Johnny Kelly is an Oscar-nominated Irish director, animator, and designer based in Dublin, specializing in stop-motion animation, puppetry, 2D animation, and mixed-media techniques. He earned global recognition in 2012 when Chipotle's "Back to the Start"—a stop-motion film advocating sustainable farming set to Willie Nelson's cover of "The Scientist"—won the Film Grand Prix at Cannes Lions. Kelly revisited Chipotle's world a decade later with "A Future Begins," featuring Kacey Musgraves and a six-week stop-motion production at Clapham Road Studios. His work balances heartfelt emotion with quirky humor, as seen in campaigns for Apple ("Health"), Facebook ("Good Adds Up," a technically ambitious personalized video campaign with over a billion unique outputs), and Cheerios (four films featuring original Walter Martin songs and 98 handmade puppets). Kelly's 2018 short "Fern" premiered on Channel 4, and his recent short "Retirement Plan" earned an Academy Award nomination and top honors at SXSW. A Royal College of Art graduate (MA Animation, 2007) and member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale since 2012, Kelly has served on juries for D&AD, AICP, and British Arrows. He signed with Riff Raff Films for UK and US representation in April 2026, transitioning from Nexus Studios.