Kyle Balda
Kyle Balda (born March 9, 1971) is an American animator and film director, best known for co-directing the animated films The Lorax (2012), with Chris Renaud, and Minions (2015), with Pierre Coffin. He has also worked as animator on several films including Jumanji, Toy Story 2, and Despicable Me. He has worked for Pixar for years and is now with Illumination Entertainment.
Kyle Balda | |
|---|---|
 Kyle Balda in 2015. | |
| Born | March 9, 1971 (age 49) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts |
| Occupation | Animator, film director |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Employer | Illumination (2010—present) |
Notable work | Minions |
Early life
Balda was born in Tucson, Arizona, to a Maltese mother.[1] He studied at the California Institute of the Arts in the early 1990s and dropped out after two years for a job he was offered.[1][2][3]
Career
During his time at CalArts, Balda was hired by LucasArts as an intern to create the animated opening credit sequence for the graphic adventure game Day of the Tentacle.[4]
He started his career as an animator by working at Industrial Light & Magic, in the films including 1994's The Mask as graphics animator, 1995's Jumanji as animation supervisor, and in 1996's Mars Attacks! as character animator.[2] He also worked at Weta Digital once in New Zealand, on the 1996 film The Frighteners, he animated the Grim Reaper for the film.[2] Later Balda started working at Pixar, and his works included 1998's A Bug's Life as an additional animator, 1999's Toy Story 2 as the directing animator, and 2001's Monsters, Inc. as animator.[2] In 2010, he joined the Illumination Entertainment in Paris, and worked in the 2010s Despicable Me as the head of layout. Balda has also directed several short films and lectured at different animation schools.[2]
In 2012, Balda co-directed the Illumination's animated film for his directorial debut The Lorax along with Chris Renaud, starring Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, and Taylor Swift.[3][5] The film was released domestically on March 2, 2012 by Universal Pictures and grossed over $348 million with a budget of $70 million.[6]
In 2015, Balda directed another Illumination animated film, Minions, along with Pierre Coffin. The film's voice cast included Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, and Michael Keaton.[5][7][8] The film was released domestically on July 10, 2015, by Universal and has grossed over $1.1 billion.[9]
In 2017, Balda co-directed Despicable Me 3. In his role as co-director he pushed for the film to have a more vibrant color palette than its predecessors.[10]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Mask | Graphics animator |
| 1995 | Jumanji | Animation supervisor |
| 1996 | Mars Attacks! | Character animator |
| 1996 | The Frighteners | Character animator |
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Additional animator |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2 | Directing animator |
| 2001 | Monsters, Inc. | Animator |
| 2010 | Despicable Me | Layout supervisor |
| 2012 | The Lorax | Co-director |
| 2015 | Minions | Director |
| 2017 | Despicable Me 3 | Director |
| 2021 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | Director[11] |
References
- Molony, Julia (June 22, 2015). "Life amongst Minions... for Kyle Balda". The Irish Independent. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- "Kyle Balda, Illumination Mac Guff, Director". FMX. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- Fraser, Paul (March 9, 2012). "Alumnus Kyle Balda's Co-directed Film The Lorax Opens Strong". Calarts. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- Mackey, Bob (March 7, 2016). "Behind the Art of Day of the Tentacle". USgamer. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
- Brew, Simon (June 26, 2015). "Kyle Balda interview: Minions, Day Of The Tentacle". Den of Geek. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- Kourbeti, Kat (June 30, 2015). "Interview: Directors Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda talk Minions". Flickering Myth. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- Cecco, Leyland (July 10, 2015). "Kyle Balda and Peter Coffin". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- "Minions (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- Grobar, Matt (December 19, 2017). "'Despicable Me 3' Director Kyle Balda On Designing Balthazar Bratt, Failed Child Star-Turned-Supervillain". Deadline. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- Schaefer, Sandy (February 5, 2020). "Minions: The Rise of Gru Trailer Introduces New Despicable Me Supervillains". ScreenRant. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
