Chris Renaud
Chris Renaud is an accomplished director known for his significant contributions to animated cinema, particularly through the "Despicable Me" and "Secret Life of Pets" franchises. Born in 1966 in Baltimore, Maryland, Renaud developed his artistic skills early on, participating in school theater and working on the school newspaper. After studying illustration at Syracuse University, he began his career in the comic book industry, working for major publishers like Marvel and DC before shifting his focus to animation.
Renaud gained recognition as a story artist at Blue Sky Studios, where he contributed to notable films like "Horton Hears a Who!" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." His directorial debut with Illumination Entertainment was the hit "Despicable Me" (2010), which was followed by a successful sequel and adaptations such as "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" and "The Grinch." His work has garnered critical acclaim and commercial success, making him a prominent figure in family-friendly animation. Renaud currently resides in Paris with his family and continues to influence the industry as he prepares for "Despicable Me 4."
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Subject Terms
Chris Renaud
Director
- Born: ca.1966
- Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland
Contribution: Chris Renaud is a director best known for his Despicable Me and Secret Life of Pets animated film franchises, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012), and The Grinch(2018).
Early Life
Chris Renaud was born in 1966 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, a steel worker, was transferred to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, when Renaud was fifteen years old. He attended Parkland High School in nearby Allentown, where he was active in the school theater program and the track team. As the artist for the school newspaper and yearbook, Renaud began honing his creative skills with the intention of becoming a comic book artist.
After graduating high school in 1985, Renaud received a scholarship to enroll in the Baum School of Art in Allentown. He went on to Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, where he graduated in 1989 with an illustration degree. He then moved to New York City and worked for a Manhattan advertising firm and elsewhere before finally getting a job writing and drawing comic books. Renaud worked for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. When the comic book industry began declining, he started to think about his choices for a possible career move.
Life’s Work
In 2000, Renaud landed a job with The Walt Disney Company as a production designer for their television series The Book of Pooh (2001–3). The show mixed live puppetry with virtual sets, a technique that would be employed in other children’s shows Renaud worked on, including the Jim Henson Company’s Bear in the Big Blue House from 2001 to 2002 and PBS’s It’s a Big, Big World from 2005 to 2009.
Blue Sky Studios, a computer animation film studio and subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox, hired Renaud in 2003 as a story artist. Renaud sent them his portfolio without fully understanding what the position consisted of, but once he got the job he was excited to find that it entailed much more than drawing storyboard art.
Under Blue Sky Studios, Renaud worked on animated films like Robots (2005), Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (2008), and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009). After gaining some experience in animated storytelling, he pitched a short film that he conceived of to the studio. The film, No Time for Nuts (2006), was written, codirected, and storyboarded by Renaud and features the squirrel character Scrat from the popular Ice Age film series. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best short animated film, and Renaud received an Annie Award for best animated short subject.
Shortly after the success of No Time for Nuts, Renaud relocated to Paris, France, to direct the first feature film for Illumination Entertainment, a film production studio specializing in animation. Founder of the company Christopher Meledandri signed Renaud to a four-picture contract, the first being Despicable Me (2010), which was codirected by Pierre Louis Padang Coffin. The film, about a criminal genius that has a change of heart when he takes in three orphaned girls, was a critical and financial success. The film was one of the top grossing films of the year and won the 2011 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Animated Film. It was nominated for several other awards as well.
For his next film with the studio, Renaud directed the 3-D animated movie Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012), based on the popular children’s book by Dr. Seuss published in 1971. The story focuses on a boy who befriends the Lorax, a cranky creature and defender of the forest. Renaud stated that it was challenging adapting a book with such a serious message into a family-friendly film. While The Lorax received mixed reviews, it grossed over $340 million worldwide.
Renaud once again teamed up with Coffin to direct Despicable Me 2 (2013). The film continues the story of the criminal mastermind of the first film along with his comical helper “Minions.” Much like the first film, Despicable Me 2 was garnered with praise by critics, many of whom agreed that the film is enjoyable for children and adults alike and won the 2014 BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film. The film managed to out-gross the original film, with over $710 million worldwide by August 2013. Despicable Me 3, released in 2017, was the first in the franchise for which Renaud did not direct; he instead served as an executive producer.
Renaud went on to codirect and provide voice-over for The Secret Life of Pets (2016), a talking-animals picture starring Louis C. K., Kevin Hart, and Eric Stonestreet. The blockbuster hit opened to generally favorable reviews from critics and grossed over $875 million globally. For the sequel, The Secret Life of Pets 2, Renaud brought Patton Oswalt in to replace Louis C. K. for the starring role of Max after C.K. admitted to sexual misconduct in 2018. The follow-up—which also starred Hart, Stonestreet, Harrison Ford, and Tiffany Haddish—found a mixed reception upon its release in 2019 and took in half as much in sales.
Renaud also served as executive producer for the popular 2015 animation Minions and a 2018 animated remake of another Seuss favorite, The Grinch. In 2024, he served as the executive producer and director for Despicable Me 4.
Impact
With his background as an illustrator and storyboard artist, Renaud directed some of the highest-grossing animated films of the 2010s. He held creative and artistic positions with some of the top film production studios in the business, including Disney and Twentieth Century Fox, before being given the directing reigns at Illumination Entertainment.
Personal Life
Renaud lives with his wife Lauren in Paris. Together they have two children, John and Kiely.
Bibliography
Armstrong, Josh. “Co-Director Chris Renaud on No Time for Nuts.” Animated Views. Animated Views, 19 Feb. 2007. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.
Desowitz, Bill. “Immersed in Movies: Director Chris Renaud Talks Despicable Me 2.” Indiewire. SnagFilms Co., 3 July 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.
Keslassy, Elsa. "The Villain Isn’t the Only Thing That’s French! ‘Despicable Me 4’ Director Chris Renaud on the Animated Franchise’s Roots in France." Variety, 10 July 2024, variety.com/2024/film/global/despicable-me-4-chris-renaud-interview-1236062341/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Idelson, Karen. "‘Despicable Me 4’ Director Chris Renaud Takes Us Behind the Scenes of the Super Villain’s Next Adventure." Animation Magazine, 27 June 2024, www.animationmagazine.net/2024/06/despicable-me-4-director-chris-renaud-takes-us-behind-the-scenes-of-the-super-villains-next-adventure/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Lincoln, Ross. “The Lorax Director Chris Renaud on How He Used It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to Land Danny DeVito.” Box Office. Boxoffice Media, 2 Mar. 2012. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.
Longsdorf, Amy. “Director Chris Renaud Talks Despicable Me 2.” Heritage. Heritage Newspapers, 29 June 2013. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.
Longsdorf, Amy. “Parkland Grad Chris Renaud Is Acclaimed Director of The Lorax.” The Morning Call. Tribune Newspaper, 23 Mar. 2012. Web 1 Aug. 2013.
Renaud, Chris. “Saving the Truffula Tree: An Interview with The Lorax Director Chris Renaud.” Interview by Brita Belli. E: The Environmental Magazine Mar./Apr. 2012: 52. Print.
Renaud, Chris. "'Secret Life of Pets 2' Director Chris Renaud on Recasting Max, 'Minions 2', and More." Interview by Christina Radish. Collider, 6 June 2019, collider.com/secret-life-of-pets-2-chris-renaud-interview/#minions-2. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.