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Mike Mitchell
Mitchell at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, promotingTrolls
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 directingDeuce 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), andKung Fu Panda 4 (2024).

Mike Mitchell was born inOklahoma City,Oklahoma.^{[citation needed]}

He graduated fromPutnam City North High School, then subsequently moved toLos Angeles to attend theCalifornia Institute of the Arts.^{[citation needed]}

He started his career as director forMatt O'Callaghan'sThe Itsy Bitsy Spider. He first gained critical attention when he co-wrote, produced and directed the short filmHerd, 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 comedyDeuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, starringRob Schneider. He worked for various companies includingDisney,DreamWorks,MTV,Nickelodeon,Universal, andSony.^{[citation needed]}

He directed the filmsAlvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,Surviving Christmas andSky High. The first two received negative reviews, while the third has received positive reviews. In 2006, he joinedDreamWorks Animation, and was a story artist forShrek the Third and Creative Consultant forKung Fu Panda. He later directed the movieShrek Forever After and voiced the character Butterpants.^{[citation needed]}

Mitchell's short filmFrannie's Christmas was preserved by theAcademy Film Archive in 2012.^[1]

He also voiced Advisor Wedgie (known as "Nerd" for most of the film) inMonsters vs. Aliens, and Andy "Jack" Beanstalk inPuss in Boots. He also directed live action sequences onThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. He not only works on movies but in television as well. He directed and wrote several episodes ofSpongeBob SquarePants. Mitchell will also directNightcrawlers, a supernatural action comedy,^[2] a sequel toSky High,^[3] a live-action-animated adaptation of the bookWe're Not From Here,^[4] and a live-action/animated adaptation of the songPuff, the Magic Dragon.^[5]

On April 26, 2023, it was announced that Mitchell was set to directthe fourth installment in theKung Fu Panda franchise, which was released on March 8, 2024.^[6]

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• 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 forThe LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) (with Trisha Gum)

Actor

Creative consultant

• Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Executive producer

• Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
• Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken^[10] (2023)

• 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)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMike Mitchell (director).

• Mike Mitchell atIMDb

• American animated film directors
• Film directors from Oklahoma
• California Institute of the Arts alumni
• Living people
• Artists from Oklahoma City
• DreamWorks Animation people
• American storyboard artists

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