Creative Director
Mike became a Christian in Naples, Italy, while serving a tour of duty in the Marine Corps. After discharge from the service he attended Bethany Bible College in Santa Cruz, California, where he earned a B.A. in English Literature and Bible Theology, and met his wife Cathy. Upon graduation in 1977, the young couple headed south to the Los Angeles area, where Mike quickly landed a career in the cartoon animation industry, a dream he’d had since he was a boy.
During the late-70s and throughout the 80s, he worked for studios such as Hanna Barbera, Filmation, Warner Brothers, and Marvel Productions, where he honed his skills as an animator, storyboard artist, character designer and writer. He worked on the five-time Emmy award winning Muppet Babies, combining his skills as a writer and artist to create the visual interpretations of the song bridges in each show. It was while he was at Marvel Productions that he began producing and directing numerous television series and specials, among which are Blondie and Dagwood (CBS); the animated Fraggle Rock series (NBC); the My Little Pony feature film, SpyDogs (FoxKids) and Pigs Next Door (Fox Family).
In 1987 Mike left Marvel to start his own company, The Stillwater Production Company, through which he produced and directed scores of animated commercials for Milton Bradley, Hasbro, Kenner, McDonald’s and Playskool. He also produced and directed the animation segments for the award winning video series McGee and Me! (Tyndale) as well as the animated series Adventures in Odyssey (Focus on the Family, Word); each series boasting several gold and platinum episodes. In 2004 Mike’s father-in-law, Curtis Correll, encouraged him to start White Stone Media with his son Brandon, a company dedicated to producing quality DVDs for churches and Christian schools, as well as developing animated films that will bring glory to Christ.
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