Chris Renaud | |
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 Renaud in 2013 | |
| Born | December 1966 (age 59)[1] Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Syracuse University |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
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| Spouse | Lauren Renaud |
| Children | 2 |
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Chris Renaud (born December 1966) is an American filmmaker, designer, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is best known for his work atIllumination, including directing the company's animated films such as thefirst,second, andfourth films in theDespicable Me franchise (2010–present), the first two of which he co-directed withPierre Coffin,The Lorax (2012),The Secret Life of Pets (2016) and its sequelThe Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019).
He also voiced theMinions in the first two films in theDespicable Me franchise and Norman inThe Secret Life of Pets franchise, the former which he co-created with Coffin. Renaud received nominations for twoAcademy Awards for theIce Age short filmNo Time for Nuts (2006) andDespicable Me 2 (2013).
Renaud was born in December 1966 inBaltimore. At age 15, he moved toBethlehem, Pennsylvania when his father, who worked forBethlehem Steel, was transferred to their corporate headquarters.[2] Renaud has said he had mixed feelings with the move, saying it upset him but it was also one of the best things in his life because it showed him "that there was a great, big world out there."
He attendedParkland High School inSouth Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, where he was the artist for the high school yearbooks and newspaper and had aspirations of creating comic books and graduated in 1985.[2] He then attended theBaum School of Art inAllentown, Pennsylvania, where he received a $1,000 scholarship.[3]
In 1989, he graduated fromSyracuse University with an illustration degree.[4]
Renaud began work as agraphic designer[5] in the sports entertainment industry. He has createdlogos andmascots for NFL Properties, the NBA, and Foot Locker. After working as a designer and illustrator for a variety of publications and agencies, Renaud began drawing and writingcomic books. Working for bothMarvel Comics andDC Comics, his projects included illustrating Marvel'sStarfleet Academy and pitching the story concept that evolved intoBatman: Cataclysm[6] which depicted a devastating earthquake hitting Gotham City. This yearlong tale across all Batman-related comics resulted in increased sales and visibility for the renowned character and set up the acclaimedNo Man's Land storyline that followed.
As the production designer on the Disney Channel'sThe Book of Pooh, Renaud transitioned into the world of children's television. Since that groundbreaking project, he has been able to design virtual sets and puppet characters forBear in the Big Blue House,LazyTown, Curious Pictures andSony Pictures Animation. WithIt's a Big Big World, which aired from 2006 to 2010 onPBS, he took the lead in visual development and design of every aspect of the program.[citation needed]
Renaud worked forBlue Sky Studios as a story artist on the filmsRobots,Ice Age: The Meltdown, and the Dr. Seuss adaptationHorton Hears a Who!. He wrote and co-directed the animated shortNo Time for Nuts, which received anAnnie Award and a 2007 Oscar nomination for animated short film.[7] It was also included in theAnimation Show of Shows in 2006.
Renaud moved to Paris to work forIllumination Entertainment.[8] While directingDespicable Me (2010), Renaud, along with his directing partnerPierre Coffin, began to developGru's famous henchmen, the Minions. Initially, there were discussions about making the creatures robots.[9] Then Renaud hit upon the notion that they could be mole people and slapped goggles on them. "I did a very rough, ugly, little sketch combining some elements into a mole person and sent it to Pierre, who then discussed it with Eric Guillon, who was the art director and final designer of the Minions, and they took some of those ideas and together we came up with what the Minions look like". The more the filmmakers worked on the little guys, the more yellow and more cylindrical they became. "Eric continued to refine the idea and made [the Minions] closer to children. He made them funnier and simpler and a brighter color". Among the inspirations for the Minions were theOompa-Loompas fromWilly Wonka and theJawas fromStar Wars, as well as silent screen starsBuster Keaton andCharlie Chaplin, and Warner Bros. cartoon characters.[10]
In a four-picture directing deal,[11] he directedDespicable Me (2010),Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012),Despicable Me 2 (2013),[12] andThe Secret Life of Pets (2016), in which two pet dogs, Max and Duke, have to put their quarrels behind when they find out that a bunny, Snowball, is building an army of abandoned pets to take revenge on all pet owners and their pets.[13] Renaud signed a new contract with Illumination Entertainment in 2013, saying: "I love working with Illumination. They've given me an unparalleled opportunity to keep directing one movie after another. Very often animation directors make one movie and then spend the next five years developing another one. But I'm in the unique position of being able to keep working and keep making movies... So I feel very fortunate."[8]
In a 2012 interview, he mentioned that he readDr. Seuss books as a child, which influenced his work with films such asThe Lorax.[14] When asked if he would shift towards live-action movies, he said that he has thought about it and it may happen in the future but he feels comfortable with animation for now.[6]
Renaud executive-producedMinions in 2015,Despicable Me 3 in 2017, andThe Grinch in 2018, and producedMinions: The Rise of Gru in 2022. He returned to direct the sequelsThe Secret Life of Pets 2 in 2019 andDespicable Me 4 in 2024.[15]
Since 2008, Renaud has lived in Paris, with his wife, Lauren, and their two children, John and Kiely.[2][8]
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Storyboard Artist | Other | Voice role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Robots | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 2008 | Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 2010 | Despicable Me | Yes | No | No | Yes | Dave the Minion |
| 2012 | Dr. Seuss' The Lorax | Yes | No | No | Yes | Forest Animals |
| 2013 | Despicable Me 2 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Evil Minions and Italian Waiter |
| 2015 | Minions | No | Executive | No | No | |
| 2016 | The Secret Life of Pets | Yes | No | No | Yes | Norman |
| Sing | No | No | No | Yes | Additional voices | |
| 2017 | Despicable Me 3 | No | Executive | No | No | |
| 2018 | Dr. Seuss' The Grinch | No | Executive | No | No | |
| 2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Norman |
| 2021 | Sing 2 | No | No | No | Yes | Additional voices |
| 2022 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | No | Yes | No | No | |
| 2023 | Migration | No | No | No | Yes | Additional voices |
| 2024 | Despicable Me 4 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Principal Übelschlecht |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–2004 | The Book of Pooh | Digital Set Art Director Production Designer |
| 2002–2006 | Bear in the Big Blue House | Graphic Designer |
| 2006 | It's a Big Big World | Character Designer Production Designer |
I'll be 47 in December
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Renaud's 2015 project will be the final entry on his four-film contract for Illumination but he's already signed a new contract and is happy to be staying put in France.
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