Chuck Jones, he directed a lot of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons. He’s fantastic, and has been an inspiration to many directors, animation and live-action (including John Lasseter).
Tim Burton for sure.
I love how his movies manage to be creepy, yet whimsical.
Ridley Scott
I’ve got several!
John Lasseter, and most other PIXAR directors - I don’t think he really needs an explanation! 
Steven Spielberg - he really crafts great emphasis on the plot and characters. The cinematography in his movies is always superb as well.
Hayao Miyazaki - it’s hard creating a film with strong story with a good balance of whimsy, but Miyazaki’s been able to pull it off successfully (IMO) with all of his films!
Henry Selick - I really respect what he’s done to help the stop-motion industry, and I’m amazed by the time, care and thought he puts into the most minute details in his movies.
John Lasseter is my favorite.
I’ve got another favorite, and he’s gotten to at least #3 on my list: Tom Hooper. The King’s Speech is simply an epic masterpiece; one of my favorite films of, certainly this past year, and for many years. I was so proud that it won Best Picture at the Oscars, and Tom and Colin walked away with Best Director and Actor trophies, respectively.
Tom already has a stunning body of work in both film and television, with The Damned United also on his list of films he’s done. For television, he directed the BBC costume dramas Love in a Cold Climate and Daniel Deronda, the television film Longford in 2006, and the HBO TV miniseries Elizabeth I, and John Adams, starring Paul Giamatti.
He has a couple of projects in the works, but his next film I’m tremendously looking forward to: the long-awaited film adaptation of the Les Misérables musical.
I either have to go with Pete Docter or Tim Burton.
I’m a fan of him also! I loved the John Adams miniseries and The King’s Speech. He did a fantastic job.
And I didn’t know he was doing the Les Mis film! I am so stoaked for that.
My favorite directors would have to be:
Quentin Tarantino
John Hughes
Robert Rodriguez
Brad Bird
John Lasseter
Steven Spielberg
Alfred Hitchcock
Ridley Scott
Martin Scorsese
Peter Jackson
George A. Romero
Andrew Stanton, if not only because of what happened between him, John Carter, and Ehren Kruger.
But outside of Pixar, I’d go with Terry Gilliam.
[spoil]Ironically, these are two of the three autographs I own.[/spoil]
Danny Boyle
James Cameron
David Fincher
John Hughes
Peter Lord
Martin Scorsese
Henry Selick
Steven Spielberg
Andrew Stanton
Quentin Tarantino
Definitely John Lasseter.
Martin Scorsese: There’s something about his films that makes them exciting to watch. I’m not sure what it is. Well, I can say that one thing is that I love his use of music. He always makes the perfect choices. I can listen to him talk about his films and other peoples films all day. I told myself earlier this year that I was done with 3D films, but I will go see his next film Hugo in 3D to see what he does with it.
My all time favorite is David Fincher. Fight Club and Seven are both on my great movies list. I loved The Social Network. I must see Zodiac, and Panic Room.
I also like Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola.
Well, Race&AnimationFan, it appears that you have an amazing taste in movies!
Wozers, you have both their autographs?
My favorite director outside of Pixar is MIchael Bay… JUST KIDDING!
Actually, I think it’s Christopher Nolan
I like Quentin Tarantino as well.
Oh my goodness, where to start… 
John Lasseter
Andrew Stanton
Brad Bird
Pete Docter
Lee Unkrich
^^now theres a surprise!
Edgar Wright
Sam Mendes
Steven Spielberg
Takeshi Kitano
Danny Boyle
Rian Johnson
Gillian Armstrong
Robert Zemeckis
Hayao Miyazaki
Tim Burton
Henry Selick
Christopher Nolan (although he’s overrated a tad)
Sylvian Chomet
Gore Verbinski
Isao Takahata
Michel Gondry
Wow definedancing… those PIxar directors on your list really surprised me. 
