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French Animation History is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of animation, illuminating the exceptional place France holds within that history.
* Selected by Choice as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2011
* The first book dedicated exclusively to this history
* Explores how French animators have forged their own visual styles, narrative modes, and technological innovations to construct a distinct national style, while avoiding the clichés and conventions of Hollywood's commercial cartoons
* Includes more than 80 color and black and white images from the most influential films, from early silent animation to the recent internationally renowned Persepolis
* Essential reading for anyone interested in the study of French film
List of contents
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 Pathe, 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'Idee: A Working-Class Allegory 73
Jean Painleve's La Barbe bleue 78
Alexandre Alexeieff, Claire Parker, and the Pinscreen 82
Niche Cartoons: Lyrical Joie de vivre and the Surreal
La Fortune enchantee 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
Summary
French Animation History is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of animation, illuminating the exceptional place France holds within that history.
Report
"Neupert expertly integrates the lives and exploits of the animators with the plots of films they produced and with the trends and issues in the profession...Summing Up: Highly recommended." - Choice
"French Animation History is a richly informed and highly readable scholarly book that will appeal both to specialists in the field and to the curious interested in this popular, and often neglected, dimension of French filmmaking." - H-France Review
