[6] The studio is best known for creating the Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing franchises; the adaptations of Dr. Seuss' books The Lorax and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

After the second and official closure of Walter Lantz Productions in March 1972 and prior to the release of Despicable Me, Universal distributed a few animated films from 1986 to 2009 that were produced by outside studios, including An American Tail, The Land Before Time, Jetsons: The Movie, films by Amblimation (An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, We're Back!

A Dinosaur's Story, and Balto), The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, and The Tale of Despereaux, as well as Coraline and 9 (both under its Focus Features subsidiary) while their in-house animation studio produced Curious George in 2006.

[9] As part of the deal, Illumination retains creative control and Universal Pictures exclusively distributes the films.

[14][15][16] While he had been approached by NBCUniversal to oversee both studios, he turned down the offer and later explained "I love the process of making films and working with artists.

[22] Not unlike Pixar, in its early days Illumination depended on a core group of directors and writers to create its films.

Meledandri prefers to keep Illumination adhering to a low-cost model, recognising that "strict cost controls and hit animated films are not mutually exclusive".

One way the company sustains a lean financial model is by employing cost-conscious animation techniques that lower the expenses and render times of its computer graphics.

[32] A spin-off of the Despicable Me franchise, titled Minions, directed by Coffin and newcomer Kyle Balda, was released on July 10, 2015[33] to a domestic opening weekend of $115 million.

Despicable Me 3, which reunited Coffin and Balda as directors, was released on June 30, 2017, to a $75 million domestic opening weekend.

[46] Minions: The Rise of Gru, directed by Balda, was released on July 1, 2022, after a delay of two years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2019, it was announced they would collaborate again on the creation of The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!, a dark ride attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood.

[66] Future projects include a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie on April 3, 2026, Minions 3 on July 1, 2026, and an unannounced film on June 30, 2027.

"[17] Additionally, Illumination is in negotiations with toy company Mattel to produce an animated film based on the Barbie series of fashion dolls.