Carlos Saldanha
Carlos Saldanha (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaʁluz sawˈdɐɲɐ]; born January 24, 1965) is a Brazilian director, producer, animator and voice actor of animated films who works with Blue Sky Studios. He was the director of Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Rio (2011), Rio 2 (2014), and the co-director of Ice Age (2002) and Robots (2005). Saldanha was nominated in 2003 for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Gone Nutty and in 2018 for Best Animated Feature for Ferdinand.
Carlos Saldanha | |
---|---|
Saldanha at the 2011 Annecy International Animated Film Festival | |
Born | [1][2] | January 24, 1965
Nationality | Brazilian |
Occupation | Film director, film producer, animator, voice actor |
Years active | 1993–present |
Employer | Blue Sky Studios (1993–present) |
Notable work | Ice Age: The Meltdown, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Rio, Rio 2, Ferdinand |
Spouse(s) | Isabella Scarpa |
Children | 4 |
Early life
Saldanha was born in Brazil, growing up in Marechal Hermes, Rio de Janeiro.[3][4] Though he loved cartoons and drawing from an early age, by the time he was an adult, he initially considered a career in computer science, because he did not think a career in art was a viable option. This changed when he became aware of how computer-generated imaging was revolutionizing animation, and discovered the continuing education program at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He entered that program to major in computer animation, saying, "I knew from the first day in class that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life". One of his instructors, recognizing his talent, convinced him to enroll in the school's MFA program. Though Saldanha and his wife, Isabella Scarpa, thought this was a risk, they opted to stay in Manhattan so that Saldanha could do so. While at SVA, he completed two prizewinning film shorts that were featured in film festivals around the world.[3] It was also at SVA that Saldanha met MFA instructor and future film directing partner Chris Wedge, who invited Saldanha to join Wedge's company Blue Sky Studios.[3][4][5] Saldanha graduated from SVA with a Master's degree in Computer Art in 1993.[3][4]
Career
During its fledgling years, Blue Sky Studios provided special effects and produced animated TV commercials. In 2002, Saldanha and Wedge co-directed the animated feature film Ice Age. The movie was a success, with an opening weekend gross of $46.3 million, the best March opening ever. After co-directing the 2005 film Robots, he broke his previous March opening record with the 2006 Ice Age sequel, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, which Saldanha directed by himself. He would later direct the 2009 sequel, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Desiring a change of location after directing three films set in icy locales, Saldanha's next project was the 2011 film Rio, which is set in Saldanha's hometown of Rio de Janeiro. Saldanha, who felt that Rio had never been fully portrayed on film, felt a responsibility to travel to the city with the other animators, so that they could accurately capture Rio's unique environment and habitats. The movie grossed a reported $484 million worldwide.[4]
In October 2012, Saldanha signed a five-year exclusive deal with 20th Century Fox to develop and produce animated and live-action projects.[6] For this purpose, he formed in June 2013 a Fox-based production company, named BottleCap Productions.[7] In 2014, Rio 2 was released, which he directed and co-wrote. For 2017, he is directing an animated feature film adaptation of The Story of Ferdinand.[8][9] Saldanha is also directing for Fox a live-action adaptation of Royden Lepp's graphic novel Rust: Visitor in the Field,[10] which he plans to make before Ferdinand.[11] He is also developing an animated feature film based on a book Alienology from the Ologies fantasy book series.[6]
Personal life
Saldanha and his wife, mathematician Isabella Scarpa, initially lived in a studio apartment in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, but after their second daughter was born, they moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, where they had friends. They continue to live there with their children, Manoela, Sofia, Julia and Rafael. Saldanha, Isabella and their oldest daughter compete in the HOHA (Hoboken Harriers Running Club), a 5k race.[4] Manoela and Sofia voiced a "porcupine-like critter" called "Molehog" in the film Ice Age: The Meltdown, directed by their father.[12] In Rio, Sofia voiced Linda Gunderson as a child.
Filmography
Feature Films
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer |
Other | Voice Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Joe's Apartment | No | No | No | Yes | Supervising Animator | |
1997 | A Simple Wish | No | No | No | Yes | Creative Supervisor: Blue Sky Studios | |
1999 | Fight Club | No | No | No | Yes | Animation Supervisor: Blue Sky Studios | |
2002 | Ice Age | Co-Director | No | No | No | ||
2005 | Robots | Co-Director | No | No | No | ||
2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | Yes | No | No | Yes | Dodo | |
2008 | Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! | No | No | No | No | ||
2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Yes | No | No | Yes | Dinosaur Babies/Flightless Bird | |
2011 | Rio | Yes | Story | No | Yes | Second Waiter | |
2012 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | No | No | Yes | No | ||
2013 | Epic | No | No | No | No | ||
2014 | Rio 2 | Yes | Story | No | Yes | Amazon Quail | |
Rio, I Love You | Partial | No | No | No | Segment: "Pas de Deux" | ||
2015 | The Peanuts Movie | No | No | No | No | ||
2016 | Ice Age: Collision Course | No | No | Yes | No | ||
2017 | Ferdinand | Yes | No | No | Yes | Screaming Matador | Additional Voices |
2019 | Spies in Disguise | No | No | No | Yes | Senior Creative Team | |
Short Films
Year | Title | Director | Animator | Executive Producer |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Bunny | No | Yes | No | |
2002 | Gone Nutty | Yes | No | No | |
2006 | No Time for Nuts | No | No | Yes | |
2008 | Surviving Sid | No | No | Yes | |
2011 | Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas | No | No | Yes | TV Special |
2016 | Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade | No | No | Yes | TV Special |
Critical reception
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | IMDb |
