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Chris Wedge
Wedge in 2014
Born	John Christian Wedge (1957-03-20) March 20, 1957 (age 67) Binghamton, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	State University of New York at Purchase Ohio State University
Occupations	Filmmaker animator designer voice actor cartoonist
Years active	1982–present
Employers	Blue Sky Studios (1987–2021) Annapurna Animation (2023–present)
Spouse	Jeanne Markel
Children	2
Awards	Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film Bunny (1998)
Signature

John Christian Wedge (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker, animator, voice actor, film director and a co-founder of defunct computer animation studio Blue Sky Studios, which was active from 1987 to 2021, and whose mascot, Scrat, a fictional rodent character in the Ice Age franchise, he has voiced since its debut in 2002..

At Blue Sky, he is best known for directing the short film Bunny (1998), which won him an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film that year, the feature films Ice Age (2002) (which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003 and helped launch a franchise), Robots (2005) and Epic (2013). He also directed Monster Trucks (2016) from Paramount Pictures in a brief break/hiatus from Blue Sky.

Early life

Wedge was born in Binghamton, New York. During his teenage years, Wedge lived in Watertown, New York which was rumored to be the inspiration for the town where his film Robots takes place, however he later dismissed this in an interview. 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."

He attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School, graduating in 1975. 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 The Brave Little Toaster.

Wedge is the co-founder of the now defunct Blue Sky Studios, once one of the premier computer animation studios, and was its Vice President of Creative Development until the studio was closed by The Walt Disney Company in 2021. He is the owner of WedgeWorks, a film production company founded by Wedge.

In the 1990s, he and his studio worked on CGI effects for the movies Alien Resurrection and Titan A.E.

In 1998, he won an Academy Award for the short animated film Bunny. Wedge later directed Blue Sky Studios' first computer-animated film, 2002's Ice Age , and served as executive producer for its sequels. He also voices Scrat in the film series, performing the character's "squeaks and squeals." 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.

In 2008, it was announced that Wedge would direct Hugo, though he was subsequently replaced by Martin Scorsese. 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.

Wedge directed the science fiction/action film Monster Trucks (2016). Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger wrote the script for the film, produced by Mary Parent.

Wedge reprised the role of Scrat in a series of shorts for Disney+ titled Ice Age: Scrat Tales. The shorts premiered on the streaming platform on April 13, 2022.

In 2023, it was announced that Wedge had joined Annapurna Animation, which had revived Nimona after it had been initially canceled following the closure of Blue Sky Studios, where he would direct a new animated film called FOO about "the first fish ever to climb out of the water and onto land."

Personal life

Wedge lives in Katonah, New York with his wife Jeanne Markel. And his brother Matthew Fiorelli, in Binghamton, New York They have a daughter and a son, Sarah and Jack.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Television episodes and specials

Video games

Critical reception

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ Staudter, Thomas (March 21, 1999). "'Bunny' From Harrison Competes for Oscar". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
2. Lenburg, Jeff (2006). Who's who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television's Award-winning and Legendary Animators. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9781557836717. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
3. "Behind The Voice Actors - Chris Wedge". Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
4. ^ Buchman, Lisa (September 12, 2012). "Meet Chris Wedge, 'Ice Age' Creator, Katonah Resident". Patch. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
5. "Chris Wedge, Class of 1975, Inducted in 2000". Fayetteville-Manlius Hall of Distinction. Fayetteville-Manlius Schools. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
6. LaRue, William (November 2, 2006). "'Ice Age' director gives students a look into animation". The Syracuse Post-Standard. Syracuse.com. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
7. 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.
8. Siegel, Tatiana (May 5, 2008). "Chris Wedge to direct 'Hugo Cabret'". Variety. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
9. Graser, Marc (October 1, 2009). "EA sets up 'Spore' at Fox". Variety. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
10. ^ "Paramount Animation Plans 'Monster Trucks' Live Action-Toon Franchise: In Final Talks With Blue Sky's Chris Wedge To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. July 31, 2013. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
11. "Paramount Animation Planning Live Action/Animated Franchise 'Monster Trucks' With Blue Sky's Chris Wedge". indiewire.com. August 1, 2013. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
12. Calimbahin, Samantha (February 23, 2022). "Scrat's Baby Revealed In Disney+ Ice Age Short Poster (They're Adorable)". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
13. "'Stray' movie and 'Ice Age' director's next film a go at Annapurna". Entertainment Weekly.
14. "Chris Wedge Acceptance Speech". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013. And so to my beautiful wife and family, Jean*, Sarah and Jack...
15. "Film Reviews - 'Adventures in Plymptoons!". Variety. November 1, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
16. Desowitz, Bill (December 23, 2013). "Immersed in Movies: Going Deeper into 'Epic' with Chris Wedge". indiewire.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
17. Sciretta, Peter (January 6, 2011). "Watch: Ice Age Short Film 'Scrat's Continental Crack-Up'". /Film. Archived from the original on August 18, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
18. Gonzalez, Sandra (November 15, 2011). "'Ice Age' star Scrat gets into more acorn-craving mischief – EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 19, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
19. Truitt, Brian (November 6, 2015). "Sneak peek: Scrat heads to space for 'Ice Age' short". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
20. Jacobson, Colin (October 17, 2016). "Ice Age: Collision Course (Blu-Ray 3D) (2016)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
21. "Ice Age (2002) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
22. "Ice Age Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
23. "Robots (2005) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 29, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
24. "Robots Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
25. "Epic (2013) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
26. "Epic Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
27. "Monster Trucks (2017) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
28. "Monster Trucks Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.

External links

• Chris Wedge at IMDb
• IGN interview
• BBC interview

• 1957 births
• Living people
• Animators from New York (state)
• American animated film directors
• American animated film producers
• Animal impersonators
• Animation screenwriters
• Ohio State University alumni
• Artists from Binghamton, New York
• State University of New York at Purchase alumni
• Fayetteville-Manlius High School alumni
• People from Manlius, New York
• Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners
• Blue Sky Studios people
• People from Katonah, New York
• Film directors from New York (state)