Interview with Dennis Recchia
Date27 March 2026
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 1 Hours, 7 Minutes, 27 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
DescriptionAudio file of interview with Dennis Recchia. He was interviewed by Samantha Hass on March 27, 2026 in Storrs, Connecticut.
Dennis Recchia was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in his life.
In this interview, Dennis Recchia talks about how his status as an artist led to a career in retail art. With the support of his wife, he pivoted to a career in animation, since DreamWorks Animation Studio was just starting up. He explains a bit of the studio’s history and his work on some of their most famous films, like The Prince of Egypt. His time at DreamWorks was cut short in 2012 when the company laid him off in favor of younger employees. This was a devastating blow to Recchia. He felt it was unjust, and it left him feeling worried about his future.
Dennis explains how, even at a late age, he pursued his master’s degree and worked harder than anyone he knew. Now, he works as an animation professor at the University of Connecticut and helps students to render their own 3D animation models. He has seen animation technology and software develop over time, allowing his students to reach their goals. Despite the difficult career change that happened unexpectedly in his life, Recchia is exactly where he wants to be, which is perfecting his animation skills.
Dennis Recchia was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in his life.
In this interview, Dennis Recchia talks about how his status as an artist led to a career in retail art. With the support of his wife, he pivoted to a career in animation, since DreamWorks Animation Studio was just starting up. He explains a bit of the studio’s history and his work on some of their most famous films, like The Prince of Egypt. His time at DreamWorks was cut short in 2012 when the company laid him off in favor of younger employees. This was a devastating blow to Recchia. He felt it was unjust, and it left him feeling worried about his future.
Dennis explains how, even at a late age, he pursued his master’s degree and worked harder than anyone he knew. Now, he works as an animation professor at the University of Connecticut and helps students to render their own 3D animation models. He has seen animation technology and software develop over time, allowing his students to reach their goals. Despite the difficult career change that happened unexpectedly in his life, Recchia is exactly where he wants to be, which is perfecting his animation skills.
Object number2024.79.62
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the theme "Redefining Moments of Change." Conneticans share stories of people or events who have changed their lives or how they have sparked change in the lives of others.Cataloging Note: Digitization and access to this collection is supported by a Congressionally Directed grant through the U.S. Department of Education.
Subject Terms
- Storrs
- Oral history
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Professors
- University of Connecticut
- Art
- Relationships
- Men
- Artists
- Artificial intelligence
- Animation
- College students
- Career change
- Walt Disney Productions
- Movies
- DreamWorks Animation
- Ageism
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- Born Digital Audio
- Community History Project U.S. Department of Education grant
- Redefining Moments of Change Collection
On View
Not on view
1 July 2025
8 July 2025