
When Kelly Younger, professor of English and theatre arts, isn’t teaching students about fairy tales, he is living them as a Hollywood screenwriter.
Younger co-wrote and co-executive produced “Muppets Haunted Mansion,” which recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction/Set Direction/Scenic Design at the inaugural Children’s & Family Emmys on Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. The Disney+ special (starring Will Arnett, Taraji P. Henson, and Darren Criss as well as the iconic Muppet characters) also scored nominations for Outstanding Fiction Special, Outstanding Casting for a Live Action Program, and Outstanding Special Effects Costumes, Hair, and Makeup. Earlier this year, Younger won a Producer’s Guild of America Award for Outstanding Children’s Program.
“Working with The Muppets already makes me feel like a winner, so having our show recognized with four nominations and one win feels great because it represents a lot of hard work by a lot of talented people – some humans, some not!” said Younger.

Younger wrote “Candy Cane Lane,” an original Christmas movie inspired by his childhood holiday experiences. It is being produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Karen Lunder of Imagine Films for Amazon Studios, and it stars Eddie Murphy. Production is currently underway, and it is the first film to shoot on Amazon’s brand-new virtual production stage. Younger is also in development on three new Muppets projects, a new animated children’s series for YouTube, and a live-action feature for Disney.
In addition to his work with The Muppets Studio, Younger has story credit on Disney Animation’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and also contributed to “Frozen 2,” “Moana” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” as a member of the Disney Animation Story Trust.