“Ice Age” and “Despicable Me” were two of the most sensational franchises in recent animation history, drawing in movie goers of all ages and racking up impressive revenues worldwide.

The secret to success? Their deviously mischievous, yet ultimately golden-hearted characters, according to Illumination Entertainment CEO Chris Meledandri, the mastermind behind both series.

Meledandri recently arrived in Korea to announce a new collaborative project with Korean studio Molfac & Alfred, and to promote the new spin-off from “Despicable Me” called “Minions,” set to open in July. “Minions” gives a background story to the loveable yellow creatures that assist “Despicable Me” protagonist Gru in his sneaky ambitions. 

“I realized that our films haven’t fully engaged the Korean audience,” Meledandri said at a press conference at Lotte Cinema Avenuel on Monday, speaking about the first two “Despicable Me” films. “But with ‘Minions,’ I believe we’ve produced something that is highly original and distinct from the other two films. I think you’ll find the eternal optimism of our three adorable main characters to be charming and irresistible.”

Throughout his conversation with press, Meledandri repeatedly returned to the idea of characters being the core of any successful film. He said that appeal was also what led Illumination to enter an arrangement with Korean studio Molfac & Alfred to develop a short by director Woo Kyung-min into an animated feature film.

“When my associate producer showed me ‘Johnny Express,’ I was immediately delighted by the film,” he said. “Woo Kyung-min’s film is absolutely one of the favorite short films that I’ve ever seen.”

The film is set in outer space, where Johnny, a delivery man, is delivering a miniscule package to a planet inhabited by microscopic aliens. He lands on the planet, but does not realize that his every step is flattening entire city blocks in the aliens’ tiny cities.

“I find the character of Johnny to be very appealing and charming,” Meledandri elaborated. “When I think about characters, I think about universality. Is the character somebody who you can relate to, regardless of where you’re from or what language you speak? I absolutely think that Woo Kyung-min has captured a character that we all recognize and that we find appealing.”

The partnership with a Korean studio also is an important step toward realizing Illumination’s philosophy, Meledandri said.

“When I started our company eight years ago, I started with an idea that we would not only make films that were created by Americans, but we would actually endeavor to make films that were created by as diverse a group as the audience we try to serve,” he said. “This is an important partnership for us.”

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)