Mike B. Anderson

{{Infobox person

| name = Mike B. Anderson

| image = Mike B. Anderson by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| caption = Anderson in 2009

| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|16|1971}}

| birth_place =

| birth_name =

| death_date =

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| nationality = American

| alma_mater = {{nowrap|{{ubl|California College of Arts and Crafts|University of California, Los Angeles}}}}

| other_names = Mikel B. Anderson

| known_for = The Simpsons

| occupation = Animation director

| years_active = 1980s–present

| website =

}}

Mike B. Anderson (born {{birth based on age as of date|16|1971|noage=yes}}),{{cite news |last=Urbani |first=Diane D. |date=1998-05-24 |title=From Homebody to Homer: A Santa Marian Draws His Way into 'The Simpsons' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/446614657/ |work=The Santa Maria Times |page=C1 |quote=...I could drop out at age 16...That was 1971. |access-date=2025-04-18}} sometimes credited as Mikel B. Anderson, is an American animation director, best known for his work on The Simpsons.

Biography

Anderson grew up in Santa Maria, California. He dropped out of high school, later earning a GED before attending college. He holds a BFA degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts, and master's degrees in film and video production from UCLA. After college, he directed short films and low-budget features before joining The Simpsons as a background artist in 1990. He was promoted to assistant director in 1992 and director in 1995.

Anderson has directed numerous episodes of the show, and was animated in "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" as cadet Anderson. While a college student, he directed the live action feature films Alone in the T-Shirt Zone and Kamillions. Since 1990, he has worked primarily in animation including being a consulting producer on the series, The Oblongs, and story consultant on Tripping the Rift.

He has won two Emmy Awards for directing Simpsons episodes, "Homer's Phobia" in 1997 and "HOMR" in 2001. For "Homer's Phobia" he won the Annie Award for Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a TV Production,{{cite web|url=http://www.annieawards.com/25thannieawardwinners.htm |title=25th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners |access-date=April 10, 2007 |publisher=AnnieAwards.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430031526/http://www.annieawards.com/25thannieawardwinners.htm |archive-date=April 30, 2007 }} and the WAC Winner Best Director for Primetime Series at the 1998 World Animation Celebration.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/World_Animation_Celebration/1998|title=World Animation Celebration: 1998|access-date=April 10, 2007|publisher=Internet Movie Database}} Mike was also a sequence director on "The Simpsons Movie" (2007), was the supervising director on "The Simpsons Ride" at Universal Studios and has been the supervising director for "The Simpsons" television series since season 20.