Benjamin Renner

Benjamin Renner is a French-born animator who has enjoyed considerable success in Hollywood. Renner made a remarkable jump to the center of the animation world when he was hired initially as art director on Ernest and Celestine (2013), based on Belgian author Gabrielle Vincent’s children’s book.

But Renner was soon elevated to co-director alongside directors Stephane Aubier and Vincent Patar, and after the movie’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, was Oscar-nominated for the best animated film. Renner’s quick rise established him as one of the most exciting new voices in international animation.

Renner was credited as both a writer and art director in visual development for the French-Belgian CG-animated feature, Yellowbird (2014), directed by Christian De Vita and with the dubbed English-language voices of Seth Green, Dakota Fanning, Christine Baranski, Danny Glover, and Elliott Gould, and premiering at the London film festival.

Renner’s next animated feature as co-director (with Patrick Imbert) was the acclaimed French-Belgian The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales… (2017), which Renner adapted from his 2015 comic book, with the French-language voices of Guillaume Darnault, Damien Witecka, and Kamel Abdessadok, and earning a $9.6 million gross, after winning prizes at the Annecy film festival and the César Awards.

Benjamin Renner joined forces with animation studio Illumination and Universal Pictures for the comedy adventure, Migration (2023), written by Mike White and featuring the voices of Kumail Nanjani, Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, David Mitchell, Carol Kane, and Danny DeVito.