'With Minions, we tried to make a film that children as well as parents enjoy'

'The big challenge in Minions was trying to make the audience relate to these characters for the length of a feature film,' director Kyla Balda tells Jahnavi Patel/ Rediff.com

American animator and director Kyle Balda is best known for his film Minions, co-directed by Pierre Coffin. It's also a film that he's enjoyed working on.

He has worked in films like the first Despicable Me, The Mask, Jumanji and Toy Story 2 in the animation department. His next directorial venture is Despicable Me 3.

Making animated films is not easy and Kyle talks about some of the effort that goes into it: "Every film has its own challenge. The main challenge is trying to find what the heart of the story is. With the Minions, for example, the big challenge was trying to make the audience relate to these characters for the length of a feature film because the Minions in previous movies have been a comic relief. The tricky part was to develop character where they were still minions and yet unique."

Animated films are one of the most bankable genres and Kyle agrees. "I have worked in family-oriented films, which appeal to a wide spectrum of ages. Especially a film like Minions, we, at Illumination Entertainment, have tried very hard to make it a film that children as well as parents enjoy."

Has he seen a Hindi film yet? "I haven't, unfortunately. I have only seen clips, little pieces here and there," he says. He's especially interested in seeing an animated Hindi film.

Kyle, who has not visited India yet, dreams of going to Mysore.
 
"It's been a personal dream to go to Mysore because I practice Ashtanga yoga. I want to visit the yoga shalas there."
 
Watch Minions on August 28 at 1pm and 9pm only on Sony PIX.