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It's a premise I perhaps expected too much from: What do pets get up to when their owners are at work all day? Turns out the answer is "pretty much the same thing as the toys in Toy Story."

Can Illumination replicate the success it has enjoyed with the Despicable Me franchise?

The post Universal Releases Expanded Look at ‘Secret life of Pets’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The minions have passed "The Lion King" on the all-time list and has now set its sights on "Toy Story 3."

The 'Minions' is a hit with audiences and a miss with critics. Who got it right?

Illumination has optioned Mofac Alfred's online hit 'Johnny Express' and made a first-look pact with the studio.

Illumination/Universal's push to make its Minions a household name is reaching into some kooky corners.

“Ceci n’est pas une banane.”

Not one, but two animated features are currently raking in big box office bucks.

Illumination Entertainment's founder admits he has no idea what's in store for the future of animation, but it will probably arrive online in short-form.

Pete Docter's latest smashes opening weekend box office record for an original film.

"The Secret Life of Pets" makes no bones about its aim to launch an arsenal of non-stop animal gags.

Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures have moved the release date of the Minions spin-off movie from December 19, 2014 to July 10, 2015. The decision was made to ensure a better film. Just kidding. Variety reports that they’re moving the date to “enable Universal to fully exploit the film as a summer tentpole that lends itself to a vast consumer products program, games and theme park promotions.” In other words, they need more time to make fart guns.

Despicable Me 2 is on track to become the most profitable film in Universal Pictures’ 100-plus year history, and that has turned Illumination Entertainment head Chris Meledandri into the current darling of Hollywood. This Bloomberg Businessweek piece is one of the few things I’ve read about Meledandri’s low-budget approach to feature animation. He pioneered this lower-risk model while he was at Fox, where he was responsible for the Ice Age series, one of the most successful animated feature franchises in history.

“We’re not spending our money on every blade of grass and the leaves on the trees,” says Janet Healy, who is Meledandri’s co-producer. Not only is the production process more restrained, but so is the development process. Illumination picks and chooses exactly what it wants to produce instead of spending money developing numerous pictures that may never move into production. Illumination’s US office has only 35 employees, and though most of the creative work is done elsewhere (particularly Mac Guff in Paris), that’s still a modest corporate structure for a feature animation studio.

Meledandri, like DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and increasingly John Lasseter at Pixar and Disney, prides himself on the producer-driven approach to filmmaking. He mentions in the article that there is never any dissent because he oversees creative approvals on a daily basis: “There is never a situation where a production proceeds down a path only to discover those with ultimate creative authority aren’t in agreement.” The strategy has worked exceedingly well for him so far, though the strategy isn’t always clear, even to those who work with him. “I think he’s got a vision,” says his co-producer Healy. “I just don’t know what it is.”

Turbo, the DreamWorks-produced and David Soren-directed animated feature about the snail that could, opened in a disappointing third place in the U.S. with an esimated $21.5 million. The film is the third-lowest all-time opening weekend for a DreamWorks CGI film, doing better than only Antz (1998) and the Aardman-produced Flushed Away (2006). However, adjusted for inflation and 3D prices, Turbo had the smallest opening weekend audience EVER for a DreamWorks CG pic. The film has grossed $31.2 million since opening last Wednesday.

Illumination’s Despicable Me 2 kept up its amazing run in its third weekend. The film landed in second place with an estimated $25.1 million. Its current domestic total is a smashing $276 million, and by next weekend it will pass Man of Steel to become the second-highest grossing film in America this year. Holding up the tenth place spot was Pixar’s Monsters University, which earned an estimated $5 million in its fifth weekend. The film’s total now stands at a robust $249 million.

International numbers to come in a bit.

For the third week in a row, an animated film has taken the crown at the U.S. box office. This week, the winner is Illumination Entertainment and Universal’s Despicable Me 2. The Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud-directed film scored an estimated $82.5 million over the weekend, and since its debut last Wednesday has earned a massive $142.1 million. The film’s three-day opening was nearly identical to the opening of Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University, however, Despicable Me cost a reported $76 million to produce, whereas the Pixar film cost closer to $200 million. Overseas grosses on Despicable Me 2 are still to come, but Box Office Mojo reports that the film has already made over $150 million overseas, and Deadline Hollywood says the film opened in first place in 35 of its 38 new markets and set the following records:

Territory highlights/records: biggest opening ever for an animated film in Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Trinidad and Vietnam; highest opening day ever for all films in South Africa; Universal’s biggest opening day ever in Brazil, Hungary, Mexico and South Africa; third biggest opening day ever in Mexico just behind Iron Man 3 and The Avengers.

The biggest story here is that Despicable Me 2 is performing as well as any Pixar/DreamWorks CG tentpole on a fraction of the budget. The other studios throw money at their films, but the producers of Despicable Me 2 focused on delivering the best entertainment bang for the buck.

