Michael Wildshill

Michael Jonathan Wildshill (born April 5, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, artist, and the current CEO of Universal Animation Studios and head of animation of Illumination.

Early life
Wildshill was born in Gibsonton, Florida, the oldest of four children to lawyer Alexander Michael Wildshill (1930-2018) and school teacher Scarlett Cynthia Wildshill (Jones) (1937-2007). His family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10 years old.

Career
Wildshill gained an interest in animation at a young age from viewing old Disney movies at a local theatre. After graduating high school in 1972, he attended USC, majoring in art. He also partook in working in animation via the production of The Master of Colors. It was during production that he met Geo G. where he would have a long lasting friendship with him while also becoming business partners with him.

Personal life
Wildshill is married to Ashley Julia "Star" Wildshill-Shertick (b. September 11, 1969), a chef and cooking instructor. They have three children: Jonathan Edward (b. November 22, 2001), Skye Hannah (b. October 2, 2006) and Genesis Scarlett (b. April 6, 2007). Jonathan provided the voice of young Amai Yamada in Woo La La.

Wildshill is a fan of manga and anime and Team Ico games, most notably Ico and Shadow of the Colossus; he cited Ico as his main inspiration for Paradoria. He is also a fan of the work done by Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios as well.

He resides in Santa Monica, California, a few of blocks north of the Illumination headquarters.

On May 1, 2020, Wildshill along with his younger sister Cynthia Marion tested positive for COVID-19 which he later recovered from, however, Marion later passed away from complications of the virus.

On February 1, 2021, it was announced by his wife Ashley that Wildshill had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer while being in and out the hospital after surviving COVID-19.

Direct-to-video
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Short films
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Television
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Video games
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Reception
Critical, public and commercial reception to films Wildshill has directed as of August 29, 2020.

Award and nominations
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