Global animation veterans look forward to the annual Cartoon Movie event in Bordeaux, France, as much as they anticipate the arrival of spring. This year’s annual parade of upcoming animated movies in various stages of development and production will showcase 55 projects, March 5 to 7.
As has been the case for many years, France has emerged as the leading producer of animated movies in Europe, with 15 projects in 2024. It’s followed by Belgium, Germany and Spain with five each; Norway with four; Italy, Luxembourg and Poland with three each; Czechia, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden with two each; and Finland, Hungary, Netherlands and Portugal with one each. The majority of projects are in the development stage (33, 60%), and most of the pics are aimed at family audiences (31, 54%).
Seasoned directors will present their latest projects at Cartoon Movie 2024, including the In Concept works Alain Ughetto (director of No Dogs or Italians Allowed, 2022) with Rose and the Marmots, or Alessandro Rak (director and co-writer of The Art of Happiness, 2013, winner of the 2014 European Film Awards for European Animated Feature Film) with The Little Prince of Shangri-La.
In development, attendees will be introduced to Dog my cats! by Alain Gagnol (co-director of Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret, 2023), Out of Frame by Toby Genkel (director of The Amazing Maurice, 2022), Summer in the Hood by Jean-Pascal Zadi (actor, director and writer) & Louis Clichy (co-director of Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods, 2014) and The Wild Inside by Patrick Imbert (writer and director of The Summit of the Gods, 2021).
First-look images and footage of films In Production will be shown by Alexis Ducord (co-director of Zombillénium, 2017) & Vincent Parronaud (writer-director of Persepolis) with Into the Wonderwoods, as well as directing duo Kari Juusonen & Jørgen Lerdam (The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear, 2017) with Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights.
And in the Sneak Preview section, audiences will discover Elli directed by Jesper Møller, Piet de Rycker & Jens Møller, as well as Kensuke’s Kingdom (nominated for the Annecy Cristal in 2023) by Neil Boyle & Kirk Hendry, Living Large directed by Kristina Dufková and SuperKlaus by Steven Majaury (Mission Kathmandu: The Adventures of Nelly & Simon, 2017) & Andrea Sebastiá.
The winner of this year’s Cartoon Tributes will also be announced at the event. The nominees are:
European Producer of the Year
- Animagrad (FILM.UA Group) (Ukraine) for Mavka. The Forest Song
- Fernando Trueba Prod. (Spain) / LolaFilms (Spain) / Les Films d’Ici Méditerranée (France) / Submarine (Netherlands) & Animanostra (Portugal) for They Shot the Piano Player
- Sacrebleu Productions (France) / Take Five (Belgium) & Ciel de Paris (France) for Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds
- TAT Productions (France) for The Jungle Bunch: World Tour and Epic Tails
European Distributor of the Year
- Eurozoom (France); The Island, Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles, Cafard
- Films4You (Portugal); Calamity: A Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary, Flee, Titina
- Pro Films (Bulgaria); The Inseparables, The Elfkins – Baking a Difference, Dreambuilders
- Selmer Media (Norway); Epic Tails, My Fairy Troublemaker, Dragonkeeper
European Director of the Year
- Enzo D’Alò for A Greyhound of a Girl (Italy)
- Isabel Herguera for Sultana’s Dream (Spain)
- Chiara Malta & Sébastien Laudenbach for Chicken for Linda! (France)
- Jérémie Périn for Mars Express (France)
Winners will be announced at the Bordeaux Congress Center on March 7.
For more up-to-date info about the events and the selected projects, visit cartoon-media.eu.
A Cartoon Movie Sampler
There are so many brilliant and original movies debuting at the event this year, but here are a few titles that grabbed our attention before the show. Visit our website for full coverage of the event in early March.
Dog My Cats!
Among the many movies making a splash at Cartoon Movie is a new project by director Alain Gagnol and producer Jérôme Duc-Maugé, who collaborated on last year’s pic Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret. Their new 2D-animated movie Dog My Cats! follows the adventures of a young brother and sister who discover that their visiting grandmother has the ability to talk to cats and dogs.
“We were in the middle of production on Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret, directed by Alain Gagnol, and I suggested we develop a new project together,” Duc-Maugé tells Animation Magazine. “Unlike his first three films, we didn’t want it to be about a child solving an adult problem, but rather a family comedy. Alain came up with the idea of a grandmother who has the power to talk to cats and dogs and who passes it on to her grandchildren on a road trip.”
According to the producer, the film’s 2D animation will be produced in France, Luxembourg and possibly in Canada, and it should be ready for theaters by 2026. “Of course, getting cats and dogs to talk to us is a big challenge,” Duc-Maugé says with a smile. “But we’re counting on our lead actress, Josiane Balasko (French Twist, The Hedgehog, Too Beautiful for You), who voices the grandmother Jeanne. She loves them very much!”
