Chris Renaud

Early life and education

Renaud was born in December 1966 in Baltimore. At age 15, he moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania when his father, who worked for Bethlehem Steel, was transferred to their corporate headquarters. 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 attended Parkland High School in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, where he was the artist for the high school yearbooks and newspaper and had aspirations of creating comic books and graduated in 1985. He then attended the Baum School of Art in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he received a $1,000 scholarship.

In 1989, he graduated from Syracuse University with an illustration degree.

Career

Renaud began work as a graphic designer 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, Renaud 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 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 the 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. It was also included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2006.

Renaud moved to Paris to work for Illumination Entertainment. 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.

In a four-picture directing deal, he directed Despicable Me (2010), Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012), Despicable Me 2 (2013), 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. 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."

In a 2012 interview, he mentioned that he read Dr. Seuss books as a child, which influenced his work with films such as The Lorax. 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.

Renaud executive-produced Minions in 2015, Despicable Me 3 in 2017, and The Grinch in 2018, and produced Minions: The Rise of Gru in 2022. He returned to direct the sequels The Secret Life of Pets 2 in 2019 and Despicable Me 4 in 2024.

Personal life

Since 2008, Renaud has lived in Paris, with his wife, Lauren, and their two children, John and Kiely.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. DP/30. (November 22, 2013). "DP/30: Despicable Me 2 directors Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin". YouTube.
2. Longsdorf, Amy. (March 25, 2012). "Parkland grad Chris Renaud is acclaimed director of 'The Lorax'". mcall.com.
3. (June 9, 1985). "Baum Students Recognized Events". [[The Morning Call]].
4. "Alumni". syr.edu.
5. Campbell, Christopher. (February 27, 2012). "Short Starts: Watch "Lorax" Director Chris Renaud's Oscar-Nominated "No Time for Nuts"". [[IndieWire]].
6. Lincoln, Ross. (March 2, 2012). "'The Lorax' Director Chris Renaud On How He Used 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' To Land Danny DeVito". boxoffice.com.
7. (February 19, 2007). "Co-director Chris Renaud on No Time for Nuts". animatedviews.com.
8. Handy, Bruce. (February 20, 2018). "The Minions Were Almost Robots".
9. Longsdorf, Amy. (July 9, 2015). "Parkland grad Chris Renaud embraces the Minions".
10. Fleming, Mike. (July 28, 2009). "LORAX JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED FOR UNI". Variety.
11. (March 1, 2012). "The Despicable Me 2 Teaser Trailer and Poster Hit! Read more: The Despicable Me 2 Teaser Trailer and Poster Hit!". ComingSoon.net.
12. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (January 24, 2014). "Chris Meledandri's Illumination Sets Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet And Kevin Hart For 3D Animated 'Pets' Pic At Universal". Deadline.
13. Weintraub, Steve. (February 26, 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.
14. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (July 23, 2012). "Illumination And Universal Hatch 'Despicable Me' Spinoff About The Minions". Deadline.
15. Longsdorf, Amy. (June 25, 2013). "Director Chris Renaud talks 'Despicable Me 2' (interview)". New Haven Register.