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Cal Brunker

Cal Brunker

Writer, director and producer

Cal Brunker is a Canadian filmmaker, animator, and screenwriter. He is best known for directing Spin Master Entertainment's hit animated feature franchise, including "PAW Patrol: The Movie" (2021), "PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie" (2023), and "PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie" (2026). His directorial credits also include animated films such as "Escape from Planet Earth" (2013) and "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature" (2017).

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Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Writer, director and producer
Titles
18 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 63 days to Oct 26Up 19% in 30 days

What are Cal Brunker's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
33%
Bonds
28%
Society
18%
Survival
14%
Morality
4%
Ideas
3%
Community5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 11 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 8 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 6 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 7 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 4

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 10 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 11 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
7
Hopeful
7
Thrilling
6
Warm
3
Tense
3
Other
4

How their films linger

Feel-good10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy10
  • Bittersweet1

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 Cal Brunker's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Cal Brunker'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

20 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page.

  • PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie(2026)

    Director · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • A PAW Patrol Christmas(2025)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie(2025)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie(2023)

    Director · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • The Inseparables(2023)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • PAW Patrol: The Movie(2021)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Bigfoot Family(2020)

    Co-Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Cranston Academy: Monster Zone(2020)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Arctic Dogs(2019)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature(2017)

    Director · Writer · as Charming Chipmunk (voice)

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Son of Bigfoot(2017)

    Co-Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Escape from Planet Earth(2013)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Despicable Me(2010)

    Storyboard

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Jonah Hex(2010)

    Art Department Manager

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films

  • Spliced(2009)

    Show 4 episodes · Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all shows

  • 9(2009)

    Storyboard

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Horton Hears a Who!(2008)

    Storyboard Artist

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Kronk's New Groove(2005)

    Animation

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Doctor Dolittle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

  • Doctor Dolittle: King of the Wild (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

Career shape

A full career of 20 titles, 18 of them dated from 2005 to 2026.

Biggest box office

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023)

$205M worldwide

Highest rated

PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021)

Midcredits 55th

Most popular right now

PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (2026)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 20: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting5 of 20: 0 only directing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score46thWriting15 of 20: 8 only writing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score42ndProducing2 of 20: 0 only producing, 2 with another roleOther crew5 of 20: 5 only other crew, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score37th

20 titles, 7 with more than one role — writing and directing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

2000s4 · crew2010s6 · 1 acting · 6 crew2020s8 · crew

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.

How do Cal Brunker's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 42nd percentile, the median of all 17; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 44th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

44thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

35thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

93rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 18 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th11
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 18 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed12

Most divisive · writer

A PAW Patrol Christmas (2025)

79th percentile spread · 36% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

Despicable Me (2010)

Midcredits 95th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 37/100 and the plot and story 32/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

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 Cal Brunker's work okay for kids?

Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity and alcohol & drugs run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore7 titles24–44 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity8 titles9–32 · median 19 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity8 titles14–35 · median 26 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs6 titles3–39 · median 13 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles27–52 · median 35 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

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 Cal Brunker work with?

People who share at least 2 of Cal Brunker's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bob Barlen shares the most, 11.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers