Jennifer Yuh Nelson (née Yuh; born May 7, 1972) is an American story artist, character designer, television director, illustrator, and film director. She is best known for directing the films Kung Fu Panda 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, and The Darkest Minds. Yuh is the first woman to solely direct and the first Asian American to direct a major American animated film, and has been recognized as a commercially successful Asian American director. She won an Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production for directing the opening for Kung Fu Panda and was the second woman nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, for her work on Kung Fu Panda 2. The film proved to be one of the most financially successful films directed by a woman. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jennifer Yuh Nelson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 7, 1972 (54)
- South Korea
- Director and writer
- 11 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
What are Jennifer Yuh Nelson's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 1 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 2
Steady 0 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 0
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet2
- 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 Jennifer Yuh Nelson's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Jennifer Yuh Nelson'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
15 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Grim (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
The Sea Beast(2022)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Battle Kitty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Love, Death & Robots(2019)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
The Darkest Minds(2018)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Panda Paws (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Kung Fu Panda 3(2016)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Kung Fu Panda 2(2011)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Kung Fu Panda(2008)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Storm Cell(2008)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2(1998)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Spicy City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Spawn(1997)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Career shape
A full career of 13 titles from 1997 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Highest rated
Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2 (1998)
Most popular right now
Love, Death & Robots (2019)
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
3 Primetime Emmys from 5 major nominations, 1999–2025.
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Animated Program
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
- Oscar, nominated · Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour)
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 Jennifer Yuh Nelson's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 9; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 72/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
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 Jennifer Yuh Nelson's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films and profanity and alcohol & drugs lighter.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Jennifer Yuh Nelson work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jennifer Yuh Nelson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Mike Vosburg shares the most, 2.
Directors
- Mike VosburgShared titles: Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2 (1998), Spawn (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Mike Vosburg
- Thomas A. NelsonShared titles: Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2 (1998), Spawn (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Thomas A. Nelson
Writers
- Cyrus VorisShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Cyrus Voris
- Ethan ReiffShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Ethan Reiff
- Glenn BergerShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Glenn Berger
- Jonathan AibelShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Jonathan Aibel
Actors
- Angelina JolieShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Angelina Jolie
- David CrossShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with David Cross
- Dustin HoffmanShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Dustin Hoffman
- Jack BlackShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Jack Black
Composers and editors
- Maryann BrandonShared titles: The Darkest Minds (2018), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Maryann Brandon
- Clare KnightShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Clare Knight
- Hans ZimmerShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Hans Zimmer
Producers
- Melissa CobbShared titles: Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Melissa Cobb
