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John Rice

John Rice

Director · Born May 5, 1970 (56) · Peoria, Illinois, USA

BAFTA Award winner · Primetime Emmy nominee

John Rice (born May 5, 1970) is a film and television animation director and story artist. He recently co-directed “The Angry Birds Movie 2” which was released by Sony Pictures in August 2019. Rice has directed on “Rick and Morty,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “The Simpsons Ride” at Universal Studios, “King of the Hill,” and “Beavis and Butt-head.” He was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois and attended Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, California.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 5, 1970 (56)
From
Peoria, Illinois, USA
Works as
Director
Titles
15 on MovieCove · 21 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 157 days to Oct 28Down 32% in 30 days

What are John Rice's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
31%
Bonds
30%
Self
26%
Morality
8%
Ideas
5%
Friendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

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

A split, not a type: Grounded 0 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2

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

Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 0

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

Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 2

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

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

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

Casual 3 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Absurd
5
Joyful
5
Manic
3
Thrilling
3
Warm
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Fun7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous2
  • Cyclical1

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 John Rice's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Paramount+ (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for John Rice's 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

21 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Angry Birds Movie 3 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Director

  • Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe(2022)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Beavis and Butt-Head(2022)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • Q-Force(2021)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all shows

  • Angry Birds: Live Stream (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • The Angry Birds Movie 2(2019)

    Co-Director · as Quad Bird (voice)

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Angry Birds: The Early Hatchling Gets the Worm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • The Angry Birds Movie(2016)

    Head of Story

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Rick and Morty(2013)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows

  • Free Birds(2013)

    Story Artist

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Bob's Burgers(2011)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Neighbors from Hell(2010)

    Show 5 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows

  • The Goode Family(2009)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows

  • The Simpsons Movie(2007)

    Story Artist

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • The Happy Elf(2005)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Game Over (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Show 6 episodes · Director

  • King of the Hill(1997)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows

  • Beavis and Butt-Head Do America(1996)

    Storyboard

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • What a Cartoon! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Creator · Writer

  • Tom & Jerry Kids Show(1990)

    Show 117 episodes · Animation Supervisor · Background Designer · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all shows

  • Marvin: Baby of the Year (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Layout

Career shape

A full career of 18 titles, 17 of them dated from 1989 to 2022.

Biggest box office

The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019)

$148M worldwide

Highest rated

Beavis and Butt-Head (2022)

Midcredits 92nd

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 18: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting12 of 18: 10 only directing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score76thWriting5 of 18: 4 only writing, 1 with another roleOther crew3 of 18: 2 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

1980s1 · crew1990s4 · crew2000s3 · crew2010s8 · 1 acting · 8 crew2020s1 · 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.

Awards

a BAFTA Award from 3 major nominations, 2001–2012.

WinNomination
  1. 2012
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Drama
  2. 2002
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)
  3. 2001
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do John Rice's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 58th percentile, the median of all 7; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 59th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 15 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser6
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · director

The Happy Elf (2005)

86th percentile spread · 39% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Rick and Morty (2013)

Midcredits 99th · 94% liked

Reviewers score the pacing 62/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 69, detractors 28. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

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 John Rice's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 45 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 50 · moderateMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 64 · intenseMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 31 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 25 · mildMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does John Rice work with?

People who share at least 2 of John Rice's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Mike Judge shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Editors

Producers

Mixed roles