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" In the 1960s, my father chose to introduce Italian-style clothing into a world that was filled with boxy Brooks Brothers suits. So if you were dressing in his clothes in New York or California, you were breaking a rule. And my mother, Risha, who is still living, has always been an activist. I don't think my mom has met a cause she doesn't like. "

Chris Meledandri

New York

Think

" Children succeed when grown-ups care about them. "

" You have to love Dr. Seuss to take on the responsibility of conveying his work in animation or any medium. "

" I do think we're in a period of time culturally where there is just this extraordinary connection that we have to our pets, and in many ways, they are displacing kids. They're so much simpler than dealing with a kid because of this unconditional love that does not get complicated by adolescence or any other manipulation. "

" I have been very fortunate since 'Ice Age' to make movies that somehow charm audiences. I think that the key to it for me has been coming up with the right ideas but, more importantly, choosing the right collaborators and artists to execute those ideas. "

" The cost of an animated film really comes down to man hours. If you gather together world-class talent, then the question becomes how do you deploy that talent in a way that minimizes waste. "

" I was pulled out of school for every moratorium day and every rally for a left-wing candidate... from Ed Koch in his heyday to Eugene McCarthy. That's the culture that I came from. "

" I believe people leave a theater bonding with characters. Story is the vessel that carries character. Comedy is a very important component of expressing character. "

" Owning pets is as close to a universal phenomenon as, I think, anything. "

" We start with strong characters and build the movie from there. That not to say we don't struggle with story - that's the most challenging part. "

" My experience is that there's absolutely a correlation between the enthusiasm within an animation studio for a given character and the enthusiasm the audience feels when seeing the movie. "

" A favorite film? The first 'Ice Age' and the first 'Despicable Me.' They're the films that have introduced me to characters that I still feel extremely bonded with. "

" What I worry about the most is the competition for young eyeballs. We have so many other competing forms of media. I don't take any audience members for granted. "

" Ted Geisel was trying to make a statement about awareness and personal responsibility. He was very clear about that. But the ideas and themes in 'The Lorax' go beyond a love of trees. It's also a story about the dangers of greed and the power of redemption. That's what makes it a timeless tale. "

" If you're going to make a movie about a character who is a supervillain, it's fantastic to have a core sense of empathy for that character. "

" I think that every enduring story that has expressions over multiple periods, that role of being the keeper of the integrity of the vision is a very important role. "

" I have to understand how we are going to market the movie. We view marketing as an extension of content creation... Every time a consumer sees our movie, in whatever form, our obligation is to entertain the audience. "

" Education is supposed to be our great equalizer, but when only half of low-income students are enrolling in college and only three tenths are graduating, you have to figure some of our children are getting a greater equalizer than others. "

" I don't fly by the seat of my pants. I set strategies, and then I pursue those in unrelenting fashion. "

" When we moved from 'Ice Age' to 'Ice Age 2,' we were really stuck; a story didn't just organically emerge. While I'm very proud of 'Ice Age 2,' from a storytelling sense, it's a very thin story. "

" This phenomenon with Betty White is so wonderfully amazing. In a world where ageism runs rampant, out of left field, all of a sudden, the country decides to celebrate Betty White, and she becomes cool at 90. That's remarkable. "

" My faith in my filmmaking changed on the heels of 'Titan.' It allowed me to pursue things that I previously would have questioned. "

Chris Meledandri

Filmmaking

Pursue

" In animation, what's wonderful is that when you start to work with multiple nationalities, the common language becomes a visual language rather than a spoken language, which blends beautifully with the art form. "

" If you are not breaking rules and you are not taking risks, you are not going to end up with movies where there is discovery... and, to me, that is the magic of going into the cinema. "