Chris Renaud is an American filmmaker, designer, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is best known for his work at Illumination, including directing the company's animated films such as the first, second, and fourth films in the Despicable Me franchise (2010–present), the first two of which he co-directed with Pierre Coffin, The Lorax (2012), The Secret Life of Pets (2016) and its sequel The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019). He also voiced the Minions in the first two films in the Despicable Me franchise and Norman in The Secret Life of Pets franchise, the former which he co-created with Coffin. Renaud received nominations for two Academy Awards for the Ice Age short film No Time for Nuts (2006) and Despicable Me 2 (2013).
The Annie Award for Best General Audience Animated Television Broadcast Production is an Annie Award, awarded annually to the best adult animated television/broadcasting productions.
Despicable Me is a 2010 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, and distributed by Universal. The first feature film from Illumination, it was directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin and produced by Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy, and John Cohen, from a screenplay by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio based on a story by Sergio Pablos. Despicable Me stars the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, and Julie Andrews. The film follows Felonious Gru, a longtime supervillain who adopts three orphan girls to use as pawns in a villainous scheme but reluctantly develops an emotional attachment to them.
Illumination, formerly known as Illumination Entertainment, is an American animation studio founded by Chris Meledandri on January 17, 2007, after leaving 20th Century Fox Animation and is a division of Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal; Meledandri produces the films, while Universal finances and distributes them. The studio is best known for creating the Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing franchises, as well as the adaptations of Dr. Seuss' books The Lorax and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; and Nintendo video games, starting with The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The Minions, characters from the Despicable Me series, are the mascots of the studio.
Christopher Meledandri is an American film producer and founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as President of 20th Century Fox Animation, and has worked as the producer for the film series of Ice Age, Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing. In 2021, he joined Nintendo's board of directors after working with the video game company on The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Meledandri also collaborates with Illumination's corporate sibling DreamWorks Animation.
The 38th Annual Annie Awards honoring the best in animation of 2010 was held February 5, 2011, at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon was the big winner winning 10 out of its 15 nominations, sparking a big controversy over Disney and Pixar's boycott.
Despicable Me is an American media franchise created by Sergio Pablos, Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. It centers on a former supervillain turned secret agent named Gru, his adoptive daughters, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and his yellow-colored Minions. The franchise is produced by Illumination and distributed by its parent company Universal Pictures.
The Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production for Children is an Annie Award, awarded annually to the best animated television/broadcasting productions for children audiences. It was first given at the 31st Annie Awards.
Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio are American screenwriters, collaborating on the screenplays for animated films including the Despicable Me franchise, Horton Hears a Who, The Lorax and The Secret Life of Pets. The duo also served as the co-creators of the 2021 Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon!, with Paul also serving as the series songwriter and executive producer.
Despicable Me 3 is a 2017 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, and distributed by Universal. It is the sequel to Despicable Me 2 (2013), the third main installment, and the fourth overall installment in the Despicable Me franchise. The film was directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by production and character designer Eric Guillon, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, from a screenplay by the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. It stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, and Julie Andrews. In the film, Gru teams up with his long-lost twin brother Dru to stop Balthazar Bratt, a former child actor of the 1980s, from destroying Hollywood after his show was canceled years ago.
Illumination Studios Paris is a French animated feature production company owned by Illumination, a division of Universal Pictures. Based in Paris, France, the company was created in 2011 as part of Universal's purchase deal of the animation arm of French animation and VFX company Mac Guff. It is responsible for the animation on Illumination's feature-length animated films and associated short films, most notably the Despicable Me franchise.
The Secret Life of Pets is a 2016 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, and distributed by Universal. It was directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Yarrow Cheney, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, from a screenplay written by Brian Lynch and the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. The film stars the voices of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan, and Albert Brooks. The film's plot follows the relationship between a spoiled terrier named Max and a giant, unruly dog named Duke. It also follows what other pets do when their owners are gone for the day.
The Grinch, also known as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, is a 2018 American animated Christmas comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, and distributed by Universal. The third screen adaptation of Dr. Seuss' 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, following the 1966 television special and the 2000 live-action feature-length film, it is Illumination's second Dr. Seuss film adaptation, after The Lorax in 2012. The plot follows the Grinch, who plans to stop Whoville's Christmas celebration by stealing all the town's decorations and gifts, with his pet dog Max.
Sergio Pablos is a Spanish animator, director and screenwriter. While at the helm of his company, Pablos developed several concepts for animated feature films, most notably the original ideas upon which Despicable Me and Smallfoot were based.
Janet Healy is a film producer whose films include Illumination's Despicable Me animated series and other animated films by the studio.
Michael Beattie is a Canadian actor. He has played voice roles in several Illumination studio animated films, starting with The Lorax in 2012.
The Annie Award for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production is an Annie Award awarded annually to the best character designer and introduced in 2002. It rewards the design and look of characters for animated feature films.
The Annie Award for Best Production Design in an Animated Feature Production is an Annie Award first presented in 1994. Since then, it is annually awarded to the animation industry's best or excellent work performed in the areas of overall production design and art direction for sets of animated feature films.
The Annie Award for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcasting Production is an Annie Award given annually to the best voice acting in an animated television or broadcasting production. The category has gone through some name changes and divisions:
