Michel Ocelot
2019
Born (1943-10-27) 27 October 1943 (age 80)
Villefranche-sur-Mer, French Riviera, France[1]
NationalityFrench
EducationEcole régionale des Beaux-Arts, Angers
École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs, Paris
California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles
TitlePresident of ASIFA
Term1994–1999
PredecessorRaoul Servais
AwardsChevalier of the Légion d'honneur[2]

Michel Ocelot (French pronunciation: [miʃɛl ɔslo]; born 27 October 1943) is a French writer, designer, storyboard artist and director of animated films and television programs (formerly also animator, background artist, narrator and other roles in earlier works) and a former president of the International Animated Film Association.[3] Though best known for his 1998 debut feature Kirikou and the Sorceress, his earlier films and television work had already won Césars[4] and British Academy Film Awards[5] among others and he was made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur on 23 October 2009, presented to him by Agnès Varda who had been promoted to commandeur earlier the same year.[2] In 2015 he got the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb.[6]

Biography

He was born in 1943 to a Catholic[7] family then in Villefranche-sur-Mer,[1] on the French Riviera, who relocated to Guinea, West Africa for much of his childhood, moving back to Anjou in France during his adolescence. As a teenager he played with and created toy theatre productions[1] and was inspired to become an animator through viewing Hermína Týrlová's Vzpoura hraček (The Revolt of Toys, 1946)[8][9] and discovering a book on DIY stop motion animation. He was never formally taught animation, however, and instead studied the decorative arts, first at the Ecole régionale des Beaux-Arts in Angers, then the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris and the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.[10] He now lives and operates from an atelier-apartment in Paris.

His œuvre is characterised by having worked in a variety of animation techniques, typically employing a different medium for each new project, but almost exclusively within the genres of fairy tales and fairytale fantasy. Some, such as Kirikou and the Sorceress, are loose adaptations of existing folk tales, others are original stories constructed from the "building blocks" of such tales. He describes the process as "I play with balls that innumerable jugglers have already used for countless centuries. These balls, passed down from hand to hand, are not new. But today I'm the one doing the juggling."[11] Visually, they are characterised by a rigid use, excepting brief transitions between them, of the side-on, straight-on and ¾ viewpoints TF1 INFO - Actualités du jour en direct : Actualité en France et à l'International of silhouette and cutout animation (such as that of Lotte Reiniger[12] and Karel Zeman) even when working in mediums which allow for greater flexibility and dynamic viewpoints. Though often likened to Reiniger,[13] he himself finds her films "rather archaic and not very attractive"[14] and does not list them among his favourites.[10] He also admires the art of ancient Egypt, pottery of ancient Greece, Hokusai and illustrators such as Arthur Rackham, W. Heath Robinson and his brothers and, most of all, Aubrey Beardsley.[15] He was president of the Association international du film d'animation (ASIFA) from 1994 to 2000.

While already a household name in much of continental Europe, and greatly respected by Studio Ghibli's Isao Takahata (who directed Japanese dubs of his films), his success in the more conservative markets of the United Kingdom, United States and Germany has been restricted by a mixed reaction to the realistic and non-sexual, but nevertheless omnipresent nudity in his breakout film Kirikou and the Sorceress. Although all of these countries' boards of film classification have approved it as being suitable for all ages, cinemas and TV channels have been reluctant to show it due to the possible backlash from offended parents. In 2007, he gained some further recognition within the English-speaking world by directing a music video for the Icelandic musician Björk, the lead single from her album Volta.

