Chris Meledandri

Christopher Meledandri (; born May 15, 1959) is an American film producer. He is the founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as president of 20th Century Fox Animation, working as the executive producer for the Blue Sky Studios-produced films Ice Age, Robots (2005), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), and Horton Hears a Who! (2008). Since 2010, he has worked as the producer for the film series of Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing. In 2021, he joined Nintendo's board of directors after working with the video game company on The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). Meledandri also collaborates with Illumination's corporate sibling DreamWorks Animation since 2016.

Early life and education Meledandri was born on May 15, 1959 in New York City to Roland Meledandri, a men's fashion designer, and Risha Meledandri, an activist, and grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. His father was of Italian descent. Meledandri attended Dartmouth College.

Career Early career and work at 20th Century Fox Animation Meledandri's first job in the film industry came when he worked as an assistant to executive producer Daniel Melnick on the set of Footloose. Soon after Meledandri was hired by 20th Century Fox, where executives presumed that the success of Cool Runnings showcased Meledandri's ability to produce financially successful family films. While at the studio, Meledandri supervised and/or executive produced films including Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) and Horton Hears a Who! (2008). He also produced two animated shorts, Gone Nutty (2002) and No Time for Nuts (2006); both were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

2007–present: Work at Illumination Meledandri left as President of 20th Century Fox Animation in early 2007, being replaced by Vanessa Morrison, and founded Illumination, an animation company that was co-owned by Universal Pictures, which fully financed and owned the films. Fox had attempted to retain Meledandri, but it was reported by the Los Angeles Times that Universal's offer of an ownership stake in Illumination had persuaded him to switch. Meledandri received a share of Illumination's box office earnings as part of his contract with Universal, and as of 2011, he also owned an undisclosed stake in the production company. However, it was later announced that Meledandri had declined to oversee DreamWorks, and would instead be a consultant at the studio. On November 6, 2018, it was announced that Meledandri would be collaborating with Universal and DreamWorks to revive the Shrek franchise. Meledandri however intended to retain the original voice actors, as he believes they were perhaps the most memorable parts of the series. The first film in this collaboration, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, in which Meledandri served as executive producer, was released in December 2022 to critical acclaim and commercial success.

In January 2018, Nintendo announced during a fiscal meeting that Illumination would be developing an animated Mario film and that Meledandri would co-produce the film with Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. On July 5, 2021, it was reported that Meledandri would join Nintendo's board of directors "as an independent and non-executive outside director" to advise Nintendo as the company develops more films under Nintendo Pictures.

Meledandri will serve as a producer on Shrek 5 for DreamWorks, set for release on June 30, 2027.

Personal life Meledandri is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and is a member of the board of trustees at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Meledandri was married to Leslie Benziger from 2002 to 2016. He has two sons, born in 1990 and 1998.

Filmography Feature films Year Title Notes 1986 Quicksilver Associate producer 1989 Brothers in Arms Producer 1990 Opportunity Knocks 1993 Fly by Night Executive producer Swing Kids Cool Runnings Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit Co-executive producer 1994 Trial by Jury Producer 2002 Ice Age Executive producer Gone Nutty 2005 Robots 2006 Ice Age: The Meltdown No Time for Nuts 2008 Horton Hears a Who! 2016 Sing 2017 Despicable Me 3 2018 2019 2021 Sing 2 2022 Minions: The Rise of Gru Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Executive producer 2023 Producer Migration 2024 Despicable Me 4 2026 Minions & Monsters 2027 Not Alone Shrek 5