Dickie
This 2D adaptation of popular Belgian artist Pieter De Poortere’s graphic novel follows the life and mysterious death of a wild and crazy humor icon known as Dickie — from his tumultuous childhood to his rise and fall as a popular comic. Directed by De Poortere himself, with a script by Bill Morrison, this animated mockumentary has a great potential to be a fun spoof of fame culture, some of our favorite movies and annoying Hollywood celebrities. The Belgian-Serbian co-production is currently in development with producers Renaat van Ginderachter, Peter Rogiers and Predrag Joldić (AIMI Studio) attached.
Elli
Jesper Møller, Piet de Rycker and Jens Møller are the talented directing trio behind the new CG-animated feature Elli. The charming family film centers on the adventures of a homeless little ghost who finds herself on a mysterious Ghost Train and is befriended by an eccentric group of monsters. However, when she is accidentally spotted by the outside world, she has to team up with her new family to avoid an impending disaster. Based on the book by Klaus Baumgart, the movie is produced by Germany’s Dreamin Dolphin (Lilian Klages) and co-produced by Canada’s CarpeDiem Film (Marie-Claude Beauchamp) and Germany’s Traumhaus Studios (Michael Luda). With Pink Parrot Media already securing sales across Europe under the title Elli and Her Monster Team, we see good things materializing for this friendly little ghost.
Living Large
The trials and tribulations of a bullied, overweight 12-year old are at the heart of this highly original movie directed by Kristina Dufková (Fimfarum 3) and based on a book by Mikaël Ollivier (La vie, en gros). Aimed at a teen audience familiar with the challenges of life at the protagonist’s age, Living Large uses a mix of stop-motion and CG animation to tell its heartwarming story. Czech studio Barletta (Matej Chlupacek) is the project’s main producer, along with co-producers Slovakia’s Novinski (Agata Jeleneková) and France’s Novanima Productions (Marc Faye).
The Little Prince of Shangri-La
Italian writer-director Alessandro Rak, who is best known for such movies as The Art of Happiness, Cinderella the Cat and Yaya and Lennie: The Walking Liberty, is back at Cartoon Movie with a fascinating new project: The Little Prince of Shangri-La centers on the search for the 14th Dalai Lama in Tibet by a small expedition. The ill-assorted team consists of Alexandra, a very young French explorer; Aphur, a young warrior monk; and Kewstang, an elderly and very friendly Lama. Will the trio be able to find the new Dalai and save Tibet? Judging from the eye-catching early illustrations and Rak’s excellent track record, we know it’s going to be a fascinating journey! Italy’s MAD Entertainment is the producer.
Lucy Lost
Author Michael Morpurgo (War Horse) is having quite a moment. His book Kensuke’s Kingdom was adapted into an acclaimed new animated feature by Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry, while French studio Xilam is working on another one of his books, Listen to the Moon. This lovely 2D-animated movie follows Lucy, a lively girl with extraordinary faculties, who seems out of place among the fishermen of the Isles of Scilly. She discovers a new strength when she befriends a mysterious girl named Milly. The upcoming feature is directed by Olivier Clert, produced by Xilam president Marc du Pontavice (I Lost My Body) and Lucie Bolze.
MouMoush — The King of Plastic
Back in 2018, Milorad Krstic made a big splash with his thought-provoking animated feature Ruben Brandt, Collector. The talented Slovenia-born, Budapest-based artist will be bringing his new project, MouMoush — The King of Plastic, to Cartoon Movie this month. Written and directed by Krstic, the 2D-CG hybrid pic centers on two siblings whose summer break turns into an adventure fighting an evil man who dreams of world domination. After MouMoush and his righthand, Dr. Sinistrad, use a secret potion to turn Paris bridges and the Eiffel Tower into croissant dough, the siblings travel back in time to foil his plans. If you need to learn more about this intriguing venture, you’ll have to get in touch with Krstic and his producer Radmila Roczkov at Hungary’s Mumus Production. Or you can read our report after the presentation online!
Summer in the Hood
Jean-Pascal Zadi is best known for his Cesar-winning performance in the 2020 movie Simply Black. This year, the talented actor and writer has a new animated project on the horizon. Summer in the Hood is co-written and co-directed by Zadi and Louis Clichy, the latter of whom also helmed Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion and Asterix and Obelix: Mansion of the Gods and worked on Pixar’s WALL•E and Up as well. The slice-of-life feature tells the story of 13-year-old Kali, who leaves his home in Normandy to spend summer vacation in a housing project outside Paris. Silex Films (Priscilla Bertin) and Douze Doigts (Judith Nora) are the lead producers of the hard-to-resist feature.