In another 2008 interview he mentioned as further examples of favourite and influential artistic works Voltaire's letters, The Heron and the Crane, Crac, Father and Daughter, the first part of Grand Illusion, Neighbors, the Eiffel Tower, Millesgården, Persian miniatures, Jean Giraud's free drawing and illustrations by Kay Nielsen.[16]

Filmography

Year Title (English) Format Medium Other notes
1974 Le Tabac (lit. "The Newsagent") 1 min short film
1976 Gideon
(Gédéon) 		60 × 5 min TV series Cut-out animation Based on the comics by Benjamin Rabier
1979 Les 3 Inventeurs
(lit. "The Three Inventors") 		13 min short film Cut-out animation Best animated short at the 34th British Academy Film Awards,[5] 1980[17]Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films[1] and 1981 Odense Film Festival (tied with Crac !)[18]
Extract featured in the "Globe Trotting" segment of the 2003 documentary The Animated Century[19]
1981 Daughters of Equality
(Les Filles de l’égalité) 		1 min short film Traditional animation Special jury prize at the 1982 Albi Film Festival
1982 Beyond Oil 20 min educational film Cut-out animation Animated segments only; live action directed by Philippe Vallois

Full transfer available on YouTube from production company aaa

The Legend of the Poor Hunchback
(La Légende du pauvre bossu) 		7 min short film Animatic Best animated short at the 8th César Awards[4]
1983 La Princesse insensible
(lit. "The Impassive Princess") 		13 × 4 min TV series [1] Mixed[12]
1987 Les Quatre Vœux du Vilain et de sa femme
(lit. "The Four Wishes of Vilain and of His Wife") 		5 min short film Traditional animation Featured in the 1989 package film Outrageous Animation[20] compiled and distributed in cinemas and on home video in North America by Expanded Cinema[21]
1989 Ciné si 8 × 12 min TV series Mixed silhouette animation[10] Best TV series episode at the 1990 Ottawa International Animation Festival[22] and 1991 Annecy Festival 1991[23]
Compiled into Princes and Princesses
1992 Les Contes de la nuit
(lit. "Tales of the Night") 		26 min TV special Mixed silhouette animation Contains "La Belle Fille et le sorcier" (lit. "The Beautiful Girl and the Sorcerer"), "Bergère qui danse" (lit. "The Dancing Shepherdess") and "Le Prince des joyaux" (lit. "The Prince of Gems")
1998 Kirikou and the Sorceress
(Kirikou et la Sorcière) 		71 min feature film Digital traditional animation Best animated feature at the 1999 Annecy Festival;[24] best European feature at the 2002 British Animation Awards (tied with Chicken Run)
2000 Princes and Princesses
(Princes et Princesses) 		70 min feature film Mixed silhouette animation Compilation movie of Ciné si[1]
2005 Kirikou and the Wild Beasts
(Kirikou et les Bêtes sauvages, aka Kirikou and the Wild Beast) 		75 min feature film Digital traditional animation Co-directed with Bénédicte Galup
2006 Azur & Asmar
(Azur et Asmar, aka Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest) 		90 min feature film[25] Computer animation Best animated feature at the 2007 Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films[26]
Also serves as voice director for the English version
2007 "Earth Intruders" 4 min music video for Björk Mixed live action and animation Nominated for best video at the 2007 Q Awards[27]
Kirikou et Karaba
(lit. "Kirikou and Karaba") 		Play Musical theatre
2008 L'Invité aux noces
(lit. "The Wedding Guest") 		Original video short Animatic
2010 Dragons et Princesses
(lit. "Dragons and Princesses") 		10 × 13 min TV series for Canal+ Computer silhouette animation[28] Special award for a TV series at the 2010 Annecy Festival[29]
Compiled into Tales of the Night (2011) and Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess
2011 Tales of the Night
(Les Contes de la nuit) 		84 min feature film Computer silhouette animation Compilation movie of Dragons et Princesses
Premiered in competition for the Golden Bear at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival;[30] played in competition at the 2011 Sitges Film Festival[31]
2012 Kirikou and the Men and Women
(Kirikou et les Hommes et les Femmes)[32] 		88 min feature film Computer animation
2016 Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess[33]
(Ivan Tsarévitch et la Princesse Changeante, aka Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess: Four Enchanting Tales[34]) 		53 min feature film Computer silhouette animation Compilation movie of Dragons et Princesses[33]
2018 Dilili in Paris (Dilili à Paris) Feature film Computer animation[35]
2022 Le Pharaon, le Sauvage et la Princesse Feature film Computer animation

