Illumination

Why Minions and Monsters Is Worth Watching, Especially for Movie Lovers

July 23rd, 2026

Earlier this month, Minions and Monsters opened to a lower-than-expected box office. Personally, I found this installment to be one of my favorites in the Despicable Me universe. This made me wonder: does my love of movies and line of work make me especially receptive to its historical Hollywood setting and references? Below, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri share […]

ANNECY: Illumination Announces “Not Alone”

Jerry Beck|

June 23rd, 2026

In his first-ever feature-length animated film, four-time Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe and Actor Award winner Timothée Chalamet stars as Joe, an introverted rocket mechanic who lives a quiet life alone.

TRAILER: Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters”

Jerry Beck|

June 19th, 2026

Fresh off the worldwide blockbuster success of summer 2024’s funniest comedy, "Despicable Me 4", Illumination expands its joyful animated universe with an all-new festure: Minions & Monsters.  Opens July 1st, here's the trailer:

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Interview: Joby Talbot, Composer of “Sing”

Scoring a film that contains upwards of 100 songs—either in part or complete—in addition to a background score, calls for the kind of composer who can turn with ease from classical to jazz to rock to hip-hop and so on. For Sing director Garth Jennings, the task fell to a longtime collaborator with astonishing versatility […]

Greg Ehrbar|January 23, 2017

“Despicable Me 3” First Official Trailer

And the competition for 2017 begins! Opening on June 30th, Despiciable Me 3 – the team who brought you Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, return to continue the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters and the Minions. Despicable Me 3, is directed by […]

Jerry Beck|December 15, 2016

Charles Solomon Reviews “Long Way North”

The Long Way North (Tout en haut du monde) is latest entry in the recent string of smaller, hand-drawn animated films from France. It’s not as polished in its look or storytelling as some of its predecessors, but it’s a promising debut for first time director Rémi Chayé, Sacha (voice by Chloé Dunn), the daughter […]

Charles Solomon|September 29, 2016

“Pets” Tops Weekend With $103 Million; Five Quick Questions for It’s Director Chris Renaud

Congratulations to our friends at Illumination. Their latest release, The Secret Life Of Pets, hit a nerve with audiences young and old and continues a blockbuster streak of major studio animation releases in 2016 – following on the heels of Disney’s Zootopia ($340 million) and Pixar’s Finding Dory ($422 million domestic total as of today). […]

Jerry Beck|July 11, 2016

TRAILER #2: Illumination’s “Sing”

Here is the second official full trailer – tied to prints on this week’s release of Illumination’s The Secret Life Of Pets – for Universal’s Sing. Scarlet Johansson, Matthew McConaughey, Seth MacFarlane, Reese Witherspoon and John C. Reilly topline the holiday release – now set to open on December 21st.

Jerry Beck|July 7, 2016

A Writer’s Secret to Creating “The Secret Life of Pets”: An interview with Brian Lynch

The Secret Life of Pets opens nationwide this weekend, going head-to-head with the box office juggernaut Finding Dory. The buzz about this latest feature from Ilumination Entertainment has garnered great buzz, and if it’s as well-received as hoped, maybe it will prove there is room for multiple animation features to find an audience and succeed […]

Leslie Combemale|June 27, 2016

Mickey Mouse

Spider-Ham

KENEDA

Daffy Duck

Illumination

Latest in Category: Illumination

Meet Gidget – Via the New “Secret Life Of Pets 2” teaser