With the success of Ice Age and Despicable Me series under its belt and threatening Disney and Pixar, CEO of Illumination Entertainment, Christopher Meledandri visited Korea. Not only was he here to introduce the upcoming July release of the Minions, Illumination Entertainment has selected a Korean animation called Johnny Express for their next big title in 2016. Meledandri expressed his appreciation towards the potential of Korean animation.

 

How did you come across Johnny Express? Why did you choose a short Korean animation for Illumination to make into a feature length film?
One of our producers showed me Johnny Express and I fell in love with it right away. For Illumination, we’re very attached to our characters. It has a unique protagonist who is a mailman of a postal office in space. It’s an interesting character while it is also humorous at the same time. The fact that it was a rebellious but comical character led me to decide on making the film into a feature length animation. I must admit that WOO Kyung-min’s Johnny Express is my personal favorite short animation film to date.

 

How is the production of Johnny Express going? When will it be released in North America?
We’re currently in story development, and just started our script. We can’t say for sure how long the production will take and do not have an estimate release date either. But I think once the script is ready, we’ll be able to release more specific plans.

 

How do you know Johnny Express will be able to attract worldwide audiences?
I think the film has great potential for an international success. If the audiences find the characters attractive, that animation will do well. After watching the film, if they enjoyed the character, they’re interested in the next story and the next film. That’s why we always focus on our characters. It’s important to find a character that will be loved by most. If the character can translate well above all nations, languages and culture, then it’s a recipe for success. Director WOO’s Johnny Express had created a character that we all could related to, while the details of his visuals are exquisite. We were wowed by WOO’s short that had brilliant details, and I really liked the film.

 

Have you watched any other Korean animations? What do you think about the future of Korean animation films?
I saw many Korean animation films including Sticky Monster Lab and am awed by the creativity of Korean animations. I would say that Korean animation is far more original compared to other countries. Not only that, it also boasts for high quality visuals and effects. From my point of view, Korean animation has much potential to success in the international market.

 

Illumination Entertainment became a big player in Hollywood in a short amount of time. What is your secret?
I think one of the reasons why we were able to succeed is that we try hard to find talented individuals. Secondarily, we contemplate a lot over unique characterization. I think these two are the most important points. My role is to discover unique talents and characters that can overcome the differences of language and culture. Through Johnny Express, I’m so happy to have found a new talent and character in Korea.