Kyle Balda

Kyle Balda, born on March 9, 1971, is a renowned American animator and film director, well recognized for his rich contribution to the animation film industry. His notable works include 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), alongside Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val. Before his journey with Illumination, Balda worked for Industrial Light & Magic and later transitioned to Pixar where he significantly worked on three of their outstanding films. Moreover, Balda has been credited for directing several impactful short films and delivering insightful lectures at various animation schools.Balda's expertise journey reached a prominent mark in 2012 when he co-directed 'The Lorax', a film that incredibly grossed over $348 million against a $70 million budget. His success stabled with his 2015 animated film 'Minions', created in collaboration with Pierre Coffin, a film that grossed over $1.1 billion. Few years later, in 2017, he co-directed 'Despicable Me 3', a project where he made an interesting shift in the film's aesthetic by implementing a more vibrant color palette. Fast forwarding to June 7, 2024, Balda was announced to take a leap in his career by making his live-action directorial debut with 'Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie', a film adaptation of Leonie Swann's book, slated to be produced by Amazon MGM Studios. Currently, Balda is living on the Oregon coast, extending his journey in the film animation world.