Michael Patterson

Michael Patterson is an American animator. He directed the music videos Take on Me, Opposites Attract, Skat Strut, Big Time, Yakety Yak, Take it Back, Trash Talk, and Yakety Yak, Take it Again, among others. He provided the animation in Take on Me, and created the Disney and Warner Bros. characters MC Skat Kat, The Stray Mob (Micetro, Fatz, Taboo, Leo, Katleen, and Silk), Yakety Yak, the Madden Brothers, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly and her family (butterfly mother, father, brother, grandmother, grandfather, and boyfriend, and caterpillar nephew, and niece) and friends (Honey B., the Praying Mantis, the Firefly, the Ant, the Fly, the Ladybug, the Cockroach, the Grasshopper, the Cricket, and the Spider), among others.

Biography
After graduate studies with Jules Engel at CalArts, Mike was brought to the attention of record executives with his Student Academy Award-winning animated short Commuter. He began his career in music videos in 1985, directing A-Ha's videos for "Take On Me" and "Train of Thought". He then animated and directed Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract", which was nominated for six MTV awards and won the Grammy for best music video of the year.

In the early 1990's, Patterson created several more Disney and Warner Bros. characters for the Take it Back Foundation's several public-service music videos about recycling and such, starting with Yakety Yak, Take it Back, followed by Trash Talk, Yakety Yak, Take it Again, and the like, among others.

During the 1990s, Mike turned his attention over to commercials, combining animation with live action, including several Gushers spots, among others. During 1993-2002, he directed at Rhythm and Hues Studios.

Patterson earned his M.F.A. from the program in Experimental Animation at the California Institute of the Arts (1981–84), and received his BFA from University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana in 1980.

Patterson served as a judge for the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards to support various independent artists.

His son, Jasper, records music under the name Groundislava. Mike currently teaches at the Division of Animation and Digital Arts at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Filmography

 * Commuter (1981) (Director)
 * Take On Me (1985) (Director, Animator)
 * Train of Thought (1986) (Director)
 * Be Still My Beating Heart (1987) (Director)
 * Opposites Attract (1989) (Director)
 * Skat Strut (1990) (Director)
 * Yakety Yak, Take it Back (1991) (Director)
 * Tiny Toon Adventures (1991) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Darkwing Duck (1991) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Taz-Mania (1991) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Big Time (1992) (Director)
 * We Tell Ourselves (1992) (Director)
 * Trash Talk (1992) (Director)
 * Yakety Yak, Take it Again (1992) (Director)
 * Yakety Yak, Take it Another Again (1992) -- (Director)
 * Goof Troop (1992) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Raw Toonage (1992) -- (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Bonkers (1993) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Animaniacs (1993) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * A Goofy Movie (1995) (MC Skat Kat, The Stray Mob, Yakety Yak, Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly, Honey B., and Tibi's Friends Character Animation Director)
 * Timon & Pumbaa (1995) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Quack Pack (1996) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Space Jam (1996) (MC Skat Kat, The Stray Mob, Yakety Yak, Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly, Honey B., and Tibi's Friends Character Animation Director)
 * Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin (1997) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Mickey Mouse Works (1999) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Tweety's High-Flying Adventure (2000) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * House of Mouse (2001) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse (2001) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Mickey's House of Villains (2002) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * The Lion King 1½ (2004) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Bah Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006) (MC Skat Kat, The Stray Mob, Yakety Yak, Honey B., and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Winnie the Pooh (2011) (MC Skat Kat, Yakety Yak, and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2012) (MC Skat Kat, The Stray Mob, Yakety Yak, Honey B., and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly Character Animation Director)
 * Mr. Blue Sky (2012) (Director)
 * Mickey Mouse (2013) (Director, Various Episodes)
 * New Looney Tunes (2015) (Director, Various Episodes)

Trivia

 * All of the cartoon characters Michael Patterson created, MC Skat Kat, Micetro, Fatz, Taboo, Leo, Katleen, Silk, Yakety Yak, Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly, Tibi's Mother, Tibi's Father, Tibi's Brother, Tibi's Grandmother, Tibi's Grandfather, Tibi's Boyfriend, Tibi's Nephew, Tibi's Niece, Honey B., the Praying Mantis, the Firefly, the Ant, the Fly, the Ladybug, the Cockroach, the Grasshopper, the Cricket, and the Spider, and the like, among others, all of which are done in the same style as those of all of the characters in the Looney Tunes cartoons, the Merrie Melodies cartoons, Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania, Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, and the like, among others.