Januel Patricio Mercado (born November 23, 1984) is a Filipino-American feature animation director, storyboard artist, and writer. A San Jose State University graduate, he has been with DreamWorks Animation since 2008. He started as a story artist on Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and contributed to Turbo (2013), Penguins of Madagascar (2014), and Trolls (2016). Mercado made his co-directorial debut on Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) alongside Joel Crawford, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and BAFTA.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 23, 1984 (41)
- Stockton, California, USA
- Writer, director and producer
- 10 on MovieCove
What are Januel P. Mercado's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 1 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 3
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 1
A split, not a type: Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 3
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 1
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet2
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 Januel P. Mercado's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Januel P. Mercado'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
10 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
Forgotten Island(2026)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
The Croods: A New Age(2020)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
The Lego Ninjago Movie(2017)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Harvey Beaks(2015)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows
Kung Fu Panda 2(2011)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 10 titles from 2011 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Highest rated
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Most popular right now
Forgotten Island (2026)
Film career
- 2020Screen debut· The Croods: A New Age
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 Januel P. Mercado's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 9; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 77th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed3
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 Januel P. Mercado's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Januel P. Mercado work with?
People who share at least 2 of Januel P. Mercado's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Joel Crawford shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Joel CrawfordShared titles: Forgotten Island (2026), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - The Trident (2023), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Joel Crawford
Actors
- Florence PughShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - The Trident (2023), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Florence Pugh
- Harvey GuillénShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - The Trident (2023), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Harvey Guillén
- Ray WinstoneShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - The Trident (2023), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Ray Winstone
- Samson KayoShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - The Trident (2023), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Samson Kayo
Composers and editors
- James RyanShared titles: Forgotten Island (2026), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)See all 2 shared titles with James Ryan
- Heitor PereiraShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - The Trident (2023), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Heitor Pereira
Producers
- Mark SwiftShared titles: Forgotten Island (2026), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - The Trident (2023), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Mark Swift
