Mac Guff : the parisian studio which charmed Hollywood

When Universal Studios bought a studio in Paris in 2011, it intended to make it its animation department. Since then, Illumination Mac Guff has made the animated feature film ‘Despicable Me 2’ which was one of the blockbusters of 2013. There are various reasons why the Hollywood giant was interested in this studio : Mac Guff Ligne relied on talented people who were already recognised in the business ; the studio was at the forefront of technology ; and it had proved that its method of production was efficient. Mac Guff Ligne was founded in the middle of the 1980s at about the same time as Pixar. After a twenty-year break, it returned to the animation industry as a contractor (and created films such as ‘Azur and Asmar : The Princes’ Quest’, ‘Dragon Hunters’, and ‘Despicable Me’) at a time when the French animation market started growing. The arrival of Universal gave the studio a considerable number of resources. The number of employees increased from one hundred and thirty to six hundred, and it now attracts people who have worked with Spielberg, DreamWorks and Pixar. Illumination Mac Guff’s current aim is to benefit from Universal’s means and methods while not losing sight of the studio’s fundamental talents.