Illumination
| Illumination | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 2007[1] |
| FirstSuper Mario film | The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) |
| Current president | Chris Meledandri |
Illumination (formerlyIllumination Entertainment) is an American animation company that is owned byUniversal Pictures, itself a division of theNBCUniversal division ofComcast. Founded inSanta Monica, California byChris Meledandri, Illumination is famous for creating theDespicable Me franchise, with theMinions from that franchise being the company's mascots. Other particular movies includeThe Secret Life of Pets,Sing,Migration,an adaption ofThe Lorax, andan adaption ofThe Grinch, the latter two based on popular books byDr. Seuss.
Illumination's films are made on relatively smaller budgets compared to those of competing animation companies, usually rounding to $70 million. Nevertheless, Illumination has proven to be financially successful in spite of usually mixed critical reception. France-basedMac Guff, which Illumination acquired in 2012 underIllumination Mac Guff (later renamed Illumination Studios Paris after the release ofSing 2), provides the animation for all of its films except the live-action filmHop, which featured CGI byRhythm & Hues.
On January 31, 2018, during a financial briefing,Nintendo announced that Illumination would be producing an animatedSuper Mario–franchise film co-produced by Chris Meledandri andShigeru Miyamoto, marking Illumination's first film based on an existing intellectual property not to be an adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book. The title was revealed to beThe Super Mario Bros. Movie in a teaser trailer released on October 6, 2022,[2] and the film was initially released on April 5, 2023.A follow-up was announced on March 10, 2024 (onMAR10 Day), and is set to be released on April 3, 2026.[3]
In all of Illumination's films exceptThe Secret Life of Pets, the opening logos showcase a Minion (voiced byPierre Coffin speaking in "Minionese") performing a gag related to the film, with some Minions, including Kevin, Stuart, and Bob (the main trio of theMinions spin-off films), saying the company's name. While the original trailers and TV spots ofThe Super Mario Bros. Movie did not have the Minions in the Illumination logo before release, a truncated version of an opening logo from one of their films,Despicable Me 4, which released on July 3, 2024, was used forThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie's official trailer; the original opening featured Stuart firing a weapon loaded with light pins on a wall to form the company logo and Kevin turning the lights on.[4]
The Illumination logo shown at the start ofThe Super Mario Bros. Movie depicts a Minion (Stuart) attempting to drive akart themed afterGru as the countdown fromMario Kart 8 is heard while the logo lights up, but the Minion fails to get the kart started. Much to his frustration, he then hits the kart with his fist before suddenly causing himself to blast offscreen, shouting the company's name.
Filmography
| Film | Release date | Director(s) | Producer(s) | Writer(s) | Executive Producer(s) | Editor(s) | Composer(s) | Co-production |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie |  April 5, 2023[5] April 28, 2023[6] | Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic Co-Directors: Pierre Leduc Fabien Polack | Chris Meledandri Shigeru Miyamoto | Matthew Fogel | Brett Hoffman Bill Ryan Yusuke Beppu | Eric Osmond | Brian Tyler Original Nintendo Themes by: Koji Kondo | Universal Pictures Illumination Nintendo Animation Services: Illumination Studios Paris |
| The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | April 1, 2026[7] April 24, 2026[8] | Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic | TBA | TBA | Brian Tyler |
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Several days after the deal was made, Shigeru Miyamoto explained why Illumination was chosen for the project over other animation companies, saying he had been interested in producing an animated film for quite some time and, contrary to popular belief, making a movie and making a game are completely different procedures. Miyamoto wanted someone with experience in the film industry to co-produce the film, and after talking with numerous directors and producers, he was introduced to Illumination throughUniversal Parks & Resorts, with whom Nintendo was makinga theme park. Miyamoto also stated that when he began talks with Chris Meledandri, the latter read numerous interviews about him and felt that they had a similar approach in creation. Miyamoto described Meledandri as having experience in the field of animation beyond Illumination, having been executive producer ofIce Age and other animated projects for20th Century Fox, as well as being "extremely cost-conscious and time-conscious in his quest to make successful movies." Miyamoto also mentioned that Nintendo and Illumination had mutually agreed to call the deal off if neither company could come up with an interesting premise, but he also noted that the screenplay had been hashed out a number of times and discussions were in progression, hoping to provide more information once the schedule had been ironed out.[9]
