Who Directed My Mother The Animation Series?

I’ll start with what I know about the title “My Mother” (which may or may not be the actual title of the cartoon you are looking for). I’ve searched the following large databases of English language animated series: Toonopiá, Big Cartoon DataBase, Cartonestorico, Cartoonizer, Cartoon Research, iPad & iPhone Children’s Apps for Kids – Cartoons and Animation, and several others. None of these databases contain listings for an animated series with the title “My Mother.” Therefore, it is likely that the title you have for this cartoon is a shortened version of the full title, a fan-translated title, or the localized title for your region. (I have run into the problem of a mixed-up cartoon before — for example, the 1960s live-action series “My Mother the Car” starring Jerry Van Dyke.)

To look up the director of a show with an unusual title, first check the opening and end credits of the episodes to see if the series was directed by someone or if there was a chief director. Next, check the series’ page on sites like IMDb to see if the information has been added by someone. Then, check the official website of the series or look up a press kit for the show. Finally, check out fan sites, blogs, and online community-run wikis that list the staff for a series. For non-English series, search for the title of the series in the original language along with the word for “director.” I once tracked down the director of a nearly unknown independent animated film by scouring through a PDF festival program and an archived press release. It can take some time and some perseverance, but it is a very satisfying experience when you finally find who you are looking for.

To be blunt, I don’t know the name of a confident director for an animated series that is exactly titled ‘My Mother’. The title ‘My Mother’ does not match any major animated productions (animated TV series, films) that I have indexed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t exist. Animations are often released under alternate titles (translated titles, short titles, etc.), and there are many short animations (both indie and festival) that are not yet indexed on the many websites that I use. So, I search for the title of the series in quotes, followed by the words ‘animated’ and/or ‘series’ and/or ‘director’ (and sometimes ‘tv’), and then check for information on the series on sites such as IMDb, Wikipedia, the Anime News Network, MyDramaList, etc., as well as checking for the series on streaming sites where it may be available. (Many anime productions list the chief director and the directors for individual episodes, so you may find the credit for the series or for an individual episode for a series with a chief director and multiple episode directors.)

I don't have any confident nominations for an animated "My Mother" series ( show literally called that). It's not listed in my normal sources for catalogued animated shows. The title may be a mis-translation or a series of shorts, produced independently or as festival commissions that didn't get catalogued.

For unknown show titles, I use specific search queries that include the title surrounded by quotes. For example, for the title "My Mother" I would search for “‘My Mother’ animated director”. Then, I cross-reference the resulting websites such as IMDB, Wikipedia, Anime News Network (for Japanese produced animated TV series and movies) and MyDramaList or Douban for Chinese and Korean produced dramas and animated shows. Note that for anime specifically, a show may have have had multiple directors for individual episodes. Therefore, the “chief director” (or the equivalent term) is the person I am looking for. Surprisingly, for very short produced web animated movies and shows, I even found a director’s name in the end-credits clip that was embedded in the distributor’s Vimeo page. Many streaming sites also provide information about the staff for a particular animated show in the info panel on the right or below the playing area. So, it becomes a little treasure hunt to find the exact title variant for a show, but once I found it, the director’s name usually turns up pretty fast. And that is more fun than good for me!