History of French animation

Une Nuit sur le Mont Chauve (Night on Bald Mountain), 1933, directed by Alexander Alexeieff and Claire Parker. Animated entirely using the pinscreen apparatus, a device invented by Alexieff and Parker that gives the impression of animated engravings.

Le Roman de Renart (The Tale of the Fox), 1930/1937, directed by Ladislas Starevich. The first French animated feature film. The animation was finished in 1930 but a soundtrack was only added in 1937, and it was a German one. A French-language version was released in 1941.

La Demoiselle et le violoncelliste (The Girl and the Cellist), 1965, directed by Jean-François Laguionie. Laguionie's first film, which won the Annecy Grand Prix in 1965.

1967 saw the release of Astérix le Gaulois (Asterix the Gaul), directed by Ray Goossens. This was the first movie based on the long-running Asterix comics; it was made without the knowledge of the comics' creators René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, and is not widely liked by fans. The following year (1968), Goscinny and Uderzo worked with co-director Lee Payant on a sequel, Astérix et Cléopâtre (Asterix and Cleopatra).

René Laloux's first feature film La Planète sauvage (The Savage Planet, 1973), a cutout animation science fantasy that was animated in Czechoslovakia, which won the Grand Prix at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. Laloux went on to direct two other features; Les Maîtres du temps (1982, a collaboration with the famed French comics artist Mœbius animated in Hungary) and Gandahar (1988, animated in North Korea).

Le Roi et l'oiseau (The King and the Mockingbird), 1980, directed by Paul Grimault. Begun in 1948 as The Sheperdess and the Chimney Sweep; cited by the Japanese directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata as an influence. Originally produced in 1948, it had a production time of over 30 years, making it one of the longest production periods in history.

Quarxs 1989–1993 by Maurice Benayoun and François Schuiten, was one of the earliest computer-animated series and the first one produced in HD. Widely broadcast and awarded, Quarxs opened the path to 3D animated series on TV.

Les Aventures de Tintin (The Adventures of Tintin), began 1990, directed by Stéphane Bernasconi. TV series based on the famous Belgian comic of the same name.

Kirikou et la sorcière (Kirikou and the Sorceress), 1998, directed by Michel Ocelot. Critically acclaimed movie based on a West African folktale; the Japanese dub was written by Isao Takahata and released by Studio Ghibli. Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest, by the same director and co-produced in Italy, Belgium and Spain, was nominated for a Goya Award for Best Animated Film, its score was nominated for the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film at the César Awards 2007 and it won the best animated feature at the Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films 2007.[1]

Les Triplettes de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville), 2003, directed by Sylvain Chomet was nominated for two Academy Awards — Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for "Belleville Rendez-vous" in 2004. Another movie of Chomet, The Illusionist, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2011 (it was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film).

Kaena: La prophétie (Kaena: The Prophecy), 2003, directed by Chris Delaporte and Pascal Pinon. A CGI fantasy movie co-produced with Canada. It was both critical and commercial failure.[2]

Totally Spies, began 2001, created by Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel. TV series co-produced with the USA; one of French animation's biggest hits Stateside.

Persepolis, directed by Marjane Satrapi, was released in 2007 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 80th Academy Awards (it was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film).

A Cat in Paris, directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 84th Academy Awards.

The Little Prince is actually the most successful French and Italian animated film.[3]

• 1982 : Chronopolis – by Piotr Kamler – (France/Poland)
• 1983 : La princesse insensible – by Michel Ocelot
• 1997 : Du tableau noir à l'écran blanc – by Paul Dopff
• 2002 : Solitudine – by Bernard Cerf
• 2003 : Corto Maltese : La Ballade de la mer salée
• 2003 : Corto Maltese : Sous le signe du Capricorne
• 2003 : Corto Maltese : Les Celtiques
• 2003 : Corto Maltese : La Maison dorée de Samarkand
• 2003 : Halman's Walk – by Jean-Baptiste Decavèle
• 2003 : Demake-up – by Marc Bruimaud
• 2003 : La Cure Stories – by Frédérique Lecerf
• 2004 : Grenze – by Patrick Fontana

• History of animation
• Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Bibliography