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Michael Sporn

Michael Sporn

Director, producer and writer · Died January 19, 2014, aged 67 · New York City, New York, USA

Oscar nominee · Primetime Emmy nominee

Michael Sporn was an American animator who founded his New York City-based company, Michael Sporn Animation in 1980, alongside producing and directing numerous short spots alongside television specials, the majority notable for being literary adaptations. Sporn was nominated for an Oscar in 1984 and an Emmy in 1988 for adaptations of two books by William Steig.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 23, 1946
Died
January 19, 2014 (aged 67)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Director, producer and writer
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 54 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 64 days to Oct 27Up 24% in 30 days

What are Michael Sporn's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
31%
Bonds
27%
Ideas
15%
Society
14%
Survival
12%
Coming of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 6 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

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

Grounded 3 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 6 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

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

Steady 7 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 0 · 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 7 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
5
Joyful
3
Bittersweet
2
Melancholic
3
Hopeful
3
Other
5

How their films linger

Feel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCozy3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy5
  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous1

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 Michael Sporn's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Michael Sporn'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

54 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • I Can Be President: A Kid's-Eye View(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Reading to Your Bunny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • Happy to Be Nappy and Other Stories of Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • Mona Mon Amour (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • The Night Before Christmas: A Mouse Tale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • I, Crocodile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Yo! Yes? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director · Animation · Producer

  • Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales(1999)

    Animation Director

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Courage the Cowardly Dog(1999)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows

  • Leo the Late Bloomer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • White Fang (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director · Producer

  • Champagne (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Director · Animation · Producer · Writer

  • Children's Classics - The Ten Commandments (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Director · Producer

  • The Land of the Four Winds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Director

  • Whitewash (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director · Producer

  • The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director

  • The Talking Eggs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director

  • The Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director

  • Nightingale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director

  • Nonsense and Lullabyes: Poems (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director

  • A Child's Garden of Verses(1992)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Nonesense and Lullabyes: Nursery Rhymes(1992)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Monty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director

  • The Emperor's New Clothes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director

  • Ira Sleeps Over(1991)

    Director · Adaptation · Animation · Producer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Jazztime Tale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director · Producer

  • Max's Chocolate Chicken (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • The Adventures of the Maltese Cat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Thanks

  • The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • The Little Match Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Director

  • The Marzipan Pig(1990)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Director

  • Earthday Birthday (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Director · Producer

  • The Red Shoes(1990)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Story of the Dancing Frog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

  • Baby's Storytime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • The Hunting of the Snark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • What's Under My Bed? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director · Producer

  • Max's Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Director

  • Abel's Island(1988)

    Director · Animation · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Santabear's High Flying Adventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Producer

  • Lyle, Lyle Crocodile: The Musical - The House on East 88th Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Animation · Screenplay

  • The Amazing Bone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Animation

  • The Mysterious Tadpole (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Director · Animation

  • Made in China (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Animation

  • Doctor De Soto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director · Producer

  • Morris's Disappearing Bag (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Director

  • Why We Need Doctors: No Measles, No Mumps for Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Director

  • Byron B. Blackbear and the Scientific Method (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Confessions of a Stardreamer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Thanks

  • A Doonesbury Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Animation

  • Simple Gifts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    Assistant Director

  • The Changing Middle East (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Animation

Career shape

A full career of 53 titles from 1975 to 2006.

Highest rated

Courage the Cowardly Dog (1999)

Midcredits 93rd

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing45 of 53: 25 only directing, 20 with another role · typical Midcredits score66thWriting7 of 53: 1 only writing, 6 with another roleProducing16 of 53: 0 only producing, 16 with another role · typical Midcredits score68thOther crew14 of 53: 7 only other crew, 7 with another role

53 titles, 20 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 16 of them.

By decade

1970s4 · crew1980s15 · crew1990s27 · crew2000s7 · 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

2 major nominations and no wins, 1985–1989.

  1. 1989
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)
  2. 1985
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Short Film, Animated

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 Michael Sporn's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 66th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

62ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

6thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 9 titles are Divisive.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Divisive4
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director, producer

Nonesense and Lullabyes: Nursery Rhymes (1992)

96th percentile spread · 50% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

Courage the Cowardly Dog (1999)

Midcredits 93rd · 88% liked

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.

Who does Michael Sporn work with?

People who share at least 2 of Michael Sporn's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Giuliana Nicodemi shares the most, 6.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers