Businessweek
In Dismal Summer, ‘Despicable Me 3’ Producer Delivers $1 Billion
- Meledandri envisions Illumination as go-to brand for families
- Studio takes advantage of Comcast’s other businesses
After Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures acquired DreamWorks Animation last year, executives there immediately began talking about Chris Meledandri taking on an expanded role, giving the “Minions” master responsibility for “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda,” too.
For many studio chiefs, it would have been a dream job, the kind of dual-management role that creative guru John Lasseter plays at both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation. But Meledandri, who is 58, politely declined, choosing instead to consult at DreamWorks and spend the bulk of his time at Illumination Entertainment, the animation studio he co-founded with Universal 10 years ago.