John Christian "Chris" Wedge (born March 20, 1957) is an American animated film director, producer, and writer whose films include Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005), Epic (2013) and Monster Trucks (2016). He is a co-founder of the animation studio Blue Sky Studios and voiced the character Scrat in the Ice Age franchise.
Early life[]
Wedge was born in Binghamton, New York.[2] He became interested in animation when he was 12 years old: "Back then, there was a TV special about kids making cut-out animation in a workshop—as I recall it was Yellow Ball Workshop—it was a clear technique to follow and I followed it. That fascinated me and it got me started. It was so simple, effective and magical in outcome and I stuck with creating things throughout my childhood, teenage years and then college."[3]
He attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School, graduating in 1975.[4] He received his BFA in Film from State University of New York at Purchase in Purchase, New York in 1981, and subsequently earned his MA in computer graphics and art education at the Ohio State University. He has taught animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he met his future film directing partner, Carlos Saldanha.
Career[]
In 1982, Wedge worked for MAGI/SynthaVision, where he was a principal animator on the Disney film Tron, credited as a scene programmer. Some of his other works include Where the Wild Things Are (1983), Dinosaur Bob, George Shrinks, and Santa Calls.
Wedge is co-founder and Vice President of Creative Development at Blue Sky Studios, one of the premier computer animation studios and producer of Wedge's films. He is the owner of WedgeWorks, a film production company founded by Wedge.
In 1998, he won an Academy Award for the short animated film, Bunny. In 2002, Wedge directed Blue Sky Studios' first computer-animated film, Ice Age. He also voiced Scrat in the film and its following sequels, performing the character's "squeaks and squeals."[5] In 2005, Wedge directed Robots, based on a story he created with William Joyce. In 2013 followed Epic, loosely based on Joyce's book, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs.[6]
In 2009, it was reported that Wedge would direct an animated feature film adaptation of Will Wright's Spore, but since then there has been no further news about the film.[7]
Wedge directed the science fiction/action film Monster Trucks (2016), with a $100 million budget, and starring Lucas Till and Jane Levy.[8] Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger wrote the script for the film,[8] produced by Mary Parent.[9]
Personal life[]
Wedge lives in Katonah, New York[3] with his wife Jeanne Markel.[1] They have a daughter and a son, Sarah and Jack.[10]
Filmography[]
Director[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Tuber's Two-Step | Short film |
| 1987 | Balloon Guy | |
| 1998 | Bunny | Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film Also writer |
| 2002 | Ice Age | Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature |
| 2005 | Robots | |
| 2013 | Epic | |
| 2016 | Monster Trucks | |
| 2026 | Toyland | |
| TBA | Foo |
Producer[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Mind's Eye | Short film |
| 2002 | Gone Nutty | Executive producer |
| 2005 | Summer Belongs Movie | |
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | |
| Khan Kluay | ||
| No Time for Nuts | ||
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! | |
| Surviving Sid | Short film Executive producer | |
| 2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Executive producer |
| 2009 | Khan Kluay 2 | |
| 2011 | Rio | |
| 2012 | Echo Planet | |
| 2012 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | |
| 2014 | ||
| 2016 | Ice Age: Collision Course | |
| 2017 | Ferdinand | |
| 2019 | Spies in Disguise | Executive producer |
| 2020 | Executive producer | |
| 2021 | Spirits of Disguise (WAG faning film) | Executive producer with Tim Hill |
| 2022 | Ice Age: Landspace Damage | Executive producer |
| 2023 | The Simpsons Movie 2 | Executive producer |
| 2023 | Covi & Zizt The Movie | Executive producer |
| 2023 | Little Bear, Big Bear | Executive producer |
| 2023 | The Legend of Shelby | Executive producer |
| 2024 | Spies in Disguise Part 2 | Executive producer |
| 2024 | Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Executive producer |
| 2025 | Cocoricó o Filme | Executive producer |
| 2026 | Khan Kluay 3 | Executive Producer |
| 2026 | Ice Age The Extinction of Madness | Executive producer |
| 2028 | Cocoricó 2: Rise of Empire | Executive Producer |
Writer[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Bunny | |
| 2013 | Epic | Story |
Actor[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ice Age | Scrat, Dodo | |
|
Gone Nutty||Scrat||Short film | |||
| 2005 | Robots | Wonderbot, Phone Booth | |
| Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty | Hacky | Short film | |
| 2005 | Summer Belongs Movie | Talico the Sun bear | |
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | Scrat | |
| No Time for Nuts | Short film | ||
| Family Guy | Episode "Sibling Rivalry" | ||
| 2008 | Surviving Sid | Short film | |
| 2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | ||
| 2011 | Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas | TV Special | |
| 2012 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | ||
| 2015 | The Simpsons | Episode: "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" | |
| 2016 | Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade | TV Special | |
| Ice Age: Collision Course [11] |
Critical reception[]
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||
| Ice Age (2002) | 77%[12] | 60%[13] | 7.6[14] |
| Robots (2005) | 64%[15] | 64%[16] | 6.3[17] |
| Epic (2013) | 64%[18] | 52%[19] | 6.7[20] |
| Monster Trucks (2016) | 31%[21] | 41%[22] | 5.4[23] |
