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William Reiss

Writer and director · Born May 4, 1976 (50) · Minooka, Illinois, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, William Arthur Reiss (born May 4, 1976) is an American animator, storyboard artist, and writer. Reiss first worked on the Nickelodeon series SpongeBob SquarePants as an assistant storyboard artist in Season 1 as Bill Reiss, then got promoted to a writer and storyboard artist in Season 2 while still being called "Bill Reiss" by other crew members. Reiss left the show during the fourth season in 2005, but briefly returned in 2009 to storyboard the main title for the 10th Anniversary special, Truth or Square. After SpongeBob, he went to work for Cartoon Network and worked as a storyboard artist for certain shows at that network. He is best known for teaming up with former SpongeBob writer C.H. Greenblatt to serve as creative director on his cartoon Chowder. They later worked as directors for Fish Hooks, which he co-developed with Alex Hersch for Noah Z. Jones for Disney Channel. After Fish Hooks, he worked on Mickey Mouse as a writer, storyboard artist and director. In 2016, Reiss worked on C.H. Greenblatt's new series for Nickelodeon, Harvey Beaks.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 4, 1976 (50)
From
Minooka, Illinois, USA
Works as
Writer and director
Titles
10 on Motif · 27 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 15% in 30 days

What are William Reiss' films like?

Across their 6 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
58%
Self
25%
Society
17%
Friendship6 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
6
Absurd
4
Warm
4
Manic
2

How their films linger

Fun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet1
  • Cyclical2

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 William Reiss' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (3).

Subscription and free streaming for William Reiss' titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif 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

27 credits, 10 with a Motif page.

  • The Wonderful Autumn of Mickey Mouse (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2022)

    Director · Lyricist · Storyboard · Writer

  • The Wonderful Summer of Mickey Mouse (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2022)

    Writer

  • The Wonderful Spring of Mickey Mouse (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2022)

    Director · Storyboard · Writer

  • The Wonderful Winter of Mickey Mouse (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2022)

    Director · Storyboard · Writer

  • Jellystone(2021)

    Show 4 episodes · Story · Storyboard Artist

    Motif score: 29th percentile of all shows

  • The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse(2020)

    Show Director · Writer

    Motif score: 80th percentile of all shows

  • Unikitty!(2017)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Motif score: 12th percentile of all shows

  • Harvey Beaks(2015)

    Show 2 episodes · Storyboard Artist · Writer

    Motif score: 51st percentile of all shows

  • The Adorable Couple (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Mickey Mouse(2013)

    Show 3 episodes · Director · Storyboard · Writer

    Motif score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • Fish Hooks(2010)

    Show 92 episodes · Director · Story · Storyboard Artist · Writer

    Motif score: 8th percentile of all shows

  • Chowder(2007)

    Show 93 episodes · Creative Director · Story · Storyboard Artist · Writer · as Monster (voice)

    Motif score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • What's Wrong with Ruth? (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2007)

    Executive Producer · Writer · as Beep Boop / Goat #3 (voice)

  • My Gym Partner's a Monkey(2005)

    Show 20 episodes · Storyboard Artist · Writer

    Motif score: 10th percentile of all shows

  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge for Hire (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2004)

    Storyboard Artist

  • SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob Goes Prehistoric (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2004)

    Storyboard Artist · Writer

  • SpongeBob SquarePants: The Seascape Capers (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2004)

    Storyboard Artist · Writer

  • SpongeBob Squarepants: Christmas (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2003)

    Storyboard Artist

  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Tide and Seek (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2003)

    Storyboard Artist · Writer

  • Spongebob Squarepants: Lost at Sea (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2003)

    Storyboard Artist · Writer

  • SpongeBob Squarepants: Tales from the Deep (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2003)

    Storyboard Artist

  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)

    Storyboard Artist · Writer

  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Halloween (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)

    Storyboard Artist

  • Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)

    Show 2 episodes · Writer

  • SpongeBob SquarePants - Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)

    Storyboard Artist

  • The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy(2001)

    Show 1 episode · Storyboard Artist · Writer

    Motif score: 84th percentile of all shows

  • SpongeBob SquarePants(1999)

    Show 33 episodes · Storyboard Artist · Writer

    Motif score: 90th percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 26 titles from 1999 to 2022.

Highest rated

Mickey Mouse (2013)

Motif 87th

Most popular right now

Jellystone (2021)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 26: 0 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting7 of 26: 2 only directing, 5 with another roleWriting19 of 26: 2 only writing, 17 with another role · typical Motif score61stProducing1 of 26: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew17 of 26: 5 only other crew, 12 with another role · typical Motif score51st

26 titles, 17 with more than one role — writing and other crew overlap on 12 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s15 · 2 acting · 15 crew2010s5 · crew2020s5 · 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 Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

Is William Reiss' work okay for kids?

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

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 38 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 34 · mildMedian of all films: 31
Profanity3 titlesmedian 35 · mildMedian of all films: 35
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 30 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 39 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

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

Who does William Reiss work with?

People who share at least 2 of William Reiss' Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; C.H. Greenblatt shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Producers

Mixed roles