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Michael Jelenic

Michael Jelenic

Writer, producer and director · Born May 12, 1977 (49) · Los Angeles, California, USA

Primetime Emmy nominee · Golden Globe nominee

Michael Christopher Jelenic (born May 12, 1977) is an American animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for co-developing the animated series Teen Titans Go! (2013–present) alongside Aaron Horvath for Cartoon Network as well as co-writing and co-producing the feature film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018) and co-directing The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) with Horvath.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 12, 1977 (49)
From
Los Angeles, California, USA
Works as
Writer, producer and director
Titles
21 on MovieCove · 25 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 27Down 34% in 30 days

What are Michael Jelenic's films like?

Across their 18 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
40%
Self
30%
Morality
18%
Society
8%
Survival
4%
Friendship7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 12 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 9 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

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

Grounded 0 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 8

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

Gentle 4 · Charged 5 · Intense 3

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

A split, not a type: Steady 5 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 8

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

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 5

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

Casual 9 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 12 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Thrilling
14
Joyful
11
Absurd
6
Tense
6
Hopeful
8
Other
6

How their films linger

Fun15 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy14
  • Bittersweet4

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 Jelenic's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Michael Jelenic'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

25 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page.

Career shape

A full career of 21 titles, 20 of them dated from 2000 to 2026.

Biggest box office

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

$1.4B worldwide

Highest rated

Wonder Woman (2009)

Midcredits 87th

Most popular right now

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 21: 0 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting3 of 21: 0 only directing, 3 with another roleWriting16 of 21: 11 only writing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thProducing7 of 21: 3 only producing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thOther crew2 of 21: 0 only other crew, 2 with another role

21 titles, 7 with more than one role — writing and producing overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

2000s7 · crew2010s11 · 1 acting · 11 crew2020s2 · 1 acting · 2 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

5 major nominations and no wins, 2010–2024.

  1. 2024
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Song - Motion Picture
  2. 2019
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
  3. 2018
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
  4. 2017
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
  5. 2010
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)

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 Jelenic's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Approval · how many liked their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Reach · how many have seen their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Midcredits score across 21 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th8
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

16 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser16
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor, director, writer, producer

Teen Titans Go! (2013)

88th percentile spread · 37% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

Wonder Woman (2009)

Midcredits 87th · 78% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 56/100 and the plot and story 45/100 in their films, across 12 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 Michael Jelenic's work okay for kids?

Across up to 12 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity, profanity and alcohol & drugs run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore9 titles29–49 · median 43 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity12 titles8–33 · median 14 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity9 titles5–19 · median 10 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs9 titles2–26 · median 10 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense9 titles29–72 · median 38 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian 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 Michael Jelenic work with?

People who share at least 2 of Michael Jelenic's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sam Register shares the most, 12.

Directors

Writers

  • Bob Kane7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Bob Kane
  • Bill Finger6 titles    See all 6 shared titles with Bill Finger
  • Jerry Siegel5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Jerry Siegel
  • Joe Shuster5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Joe Shuster

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers