List of Illumination productions

This is a list of productions produced by Illumination, an American film and animation studio based in Santa Monica, California, United States. This includes feature films, shorts, television specials, and digital series. As of, Illumination has released 15 feature films, which were all distributed by Universal Pictures, with their first being Despicable Me on July 9, 2010, and their latest being Despicable Me 4 on July 3, 2024.
Their upcoming slate of films includes The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on April 1, 2026, and Minions 3 on July 1, 2026. In addition, an untitled film is slated to be released on April 16, 2027.

Feature films

All films are distributed by Universal Pictures unless noted otherwise.

Unproduced films

Title	Description
Emily the Strange	Since 2000, Rob Reger has been trying to make a feature film adaptation of Emily. In 2005, Fox Animation went to make a live action/animated feature film, with Chris Meledandri and John Cohen producing it. Mike Richardson, of Dark Horse Entertainment, came on board as a producer in 2008. The same year it was unofficially reported that the film moved to Universal Studios' owned Illumination Entertainment, along with the studio's founders, Meledandri and Cohen. In September 2010, Universal Studios acquired the rights to the comic, and the actress Chloë Grace Moretz was cast in the role of Emily. Melisa Wallack, who wrote the script for Mirror Mirror, was hired to write the adaptation in the following year in August. Two months later it was confirmed that the film was indeed in the works at Illumination Entertainment. Kealan O'Rourke was brought to rewrite the film's script. By December 2016, Universal abandoned the project, and Dark Horse Entertainment and Amazon Studios were in negotiations to make an animated film. In October 2024, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Bad Robot announced their collaboration on a full-length animated feature based on Emily the Strange. The film’s screenplay is being developed by Pamela Ribon, as Bad Robot will produce the film, with Reger serving as executive producer alongside Trevor Duke-Moretz.
Flanimals	An animated feature film based on the book series was in production at Illumination by April 2009. Series creator Ricky Gervais was set to be the executive producer and also lend his voice to the lead character, while Matt Selman wrote the script, but the project was later removed from the development schedule.
Where's Waldo?	In June 2009, Universal and Illumination acquired the rights to turn Where's Waldo? into a live-action film, was to be produced by Chris Meledandri with Classic Media's executive producer Eric Ellenbogen, but the project was later cancelled, after DreamWorks Animation bought Classic Media in 2012.
Untitled cryptozoology film	In December 2009, Illumination was producing an animated film based on a pitch by actor-comedian Jack Black and Jason Micallef on cryptozoology, which is the study of legendary creatures whose existence has never been confirmed. Black intended to produce the film alongside Ben Cooley and Chris Meledandri through his production company Electric Dynamite. Additionally, Black did not intend to provide a voice for the characters as he did with DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda.
Curious George	By July 2010, Illumination was developing a live-action animated film based on the titular monkey, with Larry Stuckey writing the script, but in November 2015 the film project was cancelled.
Pluto	In October 2010, Illumination Entertainment and Tezuka Productions jointly announced to develop a live-action/animated film of the Japanese manga series Pluto.
The Addams Family	In 2010, Universal and Illumination acquired the underlying rights to the Addams Family drawings. The film was planned to be a stop-motion animated film based on Charles Addams's original drawings. Tim Burton was set to co-write and co-produce the film, with a possibility to direct. By July 2013, the film was cancelled; had been made, this would have been Illumination's first stop-motion animated film. Eventually, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picked up rights to the film and an animated film was released in 2019, with Sausage Party directors Greg Tiernan and former DreamWorks Animation staff member Conrad Vernon to direct. Universal handled the international distribution rights for the film, as well as physical home media worldwide distribution rights.
UglyDolls	In May 2011, Illumination acquired the rights to Uglydolls to make an animated feature film, but the project never came to fruition. An animated film based on the toy series became the first family and animation project produced by STX Films and was released in May 2019.
Woody Woodpecker	By November 2011, Universal and Illumination planned a Woody Woodpecker feature film. John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky were in talks to develop a story, but in July 2013, Illumination canceled the project. The film was eventually released as a live-action/CGI hybrid film in 2017.
The Cat in the Hat	In March 2012, following the financial success of The Lorax, the animated film adaptation of the book of the same name, Universal and Illumination announced plans to produce an animated adaptation based on The Cat in the Hat. Rob Lieber was set to write the script, with Chris Meledandri as producer, and Audrey Geisel as the executive producer, but the project never came into fruition. By January 2018, Warner Animation Group was in development of an animated Cat in the Hat film as part of a creative partnership with Seuss Enterprises, which is set to be released in 2026.
Clifford the Big Red Dog	In May 2012, Universal and Illumination began to develop a live-action/animated feature film based on the eponymous book series. Matt Lopez was hired to write the script, while Chris Meledandri and Deborah Forte were attached to produce the film. In July 2013, Illumination dropped the project. Paramount Pictures later acquired the rights to develop the film, which was eventually released on November 10, 2021, following a number of delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnny Express	In 2015, Universal and Illumination planned to adapt the South Korean CGI animated short into a feature-length animated film.