Chris Meledandri

The founder of the animation studio behind “Super Mario” and the yellow, chattering “minions” cartoon characters says his movies aren’t made specifically for children. “Thematically there’s an underpinning to every one of our films. We feel that there’s a certain simplicity that we subscribe to, because we find that there’s a beauty to simplicity,” said Chris Meledandri, founder and chief executive of Illumination, in a recent interview. “When we sit down in our creative process, we’re never intending…

Image: DreamworksEverything old is new again, especially for Illumination. Whether it’s working in sequels to its franchises like Despicable Me or Sing!, or this week’s release of the Nintendo nostalgia trip that is The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the animation studio du jour has a lot on its plate, most of it continuations of familiar tales. That’s also the case for a fifth Shrek movie, apparently.Spoilers of the Week | June 3rdSpeaking to Variety about the long-awaited release of the new Mario film, Illumination CEO Chris…

Mushroom Kingdom, here we come.Gif: Illumination/NintendoUniversal, Illumination, and Nintendo just smashed the question mark block that is their upcoming animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie—but it wasn’t a mushroom or flower that popped up. It was a first-look teaser trailer.The trailer debuted at New York Comic-Con and gives us a tantalizing look at the film, which is hitting theaters on April 7, 2023. As previously announced, Chris Pratt is voicing Mario, Charlie Day is Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy is Peach, Jack Black is…

Image: NetflixThe last few months haven’t exactly been kind to western animation. Between various canceled projects or removals of old series at HBO Max and in-progress Netflix series getting paused or completely shut down, it can feel like the landscape is going to be in a very different place by the time 2023 rolls around.Amidst all this, Illumination is looking to expand its filmsfrom kid-friendly fare like Minions and the upcoming Mario movie. Variety reports that the production company recently hired Mike Moon, who…

They are on Walmart shelves, candy wrappers and dog costumes. They are in theme parks in Florida and Southern California. They have appeared on Amazon.com Inc. delivery boxes, chickpea snack bags and Tic-Tac containers. They have made cameos in countless Facebook memes, standing in for fans who want to express every conceivable emotion—from back-to-school excitement to calls to indict former President Donald Trump. People have…