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Kelly Younger

Kelly Younger

Writer and producer

Primetime Emmy nominee

Kelly Younger is a screenwriter and award-winning playwright with work staged off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally. Younger has spent the past two years developing and writing a forthcoming Disney Animation Feature film, and continues work as a Story Consultant for the studio. He has been a member of the Disney Animation Story Trust since 2016, working on such films as Moana, Frozen 2, Wreck-It Ralph 2, and others in development including the live-action Tinkerbell (prod. Reese Witherspoon) and the live-action Aladdin (dir. Guy Ritchie); and a participant in the Pixar Animation Brain Trust on Cars 3, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, and other forthcoming films. He co-wrote the hit comedy Kalamazoo with Michelle Kholos Brooks (Dramatists Play Service, 2016; Riva Shriver Comedy Award.) Other theater projects include Banished Children of Eve (Off-Broadway); and Ink (finalist Joanne Woodward/Paul Newman Drama Award.) His play Tender was nominated for Best New Play IRNE award, was a finalist for the Laurents/Hatcher Award, and was part of Manhattan Theatre Club’s “7@7” series, directed by Lynne Meadow, starring David Harbour. Younger’s short play, Mandate (Samuel French, 2015) won the 39th Samuel French Off-Off- Broadway Short Play Festival and has received productions as far away as Dubai. Other short plays include Let’s Get Physical (Hollywood; Miami; Edinburgh Fringe Festival), and Best Lei’d Plans (Hollywood, Barrington MA; Miami.) Younger is currently developing a feature film with Josephson Entertainment (Enchanted), having previously developed with Mandeville Films; Gil Netter Productions; DreamWorks Animation; Disney Channel; as well as individual projects with Robert Lawrence (Clueless), Jon Turtletaub (National Treasure), and Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean). He is also a Story Consultant for Illumination Animation Studios. He is managed by Washington Square Arts and Film in New York, and represented by CAA in Los Angeles and New York. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Younger earned an MA in Classics at Loyola University Chicago and PhD in Drama Studies from University College Dublin in Ireland. At LMU, he teaches courses in Dramatic Literature, Play Writing, and a popular seminar Fairy Tales.

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Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Writer and producer
Titles
5 on MovieCove · 6 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 20% in 30 days

What are Kelly Younger's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
40%
Society
37%
Bonds
23%
Community3 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

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

Grounded 0 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2

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

Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · 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 0 · Funny 3

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

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 3 · 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 shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
4
Absurd
4
Warm
2
Thrilling
1

How their films linger

Fun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

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 Kelly Younger's films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (4).

Subscription and free streaming for Kelly Younger'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

6 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Muppet Show(2026)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Candy Cane Lane(2023)

    Writer · as Co-Pilot

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Muppets Haunted Mansion(2021)

    Co-Executive Producer · Story · Teleplay

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Muppets Now(2020)

    Show Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all shows

  • Ralph Breaks the Internet(2018)

    Additional Writing

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Untitled Jack and the Beanstalk Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Screenplay · Story

Career shape

A full career of 5 titles, 4 of them dated from 2018 to 2026.

Highest rated

The Muppet Show (2026)

Midcredits 97th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 5: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleWriting4 of 5: 2 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing1 of 5: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew1 of 5: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

2010s1 · crew2020s3 · 1 acting · 3 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

Awards

Nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2026, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.

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 Kelly Younger's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 66th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 57th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

57thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

96thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 5 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

2 of their 5 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · writer, producer

Muppets Now (2020)

63rd percentile spread · 26% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

The Muppet Show (2026)

Midcredits 97th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 52/100 and the plot and story 37/100 in their films, across 3 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.

Who does Kelly Younger work with?

People who share at least 2 of Kelly Younger's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Andrew Williams shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers