Chris Miller is an American film director, storyboard artist, and voice actor best known for his work with DreamWorks Animation. Following a stint working with Ralph Bakshi on his film Cool World (1992), he would begin his career at DreamWorks as a storyboard artist on films Antz (1998) and Shrek (2001) before being promoted to head of story on Shrek 2 (2004). This led to him becoming the director of two subsequent entries in the franchise, those being Shrek the Third (2007) and Puss in Boots (2011). Miller is also known for his role as Kowalski in the Madagascar film series (except for The Penguins of Madagascar (2008), where he was voiced by Jeff Bennett instead), and has voiced numerous characters in other DreamWorks movies.
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Biography from IMDb.
- January 20, 1968 (58)
- Washington D.C. USA
- Director, writer and actor
- 6 on MovieCove
What are Chris Miller's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 6 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 0 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 0
Gentle 5 · Charged 1 · Intense 0
Steady 3 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 4
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet1
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 Chris Miller's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Peacock (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Chris Miller'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, 6 with a MovieCove page.
Smurfs(2025)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Puss in Boots(2011)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Shrek the Third(2007)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Shrek 2(2004)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Shrek(2001)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Career shape
Across their 6 MovieCove titles from 2001 to 2025.
Awards
2 major nominations and no wins, 2008–2012.
- Oscar, nominated · Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Animated Film
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 Chris Miller's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 69th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 6 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 60/100 and the pacing 56/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
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 Chris Miller's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, every category sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Chris Miller work with?
People who share at least 2 of Chris Miller's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Andrew Adamson shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Andrew AdamsonShared titles: Puss in Boots (2011), Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 4 shared titles with Andrew Adamson
- Raman HuiShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012), Shrek the Third (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Raman Hui
Writers
- William SteigShared titles: Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 3 shared titles with William Steig
- Conrad VernonShared titles: Puss in Boots (2011), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Conrad Vernon
- Tom WheelerShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012), Puss in Boots (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Tom Wheeler
- Cody CameronShared titles: Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Cody Cameron
Actors
- Antonio BanderasShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012), Puss in Boots (2011), Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004)See all 4 shared titles with Antonio Banderas
- Cameron DiazShared titles: Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Cameron Diaz
- Eddie MurphyShared titles: Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Eddie Murphy
- Mike MyersShared titles: Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Mike Myers
Composers and editors
- Henry JackmanShared titles: Smurfs (2025), Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012), Puss in Boots (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Henry Jackman
- Harry Gregson-WilliamsShared titles: Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Harry Gregson-Williams
- Michael AndrewsShared titles: Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Andrews
- Sim Evan-JonesShared titles: Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Sim Evan-Jones
Producers
- John H. WilliamsShared titles: Puss in Boots (2011), Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 4 shared titles with John H. Williams
- Aron WarnerShared titles: Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 3 shared titles with Aron Warner
- Chad HammesShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012), Puss in Boots (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Chad Hammes
- David LipmanShared titles: Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001)See all 2 shared titles with David Lipman
Mixed roles
- Walt DohrnShared titles: Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012), Shrek 2 (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Walt Dohrn
