Table 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 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
