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Mike Reiss

Mike Reiss

Writer and producer · Born September 15, 1959 (67) · Bristol, Connecticut, USA

Michael "Mike" Reiss (born September 15, 1959) is an American television comedy writer. He served as a runner, writer, and producer on the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic. He created and wrote the online cartoon Queer Duck and also worked on screenplays that include: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Horton Hears a Who!, The Simpsons Movie, and My Life in Ruins!. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mike Reiss, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 15, 1959 (67)
From
Bristol, Connecticut, USA
Works as
Writer and producer
Titles
22 on MovieCove · 35 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Up 96% in 30 days

What are Mike Reiss' films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Animation7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 66th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Animation movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 45th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
37%
Bonds
31%
Society
19%
Morality
6%
Survival
5%
Power
3%
Family bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Wry: How sincerely it treats its story and characters, from ironic to earnest. Browse their wry movies.
Tone · Sincerity
ironicearnest

A split, not a type: Ironic 3 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6

Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 9 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Heightened: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their heightened movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 5

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 3 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 9

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 2

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 7 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 9 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Absurd
7
Joyful
6
Warm
5
Tense
3
Hopeful
2
Other
6

How their films linger

Fun9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Mike Reiss' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 14 of their 22 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (9).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Mike Reiss' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

35 credits, 22 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The New Simpsons Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    Producer

  • Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Producer

  • The Simpsons: O C'mon All Ye Faithful (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Producer

  • Command Z (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Show 8 episodes · Thanks

  • The Simpsons: A Serious Flanders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Producer

  • Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Dialogue

  • How Murray Saved Christmas(2014)

    Book · Executive Producer · Songs · Writer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Despicable Me 2(2013)

    Story Consultant

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Ice Age: Continental Drift(2012)

    Story Consultant

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • The Lorax(2012)

    Story Consultant

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas(2011)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2(2011)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Rio(2011)

    Story Consultant

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Scrat's Continental Crack-Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Writer

  • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs(2009)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • My Life in Ruins(2009)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Surviving Sid(2008)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • The Simpsons Movie(2007)

    Screenplay · Songs

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Queer Duck: The Movie(2006)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Robots(2005)

    Story Consultant

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Ice Age(2002)

    Additional Dialogue

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • The Oblongs(2001)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows

  • Queer Duck (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Show Creator

  • Hard Drinkin' Lincoln (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Show 14 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

  • X-Men: Evolution(2000)

    Show Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • The PJs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Show 43 episodes · Producer

  • Teen Angel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 17 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

  • The Critic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Show 23 episodes · Creator · Producer · Writer

  • The Simpsons(1989)

    Show 531 episodes · Co-Producer · Producer · Supervising Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows

  • Sledge Hammer!(1986)

    Show 5 episodes · Writer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • ALF(1986)

    Show 5 episodes · Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows

  • It's Garry Shandling's Show.(1986)

    Show 72 episodes · Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows

  • Charles in Charge(1984)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all shows

  • Not Necessarily the News (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Show 6 episodes · Writer

  • Airplane II: The Sequel(1982)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 33 titles, 32 of them dated from 1982 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

$887M worldwide

Highest rated

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Midcredits 89th

Most popular right now

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Writing24 of 33: 17 only writing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score65thProducing12 of 33: 6 only producing, 6 with another roleOther crew8 of 33: 3 only other crew, 5 with another role

33 titles, 7 with more than one role — writing and producing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1980s7 · crew1990s3 · crew2000s9 · crew2010s9 · crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Mike Reiss' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 63rd percentile, the median of all 15; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 57th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

57thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

62ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 22 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

13 of their 22 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser13
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · writer, producer

Queer Duck: The Movie (2006)

90th percentile spread · 40% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer, producer

The Simpsons (1989)

Midcredits 96th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 49/100 and the plot and story 36/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Mike Reiss' work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 42 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles17–61 · median 56 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 34 · mildMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 44 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 37 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Mike Reiss work with?

People who share at least 2 of Mike Reiss' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; John Leguizamo shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Editors

Producers