French Animation: The Mirror Effect – The Classics' Classics
Come and discover a retrospective of seven French animation shorts that have become classics since they made their marks on the animation world between 1908 and 1999.
Starting off with a symbolic short, Fantasmagorie, created in 1908 by Émile Cohl, since this filmmaker is recognized as the pioneer of animation.
Although today it’s 85 years old, The Idea shows no signs of its age. It’s the only one of Berthold Bartosch’s films to have survived the Nazi regime, after his open disapproval of the movement in his work.
Night on Bald Mountain received rave reviews around the world after its release. The press was shocked by the window that had been opened into the nightmares and monsters laying within the souls of its spectators.
The Little Soldier by Paul Grimault was inspired by the famous Andersen fairy tale about the love story between a soldier and a doll. The filmmaker is also known for his collaboration with Jacques Prévert on the film The King and Mockingbird.
The film Psychoderche got noticed when it was presented before La Grande Bouffe. Monique Renault’s short introduced feminism to the animation world.
The Three Inventors, a tale told with paper cut-outs by Michel Ocelot, where a family of brilliant inventors are faced with jealousy by the other villagers.
Finally, Florence Miailhe’s Au premier dimanche d’août is a cross-over mixing animation and documentary story-telling in her moving painting that was created in August 1999.
By brushing up on these fundamental films, you’ll realize why today’s French animation is greatly inspired by its ancestors.
