The 2023 edition of the Annecy Festival has officially opened, welcoming more than 15,000 attendees to the world’s largest animation celebration, nestled amid the French Alps. This year, the program puts a special spotlight on animation from Mexico as well as films celebrating Pride and Diversity.
In a joint statement for “Jour-J,” Dominique Puthod (Chairman, CITIA), Mickaël Marin (CEO, CITIA) and Marcel Jean (Artistic Director, Annecy Festival), shared:
“Annecy, the world capital of animation film! With over 15,640 badge holders and 103 countries represented, we have achieved a new historic milestone. It confirms the tremendous development of animation film worldwide and the acknowledgment of an entire industry.
“A few days following the dramatic event on 8th June, the victims of this horrendous act are still at the forefront of our minds. Now, more than ever, the Festival must be a time for sharing and fraternity.”
This sentiment was echoed by Puthod during the Opening Night ceremony, when he told the audience, “In response to barbarity, this festival will hold up creativity and artistic perspective. You will bring color and wonder to the eyes of young and old alike, on bruised and battered paper, as a tribute to life.”
The opener featured, as previously announced, a screening of Benoît Chieux’s feature-length, technicolor fantasy-adventure Sirocco and the Kingdom of Air Streams (Belgium/France). The Mexican animation program came into focus with Kikiriki, a new black and white short film directed by Ram Tamez, the director of Annie Award-winning Gobelins student film La Bestia (The Beast).
Thanks so much @annecyfestival for accepting this love letter film produced by @ideabybud a team effort. We wouldn’t be here without the support from @RealGDT @inestajose @mexopolis @mightystudio and @PablOrta
Viva México! Vive la France!#Annecy #annecyfestival #MexicoEnAnnecy pic.twitter.com/6vHSCkoWrv
— Ram Tamez (@RamTamez) June 12, 2023
One of the night’s highly anticipated surprises was the debut of the hush-hush new Disney animated short, which was revealed as a hybrid ode to the studio’s 100th anniversary: Once Upon a Studio. The pic will run in theaters ahead of the feature film fantasy-adventure Wish, opening November 22 in the States.
Directed by Trent Correy and Dan Abraham, the nine-minute film combined hand-drawn (led by the incomparable Eric Goldberg) and CG animation (Raya and the Last Dragon supervising animator Andrew Feliciano) with live action to bring more than 400 beloved Disney characters back to the screen in a hilarious whirlwind of cartoony mishaps as Mickey Mouse tries to assemble a group photo at the Roy E. Disney building.
Viewers could spot icons and old school favorites like Aladdin‘s Genie, Peter Pan, Goofy and The Sword in the Stone‘s Merlin, groundbreaking princesses Tiana and Moana (joined by Maui, of course), Oscar-winning stars like Frozen‘s Olaf and Elsa and, getting a big laugh, Zootopia‘s Flash Slothmore. More than 40 of the original voice stars were brought back to the booth for the short — as Josh Gad, voice of Olaf, revealed on Twitter, Genie was brough to life using previously unheard audio recorded by the late Robin Williams.
The film also serves as a tribute to animator Burny Mattinson, who died in February just months before he was due to celebrate an incredible 70 years working with the studio. The lifelong Mouse House member was filmed for the opener to Once Upon a Studio, uttering the fateful words, “Boy, if these walls could talk.”
Director Abraham told the crowd, “This is a love letter to the medium, to Disney animation, and really a thank you to anyone in the audience that’s ever connected with a film over the last hundred years.”
