French Animation History

Figures ix

Plates xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

1 Introduction: The Rise of Animation in France 1

The Beginnings of Animation 4

Stop-Motion Animation Attractions 19

2 Silent Animation: Emile Cohl and his Artisanal Legacy 22

Emile Cohl, Caricature, and the Rise of Studio Animation 22

Emile Cohl at Pathé, Eclipse, and Eclair Studios 36

Graphic Art and the Cartoon: Lortac and O’Galop 45

But is it “Animation?” French Avant-Garde and Moving Pictures 54

3 French Animation and the Coming of Sound 60

Ladislas Starewich’s Fabled Puppets 61

Berthold Bartosch’s L’Idée: A Working-Class Allegory 73

Jean Painlevé’s La Barbe bleue 78

Alexandre Alexeieff, Claire Parker, and the Pinscreen 82

Niche Cartoons: Lyrical Joie de vivre and the Surreal La Fortune enchantée 90

4 Toward an Alternative Studio Structure 99

Paul Grimault and the Artist-Owned Animation Studio 100

Transitional Animation: From High Art to Made-for-TV 107

Toward a New Era of Micro-Studios: Laguionie and Laloux 114

5 French Animation’s Renaissance 124

Le Cartoon Plan 124

Michel Ocelot’s Alternative Mode of Production 127

Comic Book Aesthetics and Niche Studios 139

Contemporary French Animation: 2006 and Beyond 149

6 Conclusion: French Animation Today 162

References 171

Further Reading 178

Index 181