Kelly Younger
Kelly Younger is a screenwriter, TV writer, playwright, story consultant, and Emmy- nominated producer.
His latest project CANDY CANE LANE, starring Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross, will be released globally on Prime Video, Dec. 1. The screenplay is written by Younger and inspired by his childhood holiday experiences on Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo, California.
Currently Younger co-writing a feature film for Skydance Animation for directors Rich Moore (ZOOTOPIA) and Jim Reardon (WALL-E), and developing a new animated TV series CHICKAPIG - based on the best-selling game by Brian Calhoun - from Shadow Machine and musician Dave Matthews.
Younger frequently writes and develops for The Muppets Studios, having already co-created and co-executive produced MUPPETS NOW, and co-written and co-executive produced MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION (4 Emmy nominations with 1 win, and winner of the 2022 Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Children’s Programming). He is working on more Muppets titles for Disney+ yet to be announced.
As a member of the Disney Animation Story Trust, he worked on such films as RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (story credit), FROZEN 2, MOANA, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, and ENCANTO. He also frequently participated in the Pixar Animation Brain Trust on such films as CARS 3, INCREDIBLES 2, TOY STORY 4, ONWARD, and COCO.
He has previously developed feature, television, and animated projects at Amazon, Apple, Paramount Animation, Warner Animation Group, Dreamworks Animation, Sony, Disney Originals, consulted at Skydance Animation and on both Shrek 5 and Puss In Boots 2 at Illumination.
As a playwright, Younger’s works have appeared Off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally.
He frequently gives invited studio talks on fairy tales and story structure. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Younger earned an MA in Classics (Mythology, Folktales, and Fairy Tales) at Loyola University Chicago and a PhD in Literature and Drama Studies from University College Dublin in Ireland. He is currently a tenured professor in the Departments of English and Theater at Loyola Marymount University where he leads writing workshops and teaches seminars in fairy tales.