Illumination Studios movies are among the most popular, and it is one of the youngest animated movie production companies, founded in 1997.
Their first animated movie, Despicable Me, made a huge splash, and they have big plans for the future. Team up with the minions and find Illumination Entertainment jobs on their site.
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Illumination Movies List
Illumination Entertainment films produced include the following list of movies. Which ones are your favorite?
- Super Mario Bros Movie [The Super Mario Bros. Movie Characters]
- Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
- Minions: The Rise of Gru
- Sing 2
- The Secret Life of Pets 2
- The Grinch [The Grinch characters]
- Despicable Me 3
- Sing
- The Secret Life of Pets
- Minions
- Despicable Me 2
- The Lorax
- Hop
- Despicable Me
Illumination History
A Look into Illumination
Illumination Entertainment is an Animation Production Company based in Santa Monica, California. It was founded in 2007 by Chris Meledandri and is best known for its animated films Despicable Me 1, 2, 3, and their spin-off, Minions.
All four had the box office busy together, with animation lovers worldwide excited. The company is in a partnership where it has its hand in production, while Universal Studios is responsible for financing and distribution.
A Bit of History
Meledandri was previously the president of 20th Century Fox Animation, where he produced various well-known movies, including Ice Age and its sequel, The Meltdown, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Horton Hears a Who!, and Robots. In 2007, he left his post to start Illumination Entertainment.
Universal currently owns the studio and has exclusive distribution, while Illumination Studios retains creative control. In 2011, the company acquired Mac Guff’s animation department to form Illumination Mac Guff. This acquisition is responsible for presenting The Lorax and Despicable Me to the world.
How They Do It
Meledandri is an animation guru who strives to ensure that his company adheres to a low-cost model. Therefore, they employ strict cost controls in producing their animation films. Movie expenses soar very high to over $100 million in today’s world.
However, Illumination Animation completed its first two releases at surprisingly low budgets. Despicable Me was produced at a $69 million expense, and Hop cost $63 million. The studio manages this by employing various cost-conscious techniques.
The Road So Far
Despicable Me was Illumination’s first movie, an instant hit in July 2010. The film grossed $543 million worldwide. Steve Carell stars as the voice of Gru, a villain who is terrible at being bad. Additionally, the movie introduces the World to the Minions. These little yellow creatures seek to serve the most despicable masters.
Hop followed, and then The Lorax came. Both movies were successes at the box office, grossing $184 million and $348 million, respectively. However, Illumination Entertainment soon realized what the world wanted was more Minions.
Back to work, Despicable Me 2 was on screens in 2013. With Gru and Minions being the talk of the town among movie lovers, the company struck gold, raking in over $970 million worldwide. After Despicable Me 2, the studio was fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world of animations.
Stick to what you do best; this is the advice Illumination Studios follows when making a Minions-centric movie. Minions served as a prequel to the two Despicable Me movies, focusing on the Minions’ lives before they met Gru. The film became an instant success upon its release, grossing over $1.159 billion worldwide.
Minions is currently Illumination’s most successful movie and sits in second place behind Frozen in the list of highest-grossing animated films. However, this figure only reflects sales and does not tell the other side of the story. Many Minions merchandise items, from clothing to toys and even food, have been sold worldwide.
Riding on the success and popularity of the minions, Illumination Entertainment soon got back to business with The Secret Life of Pets. Even though the film did not reach the heights of success enjoyed by Minions, the studio showed the world that they could deliver exactly what the family audience needs.
The Secret Life of Pets is based on the story of Max, a puppy living in New York. His owner, Katie, brings home Duke, a huge hound to keep him company. However, they do not get along but reconcile when they need each other. The film made a few justifiable comparisons to Toy Story. Even though it has been described as lacking depth, it features pieces of incredible and enjoyable escapism and elicits happiness.
Sing was another smash hit for the studio, grossing $467 million worldwide. It features Reese Witherspoon’s and Matthew McConaughey’s voices as animals participating in a singing competition. Sing also earned a nomination in the best-animated feature category at the 2017 Golden Globes but lost to Zootopia.
After Sing’s release was Despicable Me 3, released on June 30, 2017. With a budget of $80 million, the film has grossed $175 million in the United States and $296 million from foreign sales, bringing the total to $471 million. This is very impressive, given that it has only been showing in cinemas for less than two months. The public’s love for the minions is not waning anytime soon.
What to Expect in The Future
With so many successes under its belt, Illumination Entertainment’s future seems bright. The sequel to Sing is already slated for 2020. For critics who are not convinced that The Secret Life of Pets earned a spot as one of the best animated films, they now have a second opportunity to analyze it with The Secret Life of Pets 2 coming out in July 2020.
Also lined up is an adaptation from Ricky Gervais Fanimals and a Dr. Suess animated adaptation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, set for November 2018. With the world not getting enough of Minions, we will eagerly await its sequel in July 2020.
From these new releases that have been announced, it is evident that as much as Illumination Studios has pushed the pedal on the Minions, it also has not forgotten to take on some classic stories and bring them to a new audience, just like Disney has done in the past.
In just 10 years, Meledandri has grown Illumination Animation from a tiny independent company to becoming one of the most successful animation powerhouses today. Other large animation production houses, such as Disney movies, Pixar movies, and DreamWorks movies, view the studio as an equal and worthy rival.
On the other hand, the world is looking to Illumination to keep doing what it is doing best, feeding the family audience with a comical slice of entertainment. With such a successful past and a promising future, all we are left to do is patiently wait; wait for so much more.
Also, check out Laika animation.