Mike Mitchell (director)

Not to be confused with Mike Mitchell (actor) or Canadian film director Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell.

Mike Mitchell
Mitchell at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, promoting Trolls
Born	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupations	Film director writer producer actor animator
Years active	1993–present

Mike Mitchell is an American filmmaker, actor and animator. He is known for directing Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), Sky High (2005), Shrek Forever After (2010), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011), Trolls (2016), The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019), and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024).

Early life and education

Mike Mitchell was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ^[1]

He graduated from Putnam City North High School in 1988, then subsequently moved to Los Angeles to attend the California Institute of the Arts. ^[1]

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. ^[2] The 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, ^[3] DreamWorks, MTV, Nickelodeon, Universal, and Sony.^{[ citation needed ]}

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 movie Shrek Forever After and voiced the character Butterpants.^{[ citation needed ]}

Mitchell's short film Frannie's Christmas was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012. ^[4]

He also voiced Advisor Wedgie (known as "Nerd" for most of the film) in Monsters vs. Aliens , and Andy "Jack" 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 will also direct Nightcrawlers, a supernatural action comedy, ^[5] a sequel to Sky High, ^[6] a live-action-animated adaptation of the book We're Not From Here, ^[7] and a live-action/animated adaptation of the song Puff, the Magic Dragon . ^[8]

On April 26, 2023, it was announced that Mitchell was set to direct the fourth installment in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, which was released on March 8, 2024. ^[9]

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)
• 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	Short Film, Also writer and producer
	Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
2004	Surviving Christmas
2005	Sky High
2010	Shrek Forever After
2011	Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
2015	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water	Live-action sequences
2016	Trolls
2019	The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
2024	Kung Fu Panda 4	Also Executive Producer

Story artist

Year	Title	Notes
1998	Antz	Additional story artist
2004	Shrek 2
2007	Shrek the Third
2009	Monsters vs. Aliens	Story artist
2016	Sausage Party	Additional storyboard artist

Voice roles

Year	Title	Role
2001	Monkeybone	Miss Hudlapp
2009	Monsters vs. Aliens	Advisor "Nerd" Wedgie
2010	Shrek Forever After	Tour Guide, Camp Ogre, Ogre Naysayer, Baba Witch, Melty Witch, Witch Guard #2, and 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, and Card
2019	The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part	Guard, Octopus, Harmony Town Citizen, Sherry, and Apocalypseburg Warrior [10]
2024	Kung Fu Panda 4	Tavern Patron #3 / Citizen #3 [11]
2025	Lilo & Stitch	Hammerhead Guard [12]

Other credits

Actor

Year	Title	Role
1999	Herd	Mailman

Creative consultant

• Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Executive producer

• Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
• Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken ^[13] (2023)

Television

• The Itsy Bitsy Spider (1993)
• Cartoon Sushi (1998)
• Greg the Bunny (2002)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (2005–2007) (live action director, storyboard director and writer)
• The Loop (2007)
• Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (2018–2019) (based on characters created by)
• The Barbarian and the Troll (2021)

References

1. Eastes, Laura (June 9, 2017). "Filmmaker Mike Mitchell receives deadCenter Film Festival award". Oklahoma Gazette. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
2. "8 pix honored at Slamdance". Variety. February 2, 1999. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
3. Goldstein, Patrick (July 5, 2000). "Keeping Company With Disney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
4. "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
5. "Director Named for 'Monster Squad', Not the Remake..." October 19, 2009. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
6. Heath, Paul (October 17, 2016). "Exclusive: Writer revealed for Dreamworks' 'Shrek 5' – 'Sky High 2' coming?". The Hollywood News. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
7. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 29, 2020). "Columbia Pictures Acquires Geoff Rodkey Novel 'We're Not From Here' From Will Gluck's Olive Bridge, Mike Mitchell To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
8. Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 9, 2016). "Peter, Paul & Mary Tune 'Puff The Magic Dragon' In Fox Deal With 'Troll's Helmer Mike Mitchell". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
9. Giardina, Carolyn (April 26, 2023). "Jack Black, Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake Tease 'Kung Fu Panda' and 'Trolls' Sequels". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
10. Mike Mitchell's profile on Behind the Voice Actors
11. Mike Mitchell's profile on Behind the Voice Actors
12. Mike Mitchell's profile on Internet Movie Database
13. Laurén, Alexa (May 24, 2023). "New Trailer Drops for 'Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken'". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.

External links

• Mike Mitchell at IMDb