Stephen Michael "Steve" Martino (born July 21, 1959) is an American director and designer, best known for directing the films Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and The Peanuts Movie (2015).
Early life[]
Martino went to Ohio State University where he studied design. 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, studying at the Computer Graphics Research Group (later renamed to Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design), founded by Csuri.
Career[]
After graduation, Steve went to Los Angeles, where he worked in animation and visual effects. In 2001, he joined Connecticut-based Blue Sky Studios, owned by 20th Century Fox. There he co-directed computer-animated Horton Hears a Who! and Ice Age: Continental Drift. He directed The Peanuts Movie (2015), an animated feature film adaptation of Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts.
In February 2018, it was reported that Martino and Karen Disher will direct an upcoming animated fantasy musical, under the working title Foster, for Blue Sky Studios. The film was originally scheduled for release on March 5, 2021, but was moved the date is unknown.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Director | Art department | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Gone Nutty | Yes | Short film | |
| 2005 | Robots | Yes | Art director | |
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! | Yes | ||
| 2010 | Scrat's Continental Crack-up | Yes | Short film | |
| 2011 | Scrat's Continental Crack-up: Part 2 | Yes | Short film | |
| 2012 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | Yes | ||
| 2015 | The Peanuts Movie | Yes | ||
| TBA | Foster | Yes | Upcoming |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Art department | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | World of Discovery | Yes | Main title designer |
Critical reception[]
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||
| Horton Hears a Who! (2008) | 76% | 71% | 6.9 |
| Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) | 37% | 49% | 6.7 |
| The Peanuts Movie (2015) | 87% | 67% | 7.2 |
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 |