Christopher "Chris" Meledandri (born May 15, 1959) is an American film producer, and the founder (2007) and CEO of Illumination Entertainment. He is best known as the producer of the Despicable Me franchise.
Works
Walt Disney Pictures
Before joining Fox, Meledandri was president of Dawn Steel Pictures at Walt Disney Pictures, where he served as an executive producer of Cool Runnings.
20th Century Fox Animation
During his tenure, he produced Ever After: A Cinderella Story and helped Fox become a major player in the world of animated feature films. In 1998 he led Fox's acquisition of fledgling visual effects/commercial house Blue Sky Studios, which he built into a successful producer of animated features. He oversaw the creative and business operations of Blue Sky, now Fox's wholly owned CGI studio. While at the studio, Meledandri supervised and/or executive produced movies including Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Robots, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Simpsons Movie and Dr. Seuss Horton Hears a Who![1] He also produced two animated shorts, Gone Nutty and No Time For Nuts, both were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Illumination Entertainment
Meledandri left his post as President of 20th Century Fox Animation in early 2007 and founded Illumination Entertainment, an all-audience film production company, co-owned by Universal Pictures, which fully finances and owns the films. In 2010 Illumination released its first film, Despicable Me, (which became very successful and was followed by Despicable Me 2 in 2013), and in 2011 Hop. Illumination released a film version of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which continued the successful collaboration between Meledandri and Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel's widow, Audrey.[3] He also produced the franchise spin-off featuring the Minions, Minions (2015).
Illumination and Dreamworks Animation
On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal announced its intent to acquire competing studio DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. Meledandri will oversee both Illumination and DreamWorks following the completion of the merger.
Personal Life
Meledandri was born in New York City. He is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He attended Dartmouth College and is a member of the board of trustees at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He has two sons, who are 17–18 and 26–27 years old.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Notes | 1986 | Quicksilver | associate producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Brothers in Arms | producer | |||
| 1990 | Opportunity Knocks | producer | |||
| 1993 | Fly by Night | executive producer | |||
| Swing Kids | executive producer | ||||
| Cool Runnings | executive producer | ||||
| Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit | co-executive producer | ||||
| 1994 | Trial by Jury | producer | |||
| 2002 | Ice Age | executive producer | |||
| 2005 | Robots | executive producer | |||
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | executive producer | |||
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! | executive producer | |||
| 2010 | Despicable Me | producer | |||
| 2011 | Hop | producer | |||
| 2012 | The Lorax | producer | |||
| 2013 | Despicable Me 2 | producer | |||
| 2015 | Minions[6] | producer | |||
| 2016 | The Secret Life of Pets[7] | producer | |||
| Sing | producer | ||||
| 2017 | Despicable Me 3 [8] | producer | |||
| 2018 | How the Grinch Stole Christmas[9] | producer | |||
| 2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2[10] | producer | |||
| TBA | The Cat in the Hat[11] | producer | |||
| Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase[12] | producer |