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IMDbPro

Mike Johnson(V)

  • Animation Department
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Mike Johnson at an event for Corpse Bride (2005)
Mike Johnson hails from Austin, Texas where he spent a large part of his childhood bending and breaking plastic dinosaurs in a futile attempt to re-create scenes from his favorite Ray Harryhausen films.

Many years later, Johnson graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in Film/Animation/Video and moved to San Francisco where he got his big break as a rigging assistant on Tim Burton's animated classic The Nightmare Before Christmas. After Nightmare, Johnson went on to animate for various stop-motion productions such as James and the Giant Peach and the Emmy Award-winning children's series Bump in the Night.

In 1996, Johnson set up his own animation company, Fat Cactus Films, and over the next few years produced and directed an eclectic and critically acclaimed mix of stop-motion projects including commercials, music videos and short films. His award winning animated short The Devil Went Down to Georgia has been screened in film festivals around the world.

In 1998, Johnson moved to Portland, Oregon to direct three episodes of Eddie Murphy's Emmy Award winning television series, The P.J's.

In 2002 things came full circle when Tim Burton asked Johnson to join him in directing the stop-motion feature, Corpse Bride.
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 6 wins & 12 nominations total

    Known for

    Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in Corpse Bride (2005)
    Corpse Bride
    7.4
    • Director(directed by)
    • 2005
    Primus: The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1996)
    Primus: The Devil Went Down to Georgia
    7.8
    Music Video
    • Animation Department
    • 1996
    Anomalisa (2015)
    Anomalisa
    7.2
    • Animation Department
    • 2015
    Danny Elfman and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    7.9
    • Animation Department(as Michael W. Johnson)
    • 1993

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Animation Department



    • Anomalisa (2015)
      Anomalisa
      7.2
      • guest animator
      • 2015
    • Diaz Jacobs in What Do We Have in Our Pockets? (2013)
      What Do We Have in Our Pockets?
      6.5
      Short
      • animator
      • 2013
    • Primus: Videoplasty (1998)
      Primus: Videoplasty
      8.5
      Video
      • animator: intro
      • 1998
    • Julia McIlvaine and Noah Segan in KaBlam! (1996)
      KaBlam!
      7.8
      TV Series
      • additional animation
      • additional animator (segment "Life With Loopy")
      • 1996
    • Primus: The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1996)
      Primus: The Devil Went Down to Georgia
      7.8
      Music Video
      • animator
      • 1996
    • Paul Terry in James and the Giant Peach (1996)
      James and the Giant Peach
      6.7
      • animator (as Michael W. Johnson)
      • 1996
    • Danny Elfman and Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
      The Nightmare Before Christmas
      7.9
      • assistant animation rigger
      • assistant animator (as Michael W. Johnson)
      • 1993

    Director



    • Ping Pong Rabbit (2017)
      Ping Pong Rabbit
      7.7
      • Director
      • 2017
    • Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in Corpse Bride (2005)
      Corpse Bride
      7.4
      • Director (directed by)
      • 2005
    • Eddie Murphy, James Black, Michael Paul Chan, Cassi Davis, Loretta Devine, Ja'net DuBois, Cheryl Francis Harrington, Jenifer Lewis, Kevin Michael Richardson, Crystal Scales, and Pepe Serna in The PJs (1999)
      The PJs
      6.8
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2000–2001
    • Primus: The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1996)
      Primus: The Devil Went Down to Georgia
      7.8
      Music Video
      • Director
      • 1996

    Producer



    • Primus: The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1996)
      Primus: The Devil Went Down to Georgia
      7.8
      Music Video
      • producer
      • 1996

    • In-development projects at IMDbPro

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Alternative name
      • Michael W. Johnson
    • Spouse
      • DyanJuly 1989 - present (1 child)

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Formed Fat Cactus Films in 1996.

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