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.
He graduated from Putnam City North High School in 1988, then subsequently moved to Los Angeles to attend the California Institute of the Arts.
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. 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, 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 movie Shrek Forever After and voiced the character Butterpants.
Mitchell's short film Frannie's Christmas was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
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, a sequel to Sky High, a live-action-animated adaptation of the book We're Not From Here, and a live-action/animated adaptation of the song Puff, the Magic Dragon.
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.
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 Film Year Title Director ExecutiveProducer StoryArtist Writer Other Voice Role Notes 1998Antz 1999Herd Role Actor: Mailman, and Short FilmDeuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo directorial debut 2001Monkeybone Miss Hudlapp 2004Shrek 2 Surviving Christmas 2005Sky High 2007Shrek the Third 2008Kung Fu Panda Creative consultant 2009Monsters vs. Aliens Advisor "Nerd" Wedgie 2010Shrek Forever After Tour Guide, Camp Ogre, Ogre Naysayer, Baba Witch, Melty Witch, Witch Guard #2, and Butter Pants Megamind Father in Crowd 2011Puss in Boots Andy Beanstalk Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 2014Penguins of Madagascar Antarctic Penguin 2015The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water Only in Live-action sequences2016Kung Fu Panda 3 Male Palace Goose / Smart Panda Villager Sausage Party Additional Storyboard ArtistTrolls Darius, Vinny the Phone, Captain Starfunkle, Spider, Wedgie Bergen #1, Chad, and Card 2019The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part Guard, Octopus, Harmony Town Citizen, Sherry, and Apocalypseburg Warrior Mike Mitchell's profile on Behind the Voice Actors 2023Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 2024Kung Fu Panda 4 Tavern Patron #3 / Citizen #3 2025Lilo & Stitch Hammerhead Guard Mike Mitchell's profile on Internet Movie Database
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
External links