Kyle Balda
Kyle Balda | |
|---|---|
 Balda in 2024 | |
| Born | Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Education | California Institute of the Arts |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1994–present |
| Employers |
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Kyle Balda is an American animator and film director, best known for co-directing the Illumination films The Lorax (2012), with Chris Renaud; Minions (2015) and Despicable Me 3 (2017), with Pierre Coffin; and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), with Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val. He also directed the live-action film The Sheep Detectives (2026). He previously worked as an animator for Industrial Light & Magic before moving to Pixar where he worked on three of their films.
Early life
[edit]Balda was born in Tucson, Arizona, to a Maltese mother.[1] He studied at the California Institute of the Arts in the early 1990s and dropped out after two years for a job he was offered.[1][2][3]
Career
[edit]During his time at CalArts, Balda was hired by LucasArts as an intern to create the animated opening credit sequence for the graphic adventure game Day of the Tentacle.[4]
He started his career as an animator by working at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), in films including The Mask as graphics animator, Jumanji as animation supervisor, and Mars Attacks! as character animator.[2] He also worked at Weta Digital once in New Zealand, on the 1996 film The Frighteners, animating the character of the Grim Reaper for the film.[2] Later, Balda started working at Pixar; where he was credited as an additional animator in A Bug's Life, as directing animator in Toy Story 2, and as animator in Monsters, Inc..[2] He would later join French studio Mac Guff Ligne where he would work closely with Pierre Coffin on commercials and TV shows, as an animator or co-director.[5] This collaboration would lead to him becoming head of layout on Despicable Me. Balda has also directed several short films and lectured at different animation schools.[2]
In 2012, Balda made his directorial debut at Illumination as co-director of The Lorax, along with Chris Renaud.[3][6] The film was released domestically on March 2, 2012, by Universal Pictures and grossed over $348 million with a budget of $70 million.[7]
In 2015, Balda directed another Illumination animated film, Minions, this time alongside Pierre Coffin.[6][8][9] The film was released domestically on July 10, 2015, by Universal and has grossed over $1.1 billion.[10]
In 2017, Balda co-directed Despicable Me 3. In his role as co-director, he pushed for the film to have a more vibrant color palette than its predecessors.[11]
On June 7, 2024, it was announced Balda would make his live-action directorial debut with The Sheep Detectives, a film adaptation of Leonie Swann's book Three Bags Full, set to be produced by Amazon MGM Studios.[12]
Personal life
[edit]Balda currently resides in the Oregon coast.[13]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Flintstones | CGI animator |
| 1994 | The Mask | Graphics animator |
| 1995 | Jumanji | Animation supervisor |
| 1996 | Mars Attacks! | Character animator |
| 1996 | The Frighteners | |
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Additional animator |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2 | Directing animator |
| 2001 | Monsters, Inc. | Animator |
| 2010 | Despicable Me | Layout supervisor |
| 2011 | Hop | Special thanks |
| 2012 | The Lorax | Co-director |
| Forces of Nature | Director | |
| 2015 | Minions | |
| Competition | ||
| 2016 | Weenie | |
| 2017 | Despicable Me 3 | |
| 2022 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | |
| 2026 | The Sheep Detectives |
References
[edit]- 1 2 Molony, Julia (June 22, 2015). "Life amongst Minions... for Kyle Balda". The Irish Independent. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Kyle Balda, Illumination Mac Guff, Director". FMX. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- 1 2 Fraser, Paul (March 9, 2012). "Alumnus Kyle Balda's Co-directed Film The Lorax Opens Strong". Calarts. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ↑ Mackey, Bob (March 7, 2016). "Behind the Art of Day of the Tentacle". USgamer. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
- ↑ Sarto, Dan (July 8, 2015). "A Conversation with Kyle Balda: Bringing 'Minions' to the Big Screen". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- 1 2 Brew, Simon (June 26, 2015). "Kyle Balda interview: Minions, Day Of The Tentacle". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ↑ Kourbeti, Kat (June 30, 2015). "Interview: Directors Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda talk Minions". Flickering Myth. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ↑ Cecco, Leyland (July 10, 2015). "Kyle Balda and Peter Coffin". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on August 14, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Minions (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ↑ Grobar, Matt (December 19, 2017). "'Despicable Me 3' Director Kyle Balda On Designing Balthazar Bratt, Failed Child Star-Turned-Supervillain". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ↑ Grobar, Matt (June 7, 2024). "Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine & More To Star In Amazon MGM Comedy 'Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ↑ Strauss, Bob (June 28, 2022). "Director couldn't resist setting 'Minions: The Rise of Gru' in his beloved Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 4, 2025. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
External links
[edit]- Kyle Balda at IMDb
