Mike Mitchell is an American film director, producer, actor and former animator.
Background
Mitchell was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 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." At the age of 5 he had advanced skills in drawing.
Education
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.
Career
He directed the films Surviving Christmas, Sky High and Shrek Forever After. At 9 his road into the movie industry grew when he got his first movie camera. During his time there, there was a demand for young animators, which led him into the world of television
He started his career as director for Matt O"Callagahan"s The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
That same year, he made his feature film directorial debut with the comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, starring Rob Schneider. He has done work for many companies including Disney, DreamWorks, Music Television, Nickelodeon, Universal, and Sony.
He directed films like Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Surviving Christmas, and Sky High, in which all three received mixed 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.
He also worked as a voice actor for various voices in Monsters versus 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 will also direct Nightcrawlers, a supernatural action comedy.