Chris Sanders

About three years ago, Chris Sanders started getting some very odd phone calls. "People would call and say 'I want to speak with Chris Sanders,' and I would say, 'This is Chris Sanders,' and they would get really angry and hang up," recalls Sanders, 30, a Disney Studios animator. "It happened like three times a week. People would call and become infuriated because they had reached me and then wouldn't talk to me."

Animated movies can take forever to make -- three or four years is well within the ordinary. "How to Train Your Dragon," which tells the story of a scrawny kid destined to prove his hecklers wrong through an unusual relationship with a dragon, moved at a radically different pace: the two filmmakers behind March 26's 3-D adventure had just 12 months to make their film, inheriting a project needing a top-to-bottom overhaul. Pressed for time, writer-directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders (the team behind 2002's "Lilo & Stitch")

At a time when most major Hollywood films seem to be formulaic additions to one franchise or other, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the directors of Walt Disney Studios' "Lilo & Stitch," have managed to make an animated feature that is unconventional, if not downright quirky. The story of a destructive alien who crashes on Earth and is adopted by a lonely little Hawaiian girl, "Lilo" reflects the personal vision of Sanders and DeBlois.

At a time when most major Hollywood films seem to be formulaic additions to one franchise or other, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the directors of Walt Disney Studios' "Lilo & Stitch," have managed to make an animated feature that is unconventional, if not downright quirky. The story of a destructive alien who crashes on Earth and is adopted by a lonely little Hawaiian girl, "Lilo" reflects the personal vision of Sanders and DeBlois.

Animated movies can take forever to make -- three or four years is well within the ordinary. "How to Train Your Dragon," which tells the story of a scrawny kid destined to prove his hecklers wrong through an unusual relationship with a dragon, moved at a radically different pace: the two filmmakers behind March 26's 3-D adventure had just 12 months to make their film, inheriting a project needing a top-to-bottom overhaul. Pressed for time, writer-directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders (the team behind 2002's "Lilo & Stitch")

Crews of hundreds can typically spend years making a single animated feature — and it's not uncommon during what "Kung Fu Panda 2" director Jennifer Yuh Nelson describes as a "messy, creative process" for a director to be fired midway through a production. It happened to Jan Pinkava, who was directing 2007's "Ratatouille" before Brad Bird took over the Oscar-winning Pixar film. And it happened to Chris Sanders ("How to Train Your Dragon"), who was removed from Disney's "American Dog" in 2006, before it was reimagined as "Bolt.

DreamWorks Animation is moving ahead with a sequel to its prehistoric family comedy "The Croods," according to a spokeswoman at the Glendale studio. Writers-directors Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders will return for the second installment, which does not yet have a release date. "The Croods," which featured the voices of Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone as a cave-dwelling father and daughter navigating familial and tectonic shifts, garnered modest praise from critics, but received a Cinemascore of A from audiences and went on to gross a strong $142 million domestically after its release March 22. PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments Worldwide, the film looks poised to cross the $400-million mark next weekend, and it has yet to open in several key territories, including China.

FRIDAY 56 Up The latest installment of a decades-long documentary series chronicling the lives of 14 people from all over England who have participated in interviews every seven years since 1964. Directed by Michael Apted and Paul Almond. First Run Features Brief Reunion A successful entrepreneur has his comfortable life in rural New England turned upside down by the unexpected appearance of a former classmate. With Joel de la Fuente, Alexie Gilmore and Scott Shepherd.

The Houston Oilers are playing better and better in front of fewer and fewer fans. On Sunday, only 20,082 watched the Oilers defeat the Baltimore Ravens, 29-13. It was the smallest crowd to see the Oilers play in the Astrodome. The Oilers (2-1), whose attendance has plummeted since announcing their proposed move to Tennessee a year ago, broke the previous Astrodome attendance low of 21,955 set in 1973 against the New York Jets.

About three years ago, Chris Sanders started getting some very odd phone calls. "People would call and say 'I want to speak with Chris Sanders,' and I would say, 'This is Chris Sanders,' and they would get really angry and hang up," recalls Sanders, 30, a Disney Studios animator. "It happened like three times a week. People would call and become infuriated because they had reached me and then wouldn't talk to me."

Baltimore (5-3) at Tennessee (3-4) 6 p.m., Channel 7 The line: Baltimore by 2. Key injuries: BAL--WR Pat Johnson (clavicle), DT Sam Adams (knee), RB Terry Allen (ankle), QB Elvis Grbac (chest). TEN--WR Justin McCareins (ankle), WR Chris Sanders (back), SS Blaine Bishop (foot/hand), WR Kevin Dyson (toe), G Bruce Matthews (ankle), DT Joe Salave'a (shoulder). Key to the game: The first time these teams met this season, the Ravens cruised to victory, 26-7, and shut down running back Eddie George.

Sherdrick Bonner threw seven touchdown passes -- five to Randy Gatewood -- to help the Arizona Rattlers beat the Avengers, 58-45, on Friday night at Phoenix. Bonner completed 16 of 29 passes for 236 yards, and Gatewood led the Rattlers (5-4) in receiving with seven catches for 112 yards. Sonny Cumbie threw four touchdown passes for the Avengers (3-6). Las Vegas 49, Utah 47 -- Jason Fife threw three touchdown passes in the Gladiators' victory over the expansion Blaze at Salt Lake City.