The number of documentary filmmakers increases exponentially every year, but very few enjoy the distinction of being a household name.

The list is short indeed, with Michael Moore and D.A. Pennebaker being the two names that most folks could readily conjure. There are also those high profile doc dabblers like Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese and Werner Herzog. But of all those filmmakers, none can boast the sort of lighthearted accessibility of the films of Morgan Spurlock.

Even if you don’t know Spurlock by name, there is a good-sized chance that you are familiar with his now infamous high concept doc “Super Size Me.” In the film Spurlock acts as our tour guide as he attempts the brave task of eating nothing but McDonald’s fast food for a month. With his trademark handlebar moustache and goofy enthusiasm, Spurlock seems a lot more every man than investigative journalist, and that is the glue that holds the film together. A whimsical animated sequence featuring young fast food enthusiasts frolicking with a maniacal Ronald McDonald to the strains of Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusher Man” doesn’t hurt matters either.

After its premiere at Sundance, “Super Size Me” got Spurlock all sorts of attention. The film spawned an equally high-concept TV Show “30 Days,” in which Spurlock and various participants use the “Super Size Me” template to attempt everything from weight loss to quitting cigarettes.

Spurlock didn’t stay out of the feature doc game for long though, and in 2007 he acted as a producer on two more docs, “The Third Wave” and director Rob VanAlkemade’s wildly entertaining look at rampant consumerism in America “What Would Jesus Buy?”

With his next project, Spurlock would produce again but also again add a director’s credit to his filmography. That film, “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden,” has been grabbing attention at festivals all around the globe. In the film a still heavily mustachioed Morgan tours the Middle East and discusses the war on terror and sets out on a one-man mission to do what so many American government institutions have yet to do—find Osama.

SIn watching the film though, it’s nearly impossible to peg Spurlock as some kind of empty-headed crusader. When asked why he’s taken it upon himself to try and succeed at such a lofty pursuit, Spurlock simply shrugs and replies “I want to make the world safe for the kid I’ve got on the way.”

A simple statement, but like the one he made with “Super Size Me,” it manages to feel both of global importance and relevant right here in our own backyards. We look forward to whatever Morgan has up his sleeve next.

C.D.