'Despicable Me' founder shares secret of success

Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination Entertainment, poses with "Minions" characters from the "Despicable Me" movies at a theater in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korean animation fans may be unfamiliar with the name Chris Meledandri until they are told he produced the worldwide smash hit "Despicable Me."

Working in the animation business over the past two decades, Meledandri has produced some of the most popular 3D animation movies, such as the "Ice Age" franchise, as an executive of 20th Century Fox Animation. In 2007, he established his own studio, Illumination Entertainment, which has emerged as a major player in the business thanks to the blockbuster "Despicable Me" franchise, which has garnered more than $1.5 billion.

Meledandri recently visited Korea for the first time in a bid to promote Illumination's upcoming film "Minions," a spinoff of Despicable Me.

Meledandri revealed that his secret of his success lies in "finding the very best talent in the world and the most competitive, appealing characters."

"When we made Ice Age, what we realized was that audiences, first and foremost, were responding to characters and the story. We put our emphasis on characters and story. That's where we invest most of our resources," Meledandri said at a theater in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, Monday.

"As we observed audiences watching Ice Age, not a single audience member complained that they thought the film wasn't as visually impressive as one of our competitors' films. So we carry that philosophy," he added.

Meledandri recently signed with a local animation studio, mofac & alfred, which produced the five-minute 3D animated feature "Johnny Express."

Directed by Woo Kyung-min, the short animated feature revolves around a space delivery guy named Johnny, a lazy person who sits idle on his spaceship as the ship's automatic system does all the delivering for him.

The film has gone viral since it was first uploaded on YouTube in May of last year. As of Monday, the video has been watched more than 770,000 times.

Meledandri said his company plans to make Johnny Express into a full-length animated feature working alongside the local studio.

"When my associate producer Brett Hoffman showed me Johnny Express, I was immediately delighted by the film.

"I found the character Johnny to be very appealing, charming character, and for us every decision about the movie begins with the character. The film also has a comedic tone that is very much in sync with the kind of slapstick comedy that we are attracted to," he said, adding, "We are now in the phase of developing a story and are about to start the screenwriting process."

Meledandri also introduced Illumination's new feature "The Secret Life of Pets."

Focusing on different kinds of pets, the animated feature is set in New York City and shows what pets do after their owners leave the house.

"What do our pets do all day after we leave the house and after kids go school? That very simple idea was the inspiration of the movie," Meledandri explained. It is scheduled for release in the summer of 2016.

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