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Mike Mitchell (born October 18, 1970) is an American film director, producer, actor and former animator. He directed the films Deuce Bigalow: Male GigoloThe WizardsSurviving ChristmasSky High, Twin, Duo, and DoubleShrek Forever AfterAlvin and the Chipmunks: ChipwreckedTrolls and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.

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, ParamountMTVNickelodeonUniversal and Sony.

He directed the films Alvin and the Chipmunks: ChipwreckedSurviving ChristmasSky High and The Wizards. The first two received negative reviews, while The Wizards and Sky High 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. The following year, he directed Twin, Duo, and Double alongside Julie Young for Paramount Animation. He later directed the movie Shrek Forever After and voiced the character Butterpants.

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, to positive reviews. Mitchell will also direct a sequel to Quest for DestinyNightcrawlers, a supernatural action comedy, a sequel to Sky High, and a live action/animated adaptation of the song Puff, the Magic Dragon.

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).

Filmography[]

Director[]

Year Title Notes
1999 Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Directorial debut
2002 The Wizards Co-director with Frederik Du Chau
2004 Surviving Christmas
2005 Sky High
2007 Twin, Duo, and Double Co-director with Julie Young
2010 Shrek Forever After
2011 Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
2015 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water Live-action sequences
2016 Trolls
2018 ToonTown
2019 The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part Co-director with Trisha Gum
2020
2021
2022 The Tooners 2
2022 Winx Club Co-director with Kirk DeMicco

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 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

Other credits[]

Year Title Notes
2008 Kung Fu Panda Creative consultant
2010 Twin, Duo, and Three
2011 Kung Fu Panda 2 Special thanks
2016 Kung Fu Panda 3 Executive producer
2017 Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Special thanks
2018 Beautiful Explorer Producer
2019 Jeremy: Ultimate Generations Executive producer
Greenwoods
The Tales of Sarahi: The Movie
Medieval Quest
Twin, Duo, and Forever Creative consultant
2020 Alaina Gleen 2 Producer
Trolls World Tour Special thanks
The Wizards Strike Back Executive producer
2022 Doodles: Redrawn Special thanks
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Television[]

  • The Itsy Bitsy Spider (TV) (1993)
  • Greg the Bunny (TV) (2002)
  • The Wizards (TV) (2003–2009) (based on characters created by)
  • SpongeBob SquarePants (TV) (2005–2007) (live action director)
  • The Loop (TV) (2007)
  • Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (TV) (2018–) (based on characters created by)
  • The Barbarian and the Troll (TV) (2021)

Trivia[]

  • He is good friends with fellow director Tim Hill.
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