Thurop Van Orman
Thurop Van Orman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mark Ashton Van Orman April 26, 1976 Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts (BFA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Known for | The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack The Angry Birds Movie 2 Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh Camp Lazlo |
| Spouse |
Sherri Van Orman (m. 1999) |
| Children | 2 |
Mark Ashton "Thurop" Van Orman (born April 26, 1976)[1][2] is an American cartoonist, animator, writer, producer, director, and voice actor. He worked with Cartoon Network to create and produce the animated series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008–2010). He voiced the titular character. He made his directorial debut with The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019).
Life and career
Van Orman was born in Norfolk, Virginia and grew up in Panama City, Florida.[2][3] As a child, he wanted to live closer to the docks and would always love to adventure. He read plenty of adventure novels including from Jules Verne. He and his family moved to Salt Lake City when he was 12. He dreamed about being self-sustaining and wanting to build a hut. He later got a job as a janitor and moved to Shell Island at St. Andrews State Park. He spent a summer living in the jungles of Mexico.[4][2]
In 2001, he made a pitch pilot for The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.
Van Orman worked for the video game company Zantaro before going on to study character animation at the California Institute of the Arts.[3] He interned for The Powerpuff Girls during his attendance. Van Orman was a storyboard artist and co-writer for Camp Lazlo, and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. He was also the supervising producer for both Adventure Time and Sanjay and Craig, but left the latter show after one season.
In 2015, Van Orman provided concept art for the film adaptation of The Little Prince.
Upcoming projects
In 2013, Van Orman announced on Twitter that he was creating a new series titled North Woods.[5] This was confirmed in a 2014 BuzzFeed article.[6]
In June 2024, Rovio Entertainment announced that Van Orman will serve as executive producer and screenwriter for The Angry Birds Movie 3.[7]
Personal life
Van Orman has been married to his wife Sherri since 1999.[8][9] They have two daughters: Blossom[10] and Hazel.[11]
Inspirations
Artists who have influenced Van Orman include Joe Murray, Gary Larson, Jim Henson, Stephen Hillenburg, Craig McCracken, E. H. Shepard, Richard Scarry, Maurice Sendak, Mercer Mayer, Ronald Searle, Robert Crumb, Sergio Aragonés and Max Fleischer.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | The Little Prince | Concept artist |
| 2019 | The Angry Birds Movie 2 | Director |
| 2026 | The Angry Birds Movie 3 † | Screenwriter, executive producer[7] |
Television
As crew
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Powerpuff Girls | Story, storyboard artist, and writer |
| 2004–05 | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | Story, storyboard artist, storyboard revisionist |
| 2005–07 | Camp Lazlo | Writer, storyboard artist, and storyboard director |
| 2008–10 | The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | Creator, executive producer, story, writer, storyboard artist, director |
| 2010–11 | Adventure Time | Supervising producer, story (season 2) |
| 2013–14 | Sanjay and Craig | Supervising producer, creative consultant |
| 2016–18 | Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh | Co-developer, story, writer, executive producer |
| 2019, 2022 | Amphibia | Voice actor, special thanks |
As actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–10 | The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | Flapjack / Background Singer / Additional voices | 46 episodes |
| 2011–18 | Adventure Time | Tree Witch / Kent / Wishy | 3 episodes |
| 2012–16 | Gravity Falls | Gideon Gleeful | 9 episodes |
| 2013–14 | Sanjay and Craig | Additional voices | 8 episodes |
| 2016-2018 | Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh | Krunkle | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Amphibia | Sprig Plantar | Pilot only |
| 2018–20 | Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Todd Capybara | 7 episodes |
| 2022 | Battle Kitty | Memory Monster | 1 episode |
| 2023 | Kiff | Little Louis | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | Universal Basic Guys | Barry | |
| 2025 | Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake | Wishy / Spider | 1 episode |
References
- ^ "Thurop van Orman (visual voices guide)". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ^ a b c Perlmutter, David (March 13, 2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1488-5.
- ^ a b Strike, Joe (October 23, 2008). "A Boy and His Whale: The Marvelous Making of 'Flapjack". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- ^ Zahed, Ramin (July 7, 2008). "Thurop Van Orman, Creator Cartoon Network's The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack". Animation Magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ "My cute wifey needle-felted this for my new show... NORTH WOODS". Twitter. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ Lange, Ariane (September 15, 2014). "Inside The Marvelous Mind Of Thurop Van Orman". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on August 13, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
- ^ a b "Rovio, SEGA, and Prime Focus Studios Announce The Angry Birds Movie 3 Is In Production At DNEG Animation". Rovio. June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ Van Orman, Thurop [@littlethurop]; (May 21, 2023). "Today is our 24th anniversary! More than half of our lives we've been married! Someone asked us what our secret is, and after some really deep soul-searching, we agreed that we're both able to put up with A LOT. Love ya beb💕❤️". Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ Van Orman, Thurop [@littlethurop]; (April 3, 2018). "A knifey for wifey... Sherri is going on a solo backpacking trip through the redwoods, so I made her a knife and a cup/bowl from eucalyptus burl and a spoon". Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ @littlethurop (April 22, 2023). "Her name is Blossom now 😊". X (formerly Twitter).
- ^ "Instagram".
- ^ "Frederator Studios Blogs | Channel Frederator Blog | Flippin' Flapjacks: The Thurop Van Orman Interview!". Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2020.