On November 6, 2018, Meledandri said that he was glad the 1993 filmSuper Mario Bros. was not well-received, citing the primary reason being that the producers did not involve Nintendo, whereas Illumination was "embracing" Miyamoto and keeping him "front and center" in the film's creation. He said that Illumination'sSuper Mario film was in "priority development" and hoped that it would be released by 2022. Meledandri also noted that developing aSuper Mario film is "an ambitious task," citing the challenge of adding depth toSuper Mario that would simultaneously compromise generations of fans and feel organic to its iconography as well as supporting a three-act structure.[10][11] The movie was later delayed to spring 2023, with release dates of April 7, 2023 in North America (later changed again to April 5) and April 28, 2023 in Japan.[12]
The Super Mario Bros. Movie would go on to become Illumination's highest-grossing film, surpassingMinions, which previously held the record.[13]
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
A follow-up toThe Super Mario Bros. Movie was announced on March 10, 2024 (on MAR10 Day), and was originally set to be released on April 3, 2026, in the United States and many other regions.[14] During the Nintendo Direct on September 2025, the film was announced to be titledThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie and was described as the "main event" of theSuper Mario Bros. 40th Anniversary celebration. Following the second Nintendo Direct on January 2026 that revealed Yoshi's appearance in the film, the US date was moved up to April 1, much like the first film's date was.[7]
Notes
- Prior to Illumination's acquisition of the rights to adaptSuper Mario,Donkey Kong had been mentioned in two Illumination films. Inits adaption ofThe Lorax, during Ted's second visit with the Once-ler, the Once-ler says, "Why aren't you like other kids? Breakdancing and wearing Bell Bottoms and playing the Donkey Kongs?" During the final battle with Balthazaar Bratt inDespicable Me 3, Bratt says, "It's on like Donkey Kong!" after being challenged to a dance battle by Gru. Ironically, Illumination's parent company Universal oncesued Nintendo overDonkey Kong for infringing the copyright toKing Kong in 1982.
- There is also a reference to theSuper Mario games inThe Secret Life of Pets, where a turtle belonging to the "Flushed Pets" is capable of curling inside its shell and bouncing back and forth, hitting anyone in its path, much like aKoopa Troopa, even making theKoopa Shell sound from theSuper Mario games.
- Illumination has also referenced a Nintendo console in one of its movies. In the firstDespicable Me film, during the scene where Gru tries to sneak into Vector's fortress to retrieve the shrink ray, Vector can be seen playing a fighting game on theWii, where he swings a Wii Remote around.
References
- ^Studio.Illumination Entertainment. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^Nintendo Direct: The Super Mario Bros. Movie.nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1766815334580081017?s=19
- ^Nintendo of America (November 12, 2025).The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Direct 11.12.2025.YouTube. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
- ^@supermariomovie (February 28, 2023).Wahoo! The #SuperMarioMovie is moving from April 7 to April 5 in the US and in more than 60 markets around the world. The movie hits theaters in additional markets in April and May, with Japan opening April 28..X. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) - Financial Information.The Numbers (English). Retrieved August 3, 2024. (Archived August 2, 2024, 02:26:10 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^abNintendo of America (January 25, 2026).The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – Yoshi First Look.YouTube. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
- ^@Nintendo (June 18, 2024).宮本です。今晩はNintendo Directの放送がありますが、その前にひとつお知らせをさせてください。スーパーマリオの新たなアニメ映画の日本での公開日が2026年4月24日に決まりました。楽しい映画になるように、イルミネーションのチームと一緒に取り組んでいますので、引き続き楽しみにしてください。.X (Japanese). Retrieved June 18, 2024. (Archived June 18, 2024, 13:26:50 UTC via archive.today[deprecated link].)
- ^Minotti, Mike (January 9, 2018).Nintendo's Miyamoto explains how Illumination won Mario movie rights.VentureBeat. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^Lang, B. (November 6, 2018).Inside Illumination's Plans for Animated 'Super Mario Bros.' Movie.Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ^Schaefer, Sandy (November 6, 2018).Super Mario Bros. Animated Movie Is A Priority; May Arrive in 2022.Screen Rant. Retrieved November 6, 2018.}}
- ^@NintendoAmerica (April 25, 2022)."This is Miyamoto. After consulting with Chris-san, my partner at Illumination on the Super Mario Bros. film, we decided to move the global release to Spring 2023–April 28 in Japan and April 7 in North America. My deepest apologies but I promise it will be well worth the wait."Twitter. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
- ^The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
- ^Nintendo of America (March 10, 2024).MAR10 Day 2024.YouTube. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
 | Wikipedia has an article onIllumination. |