---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) | 57%[13] | 58[14] | 6.9[15] |
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) | 45%[16] | 50[17] | 6.9[18] |
Rio (2011) | 72%[19] | 63[20] | 6.9[21] |
Rio 2 (2014) | 48%[22] | 49[23] | 6.4[24] |
Ferdinand (2017) | 71%[25] | 58[26] | 6.8 |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Annie Award | Outstanding Directing in an Animated Feature Production Shared with Chris Wedge | Ice Age | Nominated |
DVD Exclusive Award | Best Audio Commentary, New Release Shared with Chris Wedge | Nominated | ||
Best New, Enhanced or Reconstructed Movie Scenes Shared with John C. Donkin | Nominated | |||
2004 | Academy Award | Best Animated Short Film | Gone Nutty | Nominated |
Annecy International Animated Film Festival | The Annecy Cristal | Nominated | ||
2007 | Annie Award | Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Ice Age: The Meltdown | Nominated |
Satellite Awards | Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature | |||
2010 | Saturn Award | Best Animated Film | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Nominated |
Russian National Movie Awards | Best Animated Feature Film | Won | ||
2012 | Annie Award | Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Rio | Nominated |
Cinema Brazil Grand Prize | Best Foreign-Language Film (Melhor Filme Estrangeiro) | Nominated | ||
Best Foreign-Language Film (Melhor Filme Estrangeiro) - Audience Award | Won | |||
Italian Online Movie Award | Best Animated Feature Film (Miglior film d'animazione) | Nominated | ||
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association | Best Animated Feature Film | Nominated | ||
2014 | BAFTA Children's Awards | BAFTA Kids Vote - Feature Film Shared with Bruce Anderson, John C. Donkin, Don Rhymer, Carlos Kotkin, Jenny Bicks & Yoni Brenner | Rio 2 | Nominated |
CinemaCon Award | International Filmmaker of the Year | Won | ||
2015 | Visual Effects Society Award | Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture Shared with Bruce Anderson, John C. Donkin and Kirk Garfield | Rio 2 | Nominated |
2018 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Animated Feature Film | Ferdinand | Nominated |
Academy Award | Academy Award for Best Animated Feature | Nominated |
Collaborators
- Actors
- Jake T. Austin (Rio and Rio 2)
- Jemaine Clement (Rio and Rio 2)
- Bernardo de Paula (Rio and Rio 2)
- Jesse Eisenberg (Rio and Rio 2)
- Jamie Foxx (Rio and Rio 2)
- Jeffrey Garcia (Rio and Rio 2)
- Bebel Gilberto (Rio and Rio 2)
- Anne Hathaway (Rio and Rio 2)
- Queen Latifah (Ice Age: The Meltdown and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
- Denis Leary (Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
- John Leguizamo (Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
- Jay Leno (Robots and Ice Age: The Meltdown)
- Clea Lewis (Ice Age: The Meltdown and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
- George Lopez (Rio and Rio 2)
- Leslie Mann (Rio and Rio 2)
- Brian Scott McFadden (Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Rio 2)
- Tracy Morgan (Rio and Rio 2)
- Tim Nordquist (Robots, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Rio, and Ferdinand)
- Josh Peck (Ice Age: The Meltdown and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
- Ray Romano (Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
- Stephen Root (Ice Age and Ice Age: The Meltdown)
- Rodrigo Santoro (Rio and Rio 2)
- Seann William Scott (Ice Age: The Meltdown and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
- Cindy Slattery (Ice Age: The Meltdown, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Rio, Rio 2, and Ferdinand)
- Alan Tudyk (Ice Age and Ice Age: The Meltdown)
- Chris Wedge (Ice Age, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
- will.i.am (Rio and Rio 2)
References
- "RIO". KidsNews,inc. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
The mastermind behind this story, Carlos Saldanha, was born January 24, 1968, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Cavna, Michael (July 1, 2009). "The Interview: 'Ice Age' Director Carlos Saldanha". Washington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
The engaging, Braziian-born Saldanha, 44, shares his thoughts on creativity, family and the reason why he knew he needed the voice of Queen Latifah.
- "What's in Store". Visual Arts Journal. Fall 2011. School of Visual Arts. Page 18
- Baldassari, Arlene (December 30, 2012). "The Road from Rio". Hudson Reporter. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- Hulett, Steve (January 9, 2012). "The Carlos Saldanha Interview". TAG Blog. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
- Kroll, Justin; Abrams, Rachel (October 25, 2012). "'Rio' helmer Carlos Saldanha inks Fox pact". Variety. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- Fleming, Mike (June 6, 2013). "'Rio' Helmer Carlos Saldanha Sets And Staffs Up BottleCap Productions At Fox". Deadline. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- Brodesser-Akner, Claude (February 18, 2011). "Fox, Ice Age Director Bullish on The Story of Ferdinand". New York. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
- Chitwood, Adam (May 16, 2013). "DreamWorks Animation Moves B.O.O. Release Up to June 5, 2015 and TROLLS to November 4, 2016; Fox Dates ANUBIS and FERDINAND". Collider.com. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- Sneider, Jeff (September 9, 2013). "'Rio' Director Carlos Saldanha in Talks to Replace Joe Cornish on Fox's 'Rust' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- Desowitz, Bill (March 14, 2014). "Immersed in Movies: Carlos Saldanha Talks 'Rio 2'". Animation Scoop. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- Lowe, R. Kinsey (April 3, 2006). "`Ice Age': It came, thawed, conquered". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
- "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Ice Age: The Meltdown Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Rio (2011) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Rio Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Rio (2011) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Rio 2 (2014) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Rio 2 Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Rio 2 (2014) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- "Ferdinand (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
- "Ferdinand reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved December 25, 2017.