Mike Mitchell (born October 18, 1970) is an American film director, writer, producer, actor and former animator. He directed the films Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Surviving Christmas, Sky High, Project Mc², Rugrats on Road Trip, Thomas: Gordon Returns, Shrek Forever After, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Trolls, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and The Secret Life Of Pets 2.
Early life[]
Mitchell was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of lawyer and former chairman of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, Robert Mitchell and Julia Baker. According to his father, "Mitchell's gifts for artistic imagery were discovered early." He graduated from Putnam City North High School, and during this time was very much involved in the arts, then subsequently moved to Los Angeles to attend the California Institute of the Arts. During his time there, there was a demand for young animators, which led him into television.
Working for such filmmakers as Tim Burton and Spike Jonze, Mitchell became an illustrator. He has one older sister, Suzanne Mitchell Robertson.
Career[]
He started his career as director for Matt O'Callaghan's The Itsy Bitsy Spider. He first gained critical attention when he co wrote, produced and directed the short film Herd, which won several film festival awards, including the Spirit of Slamdance Award at the 1999 Slamdance Festival. That same year, he made his feature film directorial debut with the comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, starring Rob Schneider. He worked for various companies including Disney, DreamWorks, MTV, Nickelodeon, Universal and Sony.
He directed the films Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Surviving Christmas and Sky High. The first two received negative reviews, while the third has received positive reviews. In 2006, he joined DreamWorks Animation, and was a story artist for Shrek the Third and Creative Consultant for Kung Fu Panda. He later directed the movies Thomas: Gordon Returns and Shrek Forever After and voiced the character Butterpants in the latter.
He also worked as a voice actor for various voices in Monsters vs. Aliens, and Andy Beanstalk in Puss in Boots. He also directed live action sequences on The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. He not only works on movies but in television as well. He directed and wrote several episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants. Mitchell also directed the animated film The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, which was released on February 8, 2019, Mike replace Chris Renaud to direct The Secret Life Of Pets 2, to positive reviews. Mitchell will also direct Nightcrawlers, a supernatural action comedy,[1] a sequel to Sky High, [2] and a live action/animated adaptation of the song Puff, the Magic Dragon.[3]
Awards[]
Sundance Film Festival: "Frannie's Christmas" (1993).
Aspen Shortsfest 1999: Won special recognition for "Herd" (1999).
Atlanta Film Festival 1999: Won Honorable Mention for Best Narrative Short: "Herd" (1999).
Birmingham Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival 1999: Won first prize for "Herd" (1999).
Slamdance Film Festival 1999: Won Spirt of Slamdance Award for "Herd" (1999).
HI Mom Film Festival 2000: Won first prize for "Herd" (1999).
Movieguide Award 2020: Won Best Movie for Families for "The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part" (2019) (with Trisha Gum).
Filmography[]
Director[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Herd | Also writer and producer |
| 1999 | Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo | Directorial debut |
| 2004 | Surviving Christmas | |
| 2005 | Sky High | |
| 2005 | Project Mc² | |
| 2006 | Straight | |
| 2007 | Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius 2 (faning and fanmaker film) | with Co-Directors John A. Davis and Steve Oedekerk |
| 2010 | Thomas: Gordon Returns | |
| 2010 | Shrek Forever After | |
| 2011 | Go, Diego, Go!: A Movie Rescue (faning film) | Mitchell's first traditionally-animated film; with Co-Director, Brad Bird |
| 2011 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked | |
| 2015 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | |
| 2016 | Trolls | |
| 2018 | A Peanuts Movie: Me and Talk (fanmade and faning film) | Director with Steve Martino, (also story-writer) |
| 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | |
| 2019 | The Secret Life Of Pets 2 | Replacing Chris Renaud |
| 2019 | Cool Age Balls | Also writer and producer |
| 2020 | The Toddleast and the Little Tale (Disney faning film) | Director with David Lowery (also story-writer) |
| 2023 | Laff-A-Lympics | Co-Produced with Chris Renaud |
| 2024 | Kung Fu Panda 4 |
Animator[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Antz | Additional story artist |
| 2004 | Shrek 2 | |
| 2007 | Shrek the Third | |
| 2009 | Monsters vs. Aliens | Story artist |
Voice roles[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Monsters vs. Aliens | Advisor Wedgie |
| 2010 | Thomas: Gordon Returns | Chef/911 receptionist |
| Shrek Forever After | Tour Guide/Camp Ogre/Ogre Naysayer/Baba Witch/Melty Witch/Witch Guard #2/Butter Pants | |
| Megamind | Father in Crowd | |
| 2011 | Puss in Boots | Andy Beanstalk |
| 2014 | Penguins of Madagascar | Antarctic Penguin |
| 2016 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | Male Palace Goose / Smart Panda Villager |
| Trolls | Darius, Vinny the Phone, Captain Starfunkle, Spider, Wedgie Bergen #1, Chad, Card | |
| 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | Sherry Scratchen-Post |
| 2019 | The Secret Life Of Pets 2 | Jason & Christine |
Other credits[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Herd | Actor, Mailman |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda | Creative consultant |
| 2011 | Kung Fu Panda 2 | Special thanks |
| 2016 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | Executive producer |
| 2017 | Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie | Special thanks |
| 2019 | Far, Up and Away | Story by / Executive producer |
| 2021 | Little Thumb | Co-producer / Story by |
| 2022 | My Little Pony: Twist in Time | |
| 2023 | The Yogi Bear Movie | Story by |
Television[]
- The Itsy Bitsy Spider (TV) (1993)
- Greg the Bunny (TV) (2002)
- SpongeBob SquarePants (TV) (2005–2007)
- The Loop (TV) (2007)
- Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (TV) (2018–) (based on characters created by)
Trivia[]
- He is good friends with fellow director Tim Hill.
References[]
- ↑ Director Named for 'Monster Squad', Not the Remake...
- ↑ Heath, Paul (October 17, 2016). "Exclusive: Writer revealed for Dreamworks’ ‘Shrek 5’ – ‘Sky High 2’ coming?". The Hollywood News. http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2016/10/17/exclusive-writer-revealed-dreamworks-shrek-5-sky-high-2-coming/. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (December 9, 2016). "Peter, Paul & Mary Tune ‘Puff The Magic Dragon’ In Fox Deal With ‘Troll’s Helmer Mike Mitchell". Deadline. http://deadline.com/2016/12/puff-the-magic-dragon-movie-trolls-director-mike-mitchell-fox-animation-1201865404/. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
External links[]
| Films directed by Mike Mitchell |
|---|
| Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) • Surviving Christmas (2004) • Sky High (2005) • Shrek Forever After (2010) • Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011) • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) • Trolls (2016) • The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) • The Secret Life Of Pets 2 (2019) • Technoville (2020) • Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) |
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