It’s all about Hollywood magic for Illumination’s CEO Chris Meledandri.
Fresh from graduating from Dartmouth College, the born-and-raised New Yorker landed a job as an assistant to executive producer Daniel Melnick on “Footloose.” It was his first time in California.
“There were a few things for me that really symbolized the magic of what I imagined Hollywood to be. The first was the studio itself,” he says. “It really came to life for me with an assigned parking spot with my name on it, because I was a runner, but that was the symbol of being part of this magical industry.”
Since then, he’s walked down Hollywood Boulevard countless times, and his films have also premiered there. But that first time was special. “You go from name to name looking for filmmakers and actors who particularly resonate for you, but it was, for me, this embodiment of what I imagined Hollywood to be coming to life, walking along and looking at these stars,” he says. “Every time I was back in that spot, it evoked that sense of magic for me.”
On June 10, Meledandri joins those magical names when he receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Meledandri founded Illumination in 2007 after a stint running the animation department at Fox. The studio’s first film was 2010’s blockbuster “Despicable Me,” with other global hits including the “Minions” franchise and “The Secret Life of Pets” franchise — combining for more than $10 billion at the global box office.
In 2023, Illumination collaborated with Nintendo (a first for the Japanese games giant) on “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which helped goose the COVID-hobbled global box office with more than $1 billion in grosses worldwide.
This year, the sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” hit $985 million worldwide, while Illumination has “Minions & Monsters” set for July 1. That continuation of the popular Minions franchise is expected to also bring in a staggering amount of ticket sales. But it is not about the box office for Meledandri — it’s all about the artistry and the hundreds of artists who dedicate years of their lives to bring the animated films to the big screen.
The caliber of artistry has always been of utmost importance to Meledandri. In 2007, when he was putting together a studio, the race to secure artists was extremely competitive in the U.S. “I really was forced to look elsewhere, and so by the time I was armed with the first project, which was the film that became ‘Despicable Me,’ I was in search of talent to make it,” he says.
In what he calls “one of the most fortuitous moments in my career,” Meledandri came across a group of artists who were working at a Paris animation company and VFX house called Mac Guff. Those artists would make “Despicable Me,” and, Meledandri says, “Many years later, it is 10 times the size and is now Illumination Studios Paris.”
He says the artists give him a sense of what’s working and what’s not on features. “We’re able to determine that by feeling how much the characters are engaging the team that’s making the film,” Meledandri explains. “They’re a great barometer of giving you an indication of the state of storytelling that you’re embarking on, and it really is this unbelievable collaboration.”
With the release of “Minions & Monsters” around the corner, Meledandri says, “That film is a great example of a group of people coming together to make what is the seventh film from this franchise with a level of commitment and enthusiasm that is indistinguishable from making the very first film.”
“Minions & Monsters” is set in 1920s Hollywood, as the yellow critters put their own spin on the monster movie genre. Pierre Coffin, who was also a director of the first three “Despicable Me” films and the first “Minions” movie, returns to direct this installment.
Meledandri, as someone who was involved very early in the storytelling process, says, “The film becomes the beneficiary of not only the talent of these artists, but also the conviction of hundreds of people getting caught by the bug of the excitement that Pierre and I have had for this new iteration of a ‘Minions’ movie.”
Visually, the film’s animation has changed significantly from the first film and shows the studio’s evolution. “It’s a reflection of the software that our research and development team has customized to support our process,” Meledandri says. “The foundation of the process is still very similar to where it was when we started, but our ability to achieve greater nuance within the imagery itself has significantly increased.”
Meledandri teases that the film is wildly imaginative and fairly unexpected for a “Minions” movie. “We decided to tell a story that in many ways is an homage to cinema itself, and certainly to the roots of where the Minions as characters come from, which is the regional inspiration: Jacques Tati, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd,” he says.
Planning the studio’s slate, particularly in the field of animation, forces them to think long-term. “If you don’t plan, for example, to make another ‘Sing’ movie four years in advance, by the time you plan, it’s going to take you another four years to get there, so we try to map out what makes sense.”
But it’s not as simple as saying they want to do another film in a successful franchise or even an original title. “We discover whether or not there is a story that emerges that feels worthy enough. Does this feel worthy enough to take 300 to 400 people and spend the next three to four years working on it?” he says. “As you dive into the story terrain, they tend to declare themselves. We’re very fortunate that we have a number of writers who are as much a part of Illumination as I am. They’re working with us year in and year out, and we’re coming together.”
Ahead of the release of “Minions &Monsters,” the film’s characters have made their debut at the Illumination Theater at Universal Studios Florida. It’s just one aspect of the film that has been translated into a theme park attraction. “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!” ride at Universal Studios Hollywood was based on the animated film of the same film.
What does it mean to him to see ideas grow beyond a film?
“It is absolutely a highlight for me watching those individuals see the films come to life in the parks, and from it, the opportunity to allow for different experiences with the characters that have come out of the film for the audience is also very meaningful,” Meledandri says.
“Audiences come back to these movies primarily because they’ve formed a relationship with the characters. Once they’ve formed that bond, they want to experience it in multiple ways,” he says. “For me, the most important aspect is that, however audiences experience them, it’s in a way that is consistent with the creative DNA of the movie.”
TipsheetWHAT Chris Meledandri receives a star of the Hollywood Walk of FameWHERE 6357 Hollywood Blvd., HollywoodWHEN 11:30 a.m., June 10WEB walkoffame.com