Chris Renaud

Chris Renaud (born December 1966) is an American illustrator, film director, storyboard artist, graphic designer, and voice actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the 2006 animated short No Time for Nuts, which featured the character Scrat from the computer-animated Ice Age films. His most popular work is the Despicable Me franchise, including Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2, which he co-directed with Pierre Coffin. Along with Coffin, he also co-created and lent his voice to the Minions from Despicable Me.

For other people named Chris Renaud, see Chris Renaud (swimmer) and Chris Renaud (ice hockey).
Chris Renaud
BornDecember 1966 (age 54)[1]
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma materSyracuse University
OccupationVoice actor, film director, storyboard artist, graphic designer, illustrator
Years active2001–present
EmployerBlue Sky Studios (2001-2007)
Illumination (2007-present)
Notable work
Despicable Me
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
Despicable Me 2
The Secret Life of Pets
Sing
Spouse(s)Lauren Renaud
Children2
Signature

Life and career

Chris Renaud was born in 1966 in Baltimore, Maryland, and moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, when he was 15, because his father worked for Bethlehem Steel and was transferred to their main office.[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 was the artist for the high school yearbooks and newspaper and had aspirations of creating comic books.[2] He graduated Parkland High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1985 and attended Baum School of Art where he received a $1,000 scholarship.[3]

After graduating from Syracuse University with an illustration degree in 1989,[4] Renaud began work as a graphic designer[5] in the sports entertainment industry. He has created logos and mascots for NFL Properties, the NBA, and Foot Locker. After working as a designer and illustrator for a variety of publications and agencies, Chris began drawing and writing comic books. Working for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics, his projects included illustrating Marvel's Starfleet Academy and pitching the story concept that evolved into Batman: 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 acclaimed "No Man's Land" storyline that followed.

As the production designer on the Disney Channel's The 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 for Bear in the Big Blue House, LazyTown, Curious Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation. With It's a Big Big World, which aired from 2006 to 2010 on PBS, he took the lead in visual development and design of every aspect of this Emmy-nominated children’s program.

Renaud worked for Blue Sky Studios as a story artist on the films Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and the Dr. Seuss adaptation Horton Hears a Who!. He wrote and co-directed the animated short No Time for Nuts, which received an Annie Award and a 2007 Oscar nomination for animated short film.[7] It was also included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2006.

Renaud moved to Paris, France, to work for Illumination Entertainment.[8] While directing Despicable Me (2010), Renaud, along with his directing partner Pierre Coffin, began to develop Gru'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 the Oompa-Loompas from Willy Wonka and the Jawas from Star Wars, as well as silent screen stars Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, and Warner Bros. cartoon characters.[10]

In a four-picture directing deal,[11] he directed Despicable Me (2010), Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012), Despicable Me 2 (2013),[12] and The 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 read Dr. Seuss books as a child and this influenced his work with films such as The 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-produced Despicable Me 3 (2017).

Personal life

Renaud has lived since 2008-2009 in Paris, France with his wife, Lauren, and their two children, John and Kiely.[2][8]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Robots Storyboard artist
2006 Ice Age: The Meltdown
2008 Horton Hears a Who!
2009 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
2010 Despicable Me Dave the Minion Director
2012 Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Forest Animals
2013 Despicable Me 2 Additional Minions
Evil Minions
Italian Waiter		 Director[12]
2015 Minions Executive producer[15]
2016 The Secret Life of Pets Norman Director[13][16]
Sing Additional voices
2017 Despicable Me 3 Executive producer
2018 The Grinch
2019 The Secret Life of Pets 2 Norman Director
2021 Minions: The Rise of Gru Producer

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2001–04 The Book of Pooh Digital Set Art Director
Production Designer
2006 Bear in the Big Blue House Graphic Designer
It's a Big Big World Character Designer
Production Designer

References
  1. DP/30 (November 22, 2013). "DP/30: Despicable Me 2 directors Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin". YouTube. Retrieved November 23, 2013. I'll be 47 in December
  2. Longsdorf, Amy (25 March 2012). "Parkland grad Chris Renaud is acclaimed director of 'The Lorax'". mcall.com. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  3. "Baum Students Recognized Events". The Morning Call. 9 June 1985. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  4. "Alumni". syr.edu. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  5. Campbell, Christopher (27 February 2012). "Short Starts: Watch "Lorax" Director Chris Renaud's Oscar-Nominated "No Time for Nuts"". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  6. Lincoln, Ross (2 March 2012). "'The Lorax' Director Chris Renaud On How He Used 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' To Land Danny DeVito". boxoffice.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  7. "Co-director Chris Renaud on No Time for Nuts". animatedviews.com. 19 February 2007.
  8. Longsdorf, Amy (June 25, 2013). "Director Chris Renaud talks 'Despicable Me 2' (interview)". New Haven Register. Retrieved July 1, 2013. 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.
  9. Handy, Bruce. "The Minions Were Almost Robots".
  10. Longsdorf, Amy. "Parkland grad Chris Renaud embraces the Minions".
  11. Fleming, Mike (July 28, 2009). "LORAX JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED FOR UNI". Variety. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  12. "The Despicable Me 2 Teaser Trailer and Poster Hit! Read more: The Despicable Me 2 Teaser Trailer and Poster Hit!". ComingSoon.net. March 1, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  13. Fleming Jr, Mike (January 24, 2014). "Chris Meledandri's Illumination Sets Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet And Kevin Hart For 3D Animated 'Pets' Pic At Universal". Deadline. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  14. Weintraub, Steve (26 February 2012). "Director Chris Renaud Talks THE LORAX, DESPICABLE ME 2, and STAR WARS; Plus Will We Hear "It's So Fluffy!" in the DESPICABLE ME Sequel?". collider.com. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  15. Fleming Jr, Mike (July 23, 2012). "Illumination And Universal Hatch 'Despicable Me' Spinoff About The Minions". Deadline. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  16. "Liste des sorties Suisse Romande" (PDF). Universal Pictures International. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
Interviews
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