Januel Mercado

DirectingActing

Born Nov 23, 1984 (age 41) · Stockton, California, USA

Januel Patricio Mercado (born November 23, 1984) is a Filipino-American feature animation director, storyboard artist, and writer. A San Jose State University graduate, he has been with DreamWorks Animation since 2008. He started as a story artist on Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and contributed to Turbo (2013), Penguins of Madagascar (2014), and Trolls (2016). Mercado made his co-directorial debut on Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) alongside Joel Crawford, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and BAFTA.

Forgotten Island2026
as Manny Molina (Raissa's Dad) / Dry Mermahn (voice) · Writer · Director

Also acted

as Band Member / Baker's Dozen Gang Member (voice)
as Shaman Monkey (voice)