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Michael Thurmeier

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Michael Thurmeier
Born1975 (age 48–49)[1]
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

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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

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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

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Feature films

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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

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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

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

References

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  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.
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