Apr 10, 2023

Illumination boss Chris Meledandri says the artistry of his studio's films is often overlooked.

Illumination's Chris Meledandri, basking in the glow of one of the best debut weekends in animation history, sat down with Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to discuss "The Super Mario Brothers Movie," his perception of artistry in his studio's work and the role AI will play in animation.

Fascinating from start to finish, this interview is well worth reading. Meledandri's answers are brief but surprisingly thought-provoking. Below are five brief quotes excerpted from the article, which I encourage you to read in full when you have time.

Mehredandri is sick and tired of talking about box office receipts. I don't mean to say that in comparison to other films. But the artistic excellence in our films is often overlooked. ...... We are overshadowed by all the attention paid to our commercial achievements. Commercial achievements are the focus, and they are overshadowed.

"My mind is a little blown," he admitted. 'I'm a very conservative person by nature, but [these numbers] are beyond anyone's expectations.' Mehredandri had expected the film to be a hit once the studio's marketing campaign was well underway, but $377.5 million in ticket sales was an incredible figure before the film opened this past weekend.

More Mario animated content is sure to follow. But Meledandri is keeping tight-lipped for now. 'I can't talk about it right now. Obviously, I will continue to work with (Nintendo) at the executive level and we definitely want to do more together."

Illumination not only got the rights to make the Mario movie from Nintendo, but also launched a creative partnership." They were full creative partners in every decision, starting with the design adaptation. Story. Voice casting. Music. We discussed over and over again how our film music and scoring would reflect and integrate with the game music."

When asked about the place of AI in animation, Meledandri offered a pragmatic perspective, explaining: "The whole world has to think about how artificial intelligence will be integrated into different aspects of our business and society. There are creative companies outside of entertainment that are using 'Dah-E' to create images for presentations that a few years ago would have hired an illustrator. According to the anecdotal evidence we hear every day, a great deal of experimentation is taking place. In the creative realm, one might have thought that AI would move around us and never follow us into our domain. But it is a surging wave; we have to think of AI as another tool."