10 Best Illumination Entertainment Movies, Ranked

Highlights

• Illumination’s animated films, while not Pixar-level, have grabbed a wide audience with fun narratives and by adapting iconic characters like Mario and Luigi.
• Despite occasional mixed reviews, Illumination continues to grow, with standout movies like
  The Grinch
  capturing the Christmas spirit in a fun family adventure.
• The Secret Life of Pets
  franchise maintains its quality, with humor and cute pets in a familiar yet entertaining animated world.

They might not be as established as the best Pixar movies, but the animated films by Illumination Entertainment have been able to grab a wide audience with their array of narratives, not only creating staples in pop culture like the beloved Minions, but also bringing to life iconic gaming characters like Mario and Luigi in an ever-expanding effort to make a name in the animation market.

With a catalog full of unique adventures, Illumination continues to branch out, more recently releasing the fourth Despicable Me installment. Despite not being the most well reviewed of the bunch, it is still managing to be successful, following the company’s path of continuous growth. Regardless of Illumination’s overall success, there are certain of their movies that stand out for their quality storytelling and great animation style, and deserve to be recognized as such.

10 The Grinch

IMDb Rating: 6.4

• Released: November 3, 2018
• Director: Yarrow Chenney and Scott Mosier
• Runtime: 85 minutes

Making an adaptation of one of the most beloved Christmas stories ever was already a tough job, yet Illumination managed to adapt it into a fun family adventure. While it may not be as highly regarded as the live-action version, The Grinch still captured the essence of the legendary Christmas hater, with Dr. Seuss-esque artwork filled with Christmas spirit.

With a recognizable voice as the protagonist, this modern retelling of a classic makes for nostalgia-riddled animation, and an entertaining watch despite not rising to the heights of its predecessor or its fame.

9 The Secret Life Of Pets 2

IMDb Rating: 6.4

• Released: May 24, 2019
• Director: Chris Renaud and Jonathan de Val
• Runtime: 86 minutes

Even though it may not rank among movies where the sequel was better than the original, the second movie in The Secret Life of Pets franchise was able to maintain a very similar quality to its predecessor. While the first has the slight advantage of bringing the world to life, the second feature was able to amp up the humor that worked so well in the first installment.

The biggest downfall and strength of The Secret Life of Pets 2 is how similar it is to the first movie. While it may not seek to innovate, it is also a great watch for fans of the franchise, offering a fun adventure filled with cute and funny pets.

8 The Secret Life Of Pets

IMDb Rating: 6.5

• Released: July 8, 2016
• Director: Chris Renaud
• Runtime: 86 minutes

Starting The Secret Life of Pets franchise, this unique series gives humorous insight into what the life of pets is like when humans are not around. Hilarious and unique, the first feature opened a up secret world filled with comedic moments, various adorable pets, and an original premise.

Despite following a very common family movie storyline, it manages to stay innovative with comic voices and a universally-liked theme: cute pets.

7 Minions: The Rise Of Gru

IMDb Rating: 6.5

• Release: June 13, 2022
• Director: Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson, and Jonathan de Val
• Runtime: 87 minutes

The Despicable Me movies are definitely one of Illumination’s biggest successes, and that’s largely due to the popularity of the small, yellow and clumsy Minions. However, the first spin-off movie based on the characters was not super well received, meaning Illumination had to shake things up again to put the overall-wearing characters at its center again.

That’s exactly what the second Minions movie, Minions: The Rise of Gru, did; it focused on the slapstick humor and mispronounced quotes provided by the Minions, together with a story that had a big villainous heart. It might not reach the heights of some of the Despicable Me movies, but it definitely has a charm of its own as it follows the origin of Gru’s lifelong relationship with the Minions.

6 Migration

IMDb Rating: 6.7

• Released: December 6, 2023
• Director: Benjamin Renner and Guylo Homsy
• Runtime: 83 minutes

Illumination’s most recent original narrative focuses on a family of ducks as they break out of their shells and accidentally migrate to one of the most beautiful yet chaotic places in the world: New York. While it’s not something completely new, it weaves a story about family and taking risks, with some hilarious twists and turns.

As Illumination’s attempt to branch out from its most well known franchises, Migration deserves credit for providing an entertaining and funny adventure, despite its more typical storytelling format.

5 The Super Mario Bros. Movie

IMDb Rating: 7.0

Making an adaptation of one of the most beloved and well-known gaming franchises out there is no easy feat, yet Illumination rose to the occasion with The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Showcasing an original adventure featuring the plumber brothers, Mario and Luigi, this animated feature proves the company’s power to create iconic stories.

With some impressively authentic voice acting, beautiful artwork, funny moments, and nostalgic Easter eggs, the movie was destined for success despite its deviations from the video game source material.

4 Sing

IMDb Rating: 7.1

• Released: December 3, 2016
• Director: Garth Jennings and Christophe Lourdelet
• Runtime: 108 minutes

While talking animals might not be the most innovative premise in animation, Sing was able to make singing animals as ingenious as it gets. Illumination has its fair share of movies with animals as protagonists, yet Sing brings them all together in a singing contest with some of the most popular songs of the decade.

From Rocket Man to Taylor Swift, Sing has a bit for everyone, showcasing an A-list cast with Matthew McConaughey as the koala protagonist, and an A-List cast to follow. Sing is definitely an original animation worth watching, especially for music lovers, with only top-notch voice performances throughout.

3 Sing 2

IMDb Rating: 7.3

• Released: November 14, 2021
• Director: Garth Jennings and Christophe Lourdelet
• Runtime: 110 minutes

There may be some discussion on whether the first or second movie in the franchise is the best, but there is no denying that the long-awaited Sing sequel was able to keep the core of the first movie alive while bringing something new to the table. Starring the famous The Police fromtman, Sting, Sing 2 was able to build on the solid foundation that the first feature established.

Showcasing another accidental entrapment of Buster Moon, voiced by Matthew McConaughey, this animated movie has animals in a singing performance like no other, filled with known voices, popular songs, and goosebump-worthy moments.

2 Despicable Me 2

IMDb Rating: 7.3

• Release: July 3, 2013
• Director: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
• Runtime: 98 minutes

Despicable Me 2 is one of the reasons the villain-centered franchise was able to expand well beyond one movie and into a four-movie series (so far), with two spin-offs to boot. This movie proved that there was way more stories to tell of Gru and the Minions, keeping the quality of the franchise while innovating into a whole new field: heroism.

The movie is filled with hilarious moments, fun action sequences, unique weaponry, a great voice cast, and a redemption arc worthy of a truly entertaining family movie, all in true Illumination style.

1 Despicable Me

IMDb Rating: 7.6

• Release: July 9, 2010
• Director: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
• Runtime: 95 minutes

There is a reason that the Despicable Me franchise has become the face of Illumination Entertainment, with its first movie portraying a unique narrative with hilarious moments and iconic characters that permeated pop culture. Not only the best movie of the franchise, Despicable Me is also the company’s best animated feature.

Introducing the Minions to the world, this family movie gave focus to a villain in the throes of an emotional redemption arc filled with humor and heart, showcasing Illumination’s greatest assets and talent for storytelling.