Michael Thurmeier is a Canadian film director and animator. He is best known for directing the Blue Sky Studios animated films Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), which are the fourth and fifth installments in the Ice Age franchise. Along with Chris Renaud, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the Ice Age short film No Time for Nuts (2006).

Early life and education

Thurmeier was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and went to Archbishop M.C. O'Neill High School. Although he enjoyed drawing for much of his early life, he was more interested in becoming a lawyer, but he changed his mind after seeing Aladdin in his last year of high school.

Career

After he joined Blue Sky Studios, Thurmeier served as an animator for Fight Club and The Sopranos. He later served as a supervising animator for Ice Age, Robots, and Ice Age: The Meltdown. His first directing job was in 2006, when he co-directed the short animated film No Time for Nuts, starring Scrat for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. He was a co-director on Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), and made his feature directing debut with Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). Thurmeier returned to direct Ice Age: Collision Course (2016).

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Television