With the new competition in the kiddie film market, Monsters University took an expected hit in its third weekend, dropping 57% for an estimated take of $19.6M. The film, which landed in fourth place, has grossed a solid $216.1 in the United States. Combine that with $184.4M overseas, and it has now crossed the $400M mark worldwide.

Despicable Me 2, which debuted in the United States on Wednesday with a mammoth $34.3 million, is headed into what is guaranteed to be a huge opening weekend. The film is the fourth effort from Illumination Entertainment, the studio run by Chris Meledandri, who is the former 20th Century Fox Animation president responsible for films like Ice Age and Horton Hears a Who!.

Critical reaction to Despicable Me 2, directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, has been decent though not spectacular, which is quite similar to another recent animated follow-up, Pixar’s Monsters University. The critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes stands at 75% with an audience rating of 89%. Variety labeled the film an “endearing if slightly less inspired sequel,” while the NY Times stated that it was “consistently diverting and so cute you’ll want to pet it” while cautioning that “it is also weightless and lacks a center.” The note sounded by most critics is that it’s ultimately a likeable film, as summed up by the Village Voice: “It’s breezy and affable without ever going completely soft.”

And now it’s your turn. After you see the film, report back here with your thoughts in the comments below. As always, this talkback is reserved for readers who have seen the film and wish to share their views with others in the animation community.

(Despicable Me 2 billboard via Daily Billboard)

Leading up this week’s release of the sequel, Despicable Me 2, the minions are the center of an inescapable advertising bonanza, overshadowing even the human characters in the film. The yellow pill-shaped creatures are on billboards, bus ads, and commercials. They have their own upcoming attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood (they’re already at Universal Orlando), themed hotel suites, video game and a feature-length prequel set for a 2014 release. And then there’s the Despicablimp, a 165-foot-long, 55-foot-tall airship which is currently on a six-month, 20,000-mile journey across the United States to promote the film.

No longer the background entertainment, the minions are the cornerstone of the marketing plan for Despicable Me 2, starring in nearly every ad for the film. Their success among audiences surprises even the film’s writers. “We never knew the minions were going to be so popular; it just became a force of nature,” said the film’s co-writer Cinco Paul in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. The bumbling gibberish and clumsy nature of the minions easily translates across cultures and age groups to win over fans. The minions have also tapped into the striking power of yellow, a color that has found wide recognition in animation and entertainment.

We’ve seen large groups of secondary characters become unofficial film mascots in the past—the aliens from Toy Story and the penguins from Madagascar were breakout stars from their respective films. Hordes of animated characters were a rarer sight when hand-drawn animation was the preeminent feature film technique, but with computer animation, it is easy to replicate and tweak models to achieve a cast of many. The relative ease with which the makers of Despicable Me 2 have created their army of minions would’ve made the 101 Dalmatians animators cry with joy.

The Los Angeles Times recently published an article on the success of the minions, which twice praises the characters’ simple design and says that even children can draw them. But it’s more than just the “simple, graphic nature” of the minions that makes them a success with audiences. Their childlike mannerisms and brazen stupidity is a brand of humor that translates to almost any demographic. Their giggles and gibberish, though annoying to some, is downright infectious.

Even though they risk overexposure, the minions could become a coveted marketing model for animated features, and it won’t be surprising if other studios attempt to copy the formula. But this could result in derivative forms that feel superficial, especially if the characters’ personalities aren’t developed with care. The minions’ push to the forefront grew organically from audience response to the first film. Perhaps then, the real lesson here is that even in this modern era of sequels, prequels, spin-offs, remakes and adaptations, audiences still value and reward original creations.

What am I reading now? Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie
 

Have you heard? The Lorax is on his way. On Friday, March 2, 2012, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures will be unveiling their adaptation of Dr. Seuss‘ environmental manifesto.

The Lorax

The leap from picture book to silver screen couldn’t come at a more opportune moment. We’re at a point in time where the naysayers can no longer claim that the “green movement” is simply a fad that will run its course. Instead, its importance has been solidified in the collective consciousness.

The Lorax is about to send out his call-to-action yet again. If you haven’t already sprung into action, isn’t it time you did?

Actor Danny DeVito will voice an orange environmentalist in an animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss‘ beloved book, The Lorax. The film joins a long list of Seuss adaptations: The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and Horton Hears a Who.

Zac Efron will play the human hero, Ted (named after Theodore Seuss Geisel), and Betty White will play his grandmother. The two villains will be voiced by Ed Helms and Rob Riggle. Helms will play Once-ler while Riggle will voice a new villainous creation.

The film will be shot in 3-D and release is tentatively set for 2012. The video embedded above shows a clip from the animated musical television special of The Lorax developed by CBS back in 1972.

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