Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath will develop animated series and films exclusively for the streamer under a multi-year creative partnership; includes first-look rights for live-action projects.
Netflix has announced a multi-year creative partnership deal with Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, directors of hit animated films The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and creators and producers of Teen Titans Go!, to develop animated series and films exclusively for the streamer, with first-look rights for live-action projects.
“We are thrilled to partner with Netflix to create captivating and immersive series and films over the coming years,” Jelenic and Horvath said. “We are grateful for the opportunity and look forward to entertaining the world’s largest audience!”
“Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath are visionary creators who remind us why we fell in love with animation,” said John Derderian, Netflix’s Vice President of Animation Series + Kids & Family TV. “After the massive success of The Super Mario Bros. movies and Teen Titans Go! on our service, it’s clear our global audience craves their unique brand of storytelling. We are thrilled to embark on this partnership and can’t wait to see what they dream up next for Netflix members.”
Jelenic and Horvath directed The Super Mario Bros. Movie for Illumination and Nintendo. The film, starring Chris Pratt, Jack Black and Anya Taylor-Joy, grossed $1.36 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Illumination film of all time and the third highest-grossing Universal film of all time. Most recently, they directed The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, released in April 2026, which has generated just under $1 billion worldwide.
Jelenic is an Emmy and Annie-nominated writer and producer who began at Warner Bros. Animation as an assistant before working as a writer on The Batman and a story editor and producer on The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and ThunderCats. He wrote, produced, and was an executive producer on Teen Titans Go!, Cartoon Network’s No. 1 show, which was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Animation and won a BAFTA for International Animation. He has also written animated and live-action theatrical features, including Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. He received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for a musical episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold and co-wrote “Peaches,” the Jack Black song from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Horvath previously worked as an executive producer at Warner Bros. Animation, where he wrote, directed and oversaw animation production for Teen Titans Go! He also developed and served as supervising producer for Cartoon Network’s Unikitty animated series. His feature credits include writing, producing and directing Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, and he also served as director on Warner Bros. MAD, for which he was Emmy-nominated.
According to Netflix, The Super Mario Bros. Movie appeared in the Netflix global top 10 for 24 weeks and drew more than 240 million views from December 2023 through the end of 2025. Teen Titans Go! Seasons 1-5 and Teen Titans Go! To the Movies drew more than 80 million views on Netflix from 2023-2025.
Source: Netflix
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
