated Feature Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie 2021 78th Golden Globes Best Animated Feature Film The Croods: A New Age 48th Annie Awards Best Animated Feature 2023 80th Golden Globes Best Animated Feature Film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish 76th British Academy Film Awards Best Animated Film 50th Annie Awards Best Animated Feature 95th Academy Awards Best Animated Feature Film
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