Steve Martino

Not to be confused with Steve Martin.

Stephen Michael Martino^[2] (born July 21, 1959)^[2] is an American designer and film director. He is best known for directing the Blue Sky Studios films Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), and The Peanuts Movie (2015).

Steve Martino
Martino at the 2015 Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Born	Stephen Michael Martino (1959-07-21) July 21, 1959 (age 66) Dayton, Ohio, U.S.[1]
Alma mater	Ohio State University
Occupations	Designer film director
Years active	1990–present
Employer	Blue Sky Studios (2001–2021)
Signature

Early life

Martino went to Ohio State University, where he studied design.^[3] After graduation, he heard computer animation pioneer Chuck Csuri speak. "I was absolutely blown away. No one was doing what he was showing us. I hadn't seen images like that anywhere before," Martino said. He returned to the university and earned in 1989 a master's degree,^[1] studying at the Computer Graphics Research Group (later renamed to Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design), founded by Csuri.^[3]

Career

After graduation, Martino went to Los Angeles, where he worked in animation and visual effects.^[3] In 2001, he joined Connecticut-based Blue Sky Studios.^[1] There he co-directed the animated films Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and Ice Age: Continental Drift.^[3] He also directed The Peanuts Movie (2015), an animated feature film adaptation of Charles M. Schulz's US comic strip Peanuts.^[4]

In February 2018, it was reported that Martino and Karen Disher would direct the animated fantasy musical, under the working title Foster, for Blue Sky Studios. The film was originally scheduled for release on March 5, 2021.^[5][6] However, following Disney's acquisition of Fox, it was removed from the release schedule.^[7] The production studio was closed in 2021.^[8]

In November 2023, WildBrain Studios announced that Martino will direct an animated Peanuts film for Apple TV+.^[9]

Filmography

Director

Film

• Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
• Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
• The Peanuts Movie (2015)

Short film

• Scrat's Continental Crack-up (2010)
• Scrat's Continental Crack-up - Part 2 (2011)

Art director

Film

• Robots (2005)

Short Films

• Gone Nutty (2002)

Television

• World of Discovery (1990) (Main title designer)

Other roles

• Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) (Pre-Production Consultant)
• Spies in Disguise (2019) (Senior Creative Team)
• Nimona (2023) (Special Thanks)

Critical reception

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
Horton Hears a Who! (2008)	76%[10]	71%[11]
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)	37%[12]	49%[13]
The Peanuts Movie (2015)	87%[14]	67%[15]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1991	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences	World of Discovery Shared with Jeff Doud, Jon Townley and Thomas Barham	Won
2006	Annie Award	Best Production Design in an Animated Feature Production	Robots Shared with William Joyce	Nominated
2016		Outstanding Achievement in Directing in an Animated Feature Production	The Peanuts Movie	Nominated
	African-American Film Critics Association	Best Animated Feature		Won
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Animated Feature		Nominated
	Seattle Film Critics Award	Best Animated Feature		Nominated