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Pilling, Jayne (2001). 2D and Beyond. Animation. Hove: RotoVision. pp. 109, 153. ISBN 2-88046-445-5.
  2. ^ a b Brane, Edouard (26 October 2009). "Le papa de "Kirikou" reçoit la Légion d'Honneur" (in French). AlloCiné. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Azur & Asmar press pack" (PDF) (Press release). Soda Pictures. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Home". lescesarducinema.com.
  5. ^ a b "Film Awards". 31 July 2014.
  6. ^ "animafest.hr". animafest.hr. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  7. ^ Leroy, Elodie (9 January 2008). "Interview : Michel Ocelot (Azur et Asmar)". DVDrama.com (in French). p. 3. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  8. ^ "Bring me beauty". Little White Lies. London: Story. 12 (The Tales from Earthsea Issue).
  9. ^ "Travelling Cine-meeting 'Remembering and Forgetting'". Asociace českých filmových klubů. p. 1. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  10. ^ a b c Sifianos, Georges (1991). "Une technique idéale". Positif (in French). 370: 102–104.
  11. ^ Bazou, Sébastien (2008). "Princes et princesses : Les contes de fées revisités". ArteFake.com (in French). Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  12. ^ a b Taylor, Richard (1996). The Encyclopedia of Animation Techniques. Oxford: Focal Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-240-51576-5.
  13. ^ Fritz, Steve (16 October 2008). "Animated Shorts: Michel Ocelot's Azur and Asmar". Newsarama.com. Imaginova. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
  14. ^ Ocelot, Michel (Director) (22 October 2008). Les Secrets de fabrication de Michel Ocelot (Documentary). Paris: France Télévisions. I'd found Lotte Reiniger's films rather archaic and not very attractive but I thought to myself, 'It'll be fine for children.'
  15. ^ Andrews, Nigel (22 October 2006). "Fabulist of filmmaking". FT.com. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  16. ^ Dalquié, Delphine (2008). "Michel Ocelot : Interview". Fascineshion.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  17. ^ "animafest.hr". www.animafest.hr. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  18. ^ Historie 1981[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ "The Animated Century". Rembrandt Films. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  20. ^ "Outrageous Animation (1989) - Cast and Credits - Yahoo! Movies". Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  21. ^ Cohen, Karl F. (1997). Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America. Jefferson: McFarland. pp. 102–104. ISBN 9780786403950.
  22. ^ Festival ottawa.awn.com[dead link]
  23. ^ "Annecy > About > Archives > 1991 > Official Selection > Film Index". CITIA, Image & Creative Industries. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  24. ^ "Film Index".
  25. ^ Recio, Lorenzo (21 November 2005). "Portrait : Michel Ocelot". Court-circuit (in French). Arte. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  26. ^ "Best animated films". Animafest.hr.
  27. ^ Q Awards nominations announced q4music.com September 2007[dead link]
  28. ^ "Dragons et princesses". Nord-Ouest. 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  29. ^ "2010 award winners". Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  30. ^ "| Berlinale | Press | Press Releases | Competition - the Competition of the 61st Berlinale". Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  31. ^ "Les Contes de la nuit 3D". Sitges Film Festival. 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  32. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (27 January 2011). ""Rebecca et le sorcier" : Mon interview "animé" avec Michel Ocelot" (in French). Premiere.fr. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  33. ^ a b "INTERNATIONAL SALES | Septieme Factory". Septième Factory. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  34. ^ "Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess : Four Enchanting Tales | Nord-Ouest". Nord-Ouest Films. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  35. ^ "3 Animated Features, 4 Shorts Nominated for France's César Awards". 23 January 2019.

Further reading

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