Chris Wedge

John Christian Wedge (born March 20, 1957)^[2] is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. He is best known for being the lead animator of the sci-fi action film Tron (1982), co-founding animation studio Blue Sky Studios, and directing the short film Bunny (1998) and the feature films Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005) and Epic (2013). He also directed the live-action film Monster Trucks (2016). Wedge has received two Academy Awards nominations: one for Bunny, for which he won Best Animated Short; and Ice Age, nominated for Best Animated Feature. He also created and voiced the character Scrat in the Ice Age franchise (2002–present).

Early life

Wedge was born in Binghamton, New York.^[3] 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."^[4]

He attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School, graduating in 1975.^[5] 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 one of the founders of Blue Sky Studios, once one of the exclusive computer animation studios, and was its Vice President of Creative Development until the studio was closed 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 visual 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."^[6] 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.^[7]

In 2008, it was announced that Wedge would direct Hugo, though he was subsequently replaced by Martin Scorsese.^[8] 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.^[9]

Wedge directed the science fiction/action film Monster Trucks (2016).^[10] Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger wrote the script for the film,^[10] produced by Mary Parent.^[11]

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.^[12]

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."^[13]

Personal life

Wedge lives in Katonah, New York^[4] with his wife Jeanne Markel.^[1] They have two children, Sarah and Jack.^[14]

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 May 27, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. 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 May 31, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
3. ^ "Behind The Voice Actors - Chris Wedge". Archived May 24, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
4. ^ Buchman, Lisa (September 12, 2012). "Meet Chris Wedge, 'Ice Age' Creator, Katonah Resident". Patch. Archived September 19, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. 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.^{[dead link]}
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 (2008-05-05). "Chris Wedge to direct 'Hugo Cabret'". Variety. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
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 February 9, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. 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 February 23, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. 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 July 12, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. 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 January 15, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
17. ^ "The Daymaker". March 27, 2025. – via www.youtube.com.
18. ^ Sciretta, Peter (January 6, 2011). "Watch: Ice Age Short Film 'Scrat's Continental Crack-Up'". /Film. Archived August 18, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
19. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (November 15, 2011). "'Ice Age' star Scrat gets into more acorn-craving mischief – EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK". Entertainment Weekly. Archived December 19, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
20. ^ Truitt, Brian (November 6, 2015). "Sneak peek: Scrat heads to space for 'Ice Age' short". USA Today. Archived February 9, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
21. ^ Jacobson, Colin (October 17, 2016). "Ice Age: Collision Course (Blu-Ray 3D) (2016)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived March 6, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
22. ^ "Ice Age (2002) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived January 16, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
23. ^ "Ice Age Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived July 13, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
24. ^ "Robots (2005) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived November 29, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
25. ^ "Robots Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived January 12, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
26. ^ "Epic (2013) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived December 10, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
27. ^ "Epic Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived June 6, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
28. ^ "Monster Trucks (2017) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived November 11, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
29. ^ "Monster Trucks Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived October 12, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 19, 2017.

External links

• Chris Wedge at IMDb
• IGN interview
• BBC interview