Illumination

Illumination (formerly Illumination Entertainment) is an American animation studio founded by Chris Meledandri. It is owned by NBCUniversal. The Minions from the Despicable Me franchise are the company's mascots.

Process
In a similar fashion to Sony Pictures Animation and DreamWorks Animation, Illumination does not produce its films in-house where it is based in Santa Monica, but rather outsources the animation production of its films to other studios. Most of its films are animated by Illumination Studios Paris, a subsidiary formed through the purchase of Mac Guff (which animated the first Despicable Me). So far, the only Illumination film not to be animated by Illumination Studios Paris or Mac Guff was Hop, which was animated by Rhythm & Hues Studios.

Not unlike Pixar, in its early days Illumination depended on a core group of directors and writers to create its films. The directors of Despicable Me, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, also directed or co-directed Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, Despicable Me 2, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and Despicable Me 3. Screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (who had written Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! for Meledandri at Fox) wrote or co-wrote Despicable Me, Hop, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, Despicable Me 2, The Secret Life of Pets, and Despicable Me 3, while screenwriter Brian Lynch wrote or co-wrote Hop, Minions, and The Secret Life of Pets.

Illumination's films have a budget between $60–80 million. Meledandri prefers to keep Illumination adhering to a low-cost model, recognising that "strict cost controls and hit animated films are not mutually exclusive". In an industry where film expenses often exceed $100 million, Illumination's first two releases were completed with significantly lower budgets, considering Despicable Me 's $69 million budget and Hop 's $63 million budget. One way the company sustains a lean financial model is by employing cost-conscious animation techniques that lower the expenses and render times of its computer graphics. To date, Sing 2 is the studio's most expensive film, with an $85 million budget.[citation needed]