Mike Mitchell (director)

Mike Mitchell
Mike Mitchell at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	c. 1970 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Film director
Years active	1993–present

Mike Mitchell (born c. 1970)^[1] is an American film director, producer, actor and former animator. He is well known for directing the films Surviving Christmas, Sky High and Shrek Forever After.

Life and career

Mitchell was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of Julia Baker and Robert Mitchell, a lawyer and former chairman of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.^[1] He graduated from Putnam City North High School, and subsequently moved to Los Angeles to attend the California Institute of the Arts.^[1] Working for such filmmakers as Tim Burton and Spike Jonze, Mitchell became an accomplished illustrator.

He started his career as director for Matt O'Callagahan'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 later directed films like Surviving Christmas and Sky High. In 2006 he joined DreamWorks Animation and was a story artist for Shrek the Third and Creative Consultant for Kung Fu Panda. He also directed the movie Shrek Forever After. He also worked as voice actor in Monsters vs. Aliens as additional voices. He also directed live action sequences on SpongeBob SquarePants. He is currently^[when?] working as a story artist, consultant and director for DreamWorks. Mitchell will also direct Nightcrawlers, a supernatural action comedy.^[2]

Mitchell is currently directing Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked, set to release on December 16, 2011.

Filmography as director

• Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked (2011)
• Shrek Forever After (2010)
• The Loop (TV) (2007)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (TV) (2005–2007) (live-action director)
• Sky High (2005)
• Surviving Christmas (2004)
• Greg the Bunny (TV) (2002)
• Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
• Herd (1999)
• Frannie's Christmas (1993)
• The Itsy Bitsy Spider (TV) (1993)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Elder, Bud (2010). "The Animated World of Mike Mitchell". Distinctly Oklahoma. http://distinctlyoklahoma.com/content/view/601/62/. Retrieved 2010-05-15. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Director Named for 'Monster Squad', Not the Remake...

External links

• Mike Mitchell at the Internet Movie Database

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Name	Mitchell, Mike
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Date of birth
Place of birth	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Date of death
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