Patrick Nolen McHale is an American animator, artist, screenwriter, director, and musician. Known for his work in animation, he served as writer, creative director and storyboard artist for both the television series Adventure Time from 2010 to 2017, and the miniseries Over the Garden Wall in 2014, the latter of which he also created; he also co-wrote the 2022 film Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. Description above from the Wikipedia article Patrick McHale (artist), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- November 17, 1983 (42)
- New Jersey, USA
- Writer, director, producer and actor
- 6 on MovieCove · 13 credits in all
Known for
What are Patrick McHale's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Ideas.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 2
Light 2 · Serious 0 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 1 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 0 · Intense 1
Steady 1 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous2
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 Patrick McHale's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Hulu (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Patrick McHale'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
13 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Demenza (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Battle Kitty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Over the Garden Wall(2014)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Blackford Manor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Tome of the Unknown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Gravity Falls(2012)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Fall Guy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Adventure Time(2010)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
Body (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
The Adventure Time Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 13 titles, 12 of them dated from 2004 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
Highest rated
Over the Garden Wall (2014)
Most popular right now
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
a Primetime Emmy from 6 major nominations, 2010–2015.
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Animated Program
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program
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 Patrick McHale's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 97th percentile, the median of all 2; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 96th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
Shape of the crowd
None of their 6 titles divides audiences: 5 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved5
- Crowd Pleaser1
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 Patrick McHale's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Patrick McHale work with?
People who share at least 2 of Patrick McHale's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Pendleton Ward shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Pendleton WardShared titles: Adult Swim's the Elephant (2025), Over the Garden Wall (2014), The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)See all 3 shared titles with Pendleton Ward
- Cole SanchezShared titles: Over the Garden Wall (2014), The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Cole Sanchez
Actors
- Collin DeanShared titles: Behind Over the Garden Wall (2015), Over the Garden Wall (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Collin Dean
- Elijah WoodShared titles: Behind Over the Garden Wall (2015), Over the Garden Wall (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Elijah Wood
- John CleeseShared titles: Behind Over the Garden Wall (2015), Over the Garden Wall (2014)See all 2 shared titles with John Cleese
- Melanie LynskeyShared titles: Behind Over the Garden Wall (2015), Over the Garden Wall (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Melanie Lynskey
Composers
- The Blasting CompanyShared titles: Adult Swim's the Elephant (2025), Over the Garden Wall (2014)See all 2 shared titles with The Blasting Company
Producers
- Brian A. MillerShared titles: Over the Garden Wall (2014), The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Brian A. Miller
- Jennifer PelphreyShared titles: Over the Garden Wall (2014), The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Jennifer Pelphrey
- Pernelle HayesShared titles: Over the Garden Wall (2014), The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Pernelle Hayes
Mixed roles
- Kent OsborneShared titles: Adult Swim's the Elephant (2025), The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Kent Osborne
- Nate CashShared titles: Over the Garden Wall (2014), The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Nate Cash
