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The history of French animation is one of the longest in the world, as France has created some of the earliest animated films dating back to the late 19th century, and invented many of the foundational technologies of early animation.
The first pictured movie was from Frenchman Émile Reynaud, who created the praxinoscope, an advanced successor to the zoetrope that could project animated films up to 16 frames long, and films of about 500~600 pictures, projected on its own Théâtre Optique at Musée Grévin in Paris, France, on 28 October 1892.
Émile Cohl created what is most likely the first real animated cartoon to be drawn on paper, Fantasmagorie in 1908. The film featured many morphing figures. He is also thought to have pioneered puppet animation in 1910, pixilation in 1911 and to have started the first animated series in 1916 with La journée de Flambeau (also known as Flambeau, chien perdu).
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]
Folimage is a French animation studio, based in Bourg-lès-Valence, Drôme, France. It was founded in 1981 by Jacques-Rémy Girerd. The studio produces animation films for cinema and TV. In 1999, the company founded an animation school, La Poudrière, also in Valence. In 2009, Folimage and La Poudrière moved to La Cartoucherie, a former munitions factory in Bourg-lès-Valence.
Vladimir Cosma is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist, who has made his career in France and the United States.
The Prix Saint-Michel is a series of comic awards presented by the city of Brussels, with a focus on Franco-Belgian comics. They were first awarded in 1971, and although often said to be the oldest European comics awards, they are actually the second oldest comics award in Europe still presented, behind the Adamson Awards. Their history is quite erratic though, with a long pause between 1986 and 2002.
Nadia Farès is a French actress. She made her film debut in 1992, with My Wife's Girlfriends. She rose to fame with the police thriller Les Rivières pourpres. She appeared as Jade Agent Kinler in the 2007 action/thriller War, and as Pia in the 2007 horror film Storm Warning.
The Académie des lettres du Québec is a national academy for Quebec writers.
The 14th César Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, honoured the best French films of 1988 and took place on 4 March 1989 at the Théâtre de l'Empire in Paris. The ceremony was chaired by Peter Ustinov and hosted by Pierre Tchernia. Camille Claudel won the award for Best Film.
François de Roubaix was a French film score composer. In a decade, he created a musical style with new sounds, until his death in 1975.
Pierre-François Martin-Laval is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and theatre director. PEF is well known in France for his acting performances in musical comedy but also in serious plays. He studied at the famous French school of acting Cours Florent. During his drama studies he met the friends with whom he formed the comedy team 'Les Robins des Bois' in 1996. Initially called The Royal Imperial Green Rabbit Company, they renamed themselves after their first significant success, a play entitled Robins des bois.
Jean-Pierre Darroussin is a French actor and filmmaker. He was born in Courbevoie, France.
Jean-François Laguionie is a French animator, film director and producer of animation.
Pierre Vaneck was a French actor. During his career, he won a Molière Award in 1988 and received a César Award nomination in 2009.
Thérèse Quentin was a French actress. She was married to the actor and stage director Marcel Cuvelier (1924–2015), with whom she had a daughter, actress Marie Cuvelier.
Gisèle Casadesus was a French actress, who appeared in numerous theatre and film productions. She was an honorary member of the Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and Grand-Croix of the National Order of Merit. In a career spanning more than 80 years, Casadesus appeared in more than a dozen films after turning 90.
Brasserie Lipp is a brasserie located at 151 Boulevard Saint-Germain in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It sponsors an annual literary prize, the Prix Cazes, named for a previous owner.
Marc Robert Favart was a French actor, married to Jenny Carré, daughter of Albert Carré.
Alfred-Adolphe Pasquali was a French actor and theatre director.
The prix Broquette-Gonin was a former prize awarded by the Académie française.
Saint-Raphaël was a French professional cycling team that existed from 1954 to 1964. Its main sponsor was French apéritif brand Saint-Raphaël. From 1959 to 1961, a sister team existed, Rapha–Gitane–Dunlop. One of its champion riders was Jacques Anquetil.