‘Super Mario Bros.’ studio Illumination gets Annecy animation festival’s rare “Golden Ticket” award

CinemaCon Award of Excellence in Animation recipient founder and CEO of Illumination Chris Meledandri speaks on stage during the Big Screen Achievement Awards at CinemaCon 2023 at Caesars Palace on April 27, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Meledandri received the Annecy animation festival’s “Golden Ticket” for Illumination on June 14, 2023. VALERIE MACON / AFP

PARIS—Animation studio Illumination, creators of “Minions” and “Super Mario Bros.,” was presented with a rare honorary award by Pharrell Williams at one of the world’s top animation festivals in France on Wednesday, June 14.

Williams, who contributed megahit “Happy” to the soundtrack of “Despicable Me 2,” presented the Annecy festival’s “Golden Ticket” to Illumination founder Chris Meledandri.

The multi-faceted musician and producer was in France ahead of his debut as Louis Vuitton’s new head designer at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday.

Since its creation in 2007, Illumination has had an astonishing run of success thanks to its “Despicable Me” franchise, and the spin-offs based on the antics of its little yellow Minions.

“The Secret Life of Pets” and “Sing” films have also been hugely successful, though all have been eclipsed by the shock triumph of “Super Mario Bros.” which has grossed more than $1.3 billion since its release in April.

It is only the second time the festival has given the award. The previous recipient was DreamWorks (“Shrek”, “Kung Fu Panda”) in 2016.

“The collaboration between Illumination and Annecy has been crucial in the recent evolution of the festival,” its artistic director Marcel Jean said in a statement.  /ra

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