Michael "Mike" Rianda (born December 25, 1984) is an American writer, director, and voice actor. He is known for his work on ''

Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...

'' as a creative director and writer for season 1, and creative consultant for season 2. He is also known for directing, co-writing, and co-starring his feature directorial debut ''

The Mitchells vs. the Machines ''The Mitchells vs. the Machines'' is a 2021 Computer animation, computer-animated science fiction comedy, science fiction comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation. The film was directed by Mike Rianda (in his feature directorial debut) an ...

'' (2021), for which he was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is given each year for animated films. An animated feature is defined by the Academy as a film with a running time of more than 40 minutes in which characters' performances are created using a frame-by- ...

Early life and education

Rianda was born on December 25, 1984, in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...

. He attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

after he "drew and said amusing things" in school, studying character animation. Rianda also started writing and directing two short films at the animation school titled ''Everybody Dies in 90 Seconds'' (2008) and ''Work'' (2010).

Career

He became a creative director and writer on the Emmy Award-winning

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

animated television series ''

'', until his departure in 2013. Mike also voiced Lee, Thompson, Mr. Poolcheck, and the additional voices. Rianda later returned and served as a creative consultant for its second season. In 2021, he directed and co-wrote, along with Jeff Rowe, ''

'', in which he also voiced Aaron Mitchell. The film was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on April 30, 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rianda, Michael Living people 1984 births American cartoonists American animated film directors American male voice actors American male television writers Annie Award winners Animators from California People from Salinas, California Sony Pictures Animation people