Michael Thurmeier

Michael Thurmeier
Born1975 (age 48–49)[1]
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Occupations
  • Film director
  • animator
Years active1999–present
EmployerBlue Sky Studios (1999–2021)

Michael Thurmeier is a Canadian film director and animator.[2] He is best known for directing the Blue Sky Studios animated films Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), which are the fourth and fifth installments in the Ice Age franchise. Along with Chris Renaud, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the Ice Age short film No Time for Nuts (2006).

Early life and education

Thurmeier was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and went to Archbishop M.C. O'Neill High School.[3] Although he enjoyed drawing for much of his early life, he was more interested in becoming a lawyer, but he changed his mind after seeing Aladdin in his last year of high school.[3]

Career

After he joined Blue Sky Studios, Thurmeier served as an animator for Fight Club and The Sopranos. He later served as a supervising animator for Ice Age, Robots, and Ice Age: The Meltdown.

His first directing job was in 2006, when he co-directed the short animated film No Time for Nuts, starring Scrat for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. He was a co-director on Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), and made his feature directing debut with Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). Thurmeier returned to direct Ice Age: Collision Course (2016).

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Director Animator Other Notes
1999 Fight Club No Yes No Animator: Blue Sky Studios
2002 Ice Age No Lead Yes Additional Story, Lead Animator
2005 Robots No Supervising No Supervising Animator
2006 Ice Age: The Meltdown No Supervising No Supervising Animator
2008 Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who No Senior Supervising No Senior Supervising Animator
2009 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Co-Director No No
2012 Ice Age: Continental Drift Yes No No
2016 Ice Age: Collision Course Yes No Yes Voice of Gravedigger Beaver/Party Molehog
2019 Spies in Disguise No No Yes Senior Creative Team

Short films

Year Title Director Animator Layout Artist Other Notes
2002 Gone Nutty No Yes 3-D No
2006 No Time for Nuts Yes No No No Also 4-D extended version
2010 Scrat's Continental Crack-Up Yes No No No Act as Ice Age: Continental Drift Teaser Trailers #1 & #2[4][5]
2011 Scrat's Continental Crack-Up Part 2 Yes No No No
2015 Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe Yes No No No Acts as extended Ice Age: Collision Course Teaser Trailer[6]
2016 Scrat: Spaced Out Uncredited No No No Ice Age: Collision Course archive and deleted footage[7]
2022 Ice Age: Scrat Tales No No No Yes Disney+ Original Short Films; Ice Age Creative Trust; Story - Episode: "Nut the End"

Television

Year Film Role Notes
2000 The Sopranos animator: Blue Sky Studios episode: "Funhouse"

References

  1. ^ Baillie, Andrea (October 26, 2009). "Regina-born director of 'Ice Age 3' baffled by franchise success". CTV News. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Thurmeier, 34,...
  2. ^ Sullivan, Karen; Schumer, Gary; Alexander, Kate (2008-02-19). Ideas for the animated short: finding and building stories. Focal Press. pp. 156–. ISBN 978-0-240-80860-4. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b Christianson, Adriana (July 13, 2012). "Saskatchewan-born director helms new movie 'Ice Age 4: Continental Drift'". Rocky View Weekly. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  4. ^ Sciretta, Peter (January 6, 2011). "Watch: Ice Age Short Film 'Scrat's Continental Crack-Up'". /Film. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (November 15, 2011). "'Ice Age' star Scrat gets into more acorn-craving mischief – EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  6. ^ Truitt, Brian (November 6, 2015). "Sneak peek: Scrat heads to space for 'Ice Age' short". USA Today. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Jacobson, Colin (October 17, 2016). "Ice Age: Collision Course (Blu-Ray 3D) (2016)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved May 14, 2022.


Stub icon

This article relating to a Canadian animator is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.