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Ottawa International Animation Festival Award | Best Production Under 10 Minutes in Length | Joe's Apartment | Won |
| 1999 | Academy Award | Best Animated Short Film | Bunny | Won |
| Drama International Short Film Festival Award | Special Prize for Animation | Won | ||
| Nashville Film Festival Award | Best Animation | Won | ||
| Jury Award | Best Short | Nominated | ||
| Oberhausen International Short Film Festival Award | Prize of the Children's Short Film Competition | Won | ||
| 2003 | Academy Award | Best Animated Feature | Ice Age | Nominated |
| Annie Award | Outstanding Directing in an Animated Feature Production Shared with Carlos Saldanha (co-director) |
Nominated | ||
| DVD Exclusive Award | Best Audio Commentary, New Release Shared with Carlos Saldanha (co-director) |
Nominated | ||
| ShoWest Convention Award | Animation Director of the Year | Won | ||
| 2013 | Behind the Voice Actors Award | Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film Shared with Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Lopez, Alan Tudyk, Joy Behar, Patrick Stewart, Simon Pegg & Rebel Wilson |
Ice Age: Continental Drift | Nominated |
| 2014 | Annie Award | Outstanding Achievement in Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Epic | Nominated |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Staudter, Thomas (March 21, 1999). "'Bunny' From Harrison Competes for Oscar". The New York Times. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ↑ Behind The Voice Actors - Chris Wedge. Retrieved on April 14, 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Buchman, Lisa (September 12, 2012). "Meet Chris Wedge, 'Ice Age' Creator, Katonah Resident". Patch. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
- ↑ Chris Wedge, Class of 1975, Inducted in 2000. Fayetteville-Manlius Hall of Distinction. Fayetteville-Manlius Schools. Retrieved on May 29, 2011.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.LaRue, William (November 2, 2006). "'Ice Age' director gives students a look into animation". The Syracuse Post-Standard. Syracuse.com. Retrieved January 27, 2007.Template:Dead link
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Schneider, Karl (August 24, 2006). "Chris Wedge to direct THE LEAF MEN AND THE BRAVE GOOD BUGS". Movie News, Mania.com. Mania Entertainment, LLC., citing The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2007. Unknown parameter
|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Graser, Marc (October 1, 2009). "EA sets up 'Spore' at Fox". Variety. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Paramount Animation Plans 'Monster Trucks' Live Action-Toon Franchise: In Final Talks With Blue Sky's Chris Wedge To Direct". deadline.com. July 31, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Paramount Animation Planning Live Action/Animated Franchise 'Monster Trucks' With Blue Sky's Chris Wedge". indiewire.com. August 1, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- ↑ Chris Wedge Acceptance Speech. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved on June 2, 2013. “And so to my beautiful wife and family, Jean*, Sarah and Jack...”
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Truitt, Brian (October 22, 2015). "Exclusive: 'Ice Age' squirrel to make Macy's debut". USA Today. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ↑ Ice Age (2002) - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Ice Age Reviews - Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Ice Age (2002) - IMDb. Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved on December 11, 2015.
- ↑ Robots (2005) - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Robots Reviews - Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Robots (2005) - IMDb. Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Epic (2013) - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Epic Reviews - Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Epic (2013) - IMDb. Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
- ↑ Monster Trucks (2017) - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on April 19, 2017.
- ↑ Monster Trucks Reviews - Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved on April 19, 2017.
- ↑ Monster Trucks (2016) - IMDb. Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved on April 19, 2017.
External links[]
Template:Commons
| v - e - dFilms directed by Chris Wedge |
|---|
| Bunny (1998) • Ice Age (2002) • Robots (2005) • Epic (2013) • Monster Trucks (2016) • Birds 2 (2019) • Crushing Hard (2023) |
v - e - d | ||
|---|---|---|
| A subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company. | ||
| Feature films | Released | Ice Age (2002) • Robots (2005) • Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) • Horton Hears a Who! (2008) • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) • Rio (2011) • Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) • Epic (2013) • Rio 2 (2014) • The Peanuts Movie (2015) • Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) • Ferdinand (2017) • Spies in Disguise (2019) |
| Cancelled | Anubis • Nimona | |
| Short films | Bunny (1998) • Gone Nutty (2002) • Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty (2005) • No Time for Nuts (2006) • Surviving Sid (2008) • Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe (2015) • Scrat: Spaced Out (2016) | |
| Television specials | Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011) • Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (2016) | |
| Franchises | Ice Age (2002–2019) • Rio (2011–present) | |
| People | Chris Wedge • Carlos Saldanha | |
| See also | 20th Century Animation • Fox Animation Studios • Pixar • Walt Disney Animation Studios • Industrial Light & Magic | |
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