Cartoon Movie 2021 Report – Day Two
After a whirlwind day of pitches we return for another batch of future feature classics at Cartoon Movie. As well as showcasing the event also supports, through the THE EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION AWARD where the jury of Karin Schockweiler (Film Fund Luxembourg – Luxembourg), Emmanuelle Chevalier (Les Films du Préau – France) and Emil Simeonov (Pro Films – Bulgaria) awarded €20,000 of development money to an international production that is European in origin. The 2021 award went to Shadows, a stylish adaptation of Zabus graphic novel produced by Autour de Minuit.
So with a promising future ahead for the team behind Shadows here are some other pitches that grasped our attention on day two of the pitching and co-production event.
The 2021 Cartoon Movie Poster, designed by Christophe Blain
Cartoon Movie Day 2
After the croissant show (bring your own this year) Your Spotted Skin was the first film that turned heads. A motion capture film from Studio Film Bilder directed by Daniel Nocke, Stefan Krohmer & Thomas Meyer-Hermann, that tells the tale of a Lion that falls in love with a Cow. The drama of the film is pitched in a rather comedic way as a ‘reporter’ interviews a ‘farmer’ asking why there are no lions on his farm, setting up the murder mystery in a fun way whilst stylistically the film looks to be taking cues from the teams previous work such as No Room for Gerold and Who Will Pay the Bill.
Your Spotted Skin
Sorya see’s Funan Director Denis Do return for a story set in Cambodia where a young woman leaves her countryside setting to work in the city to provide for her family. With the overwhelming nature of factory life proving burdensome she retreats to a karaoke bar where it is discovered that she is an amazing singer which propels her journey of self discovery and conflict. The beautiful artwork and animation brings to life a story that we are desperate to see completed.
Sorya
Uncanny Stories is an animated horror collaboration aimed at young adults. Combining different stories to scare the pants of audiences in different ways with short chapters by Benoit Razy, Fabrice Luang-Vija, Jean-Loup Felicioli, Hefang Weï, Alain Gagnol, Izù Troin and Morten Riisberg Hansen the film looks like a worthy successor to Fear(s) of the Dark. Sticking with the adult theme, but this time in the genre of drama is Flee the true story of Amin a successful academic who lives in Denmark with his husband where he relocated to as a refugee from Afghanistan as a child. The tale recounts his perilous journey and the secrets his past holds. Flee is one of many productions pitched at the forum in recent years that deal with similar topics and through the pitch we are able to see how the film has the potential to deliver a powerful story that sheds light on the hardships many will find hard to comprehend. Another film to point to the next time someone tells you animation is just a kid’s medium.
Yet fun for kids is not to be sniffed at and is abound in films such as Christmas at Cattlehill a CG farm based yuletide family feature with talking animals. If you want something with a Celtic twist Eyeballed takes place in ancient Ireland where 6 year old twins Ifa and Shifra befriend an ancient monster in order to prevent a war. This Celtic comedy epic takes finely illustrated ideas and translates them to well rendered CG. The in concept idea is looking for studios. Lucie’s Frightful Adventure might not have been the best pitch (though it was far from the worst) and it’s worth noting that a lot of companies have had problems delivering their pitches online this year, but the slick 2D animation and story on display coupled with the fun artwork really stood out and anyone willing to look beyond the presentation and towards the potential.
Lucie’s Frightening Adventure
Anca Damian returns to pitch her second feature of the event, with The Island in production Starseed began with the director outlining her efforts to highlight the wider universal consciousness between man and nature that transcends time and space. Heavy stuff for a family feature on paper, but tied together in a story about a young albino girl with a telepathic link to alien worlds and you have the makings of something special. This is pitched as a family film, and it’s transcendental work like this that should be encouraged if we value variety and big ideas in what we show our children.
Poetry and music take centre stage for Spanish speaking productions, with Moonlit Flamenco putting flamenco back on the map and Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope telling the powerful story set in the backdrop of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s efforts to save nearly two thousand refugees from the squalor of the crowded refugee camps in France. In concept Pepino the Accordionist tells another musically driven story of a musician who travels to Paris to seek his fortune.
The Midnight King
The Midnight King brings Autour Du Minuit a timeless fantastical adventure that explores the inner world of a young boy who travels through an enchanted forest to confront his fears and find the titular monarch musical odyssey with flavours of The Dark Crystal about it. The Madame Tutli-Putli team of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szcerbowski are behind this feature which pitched itself on a single, captivating image of the young boy coming up against a demonic looking train armed only with a stick and promise to use a range of technologies from the hand crafted to the digital to bring it to life. Sticking to the hand crafted The Inexact Sciences looks to take Stefano Bessoni’s macabre stop motion animation stylings to deliver a love story, hampered by ghostly happenings.
The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil
Original stories are often the bedrock of a good animated film. The Gigantic Beard that Was Evil takes the much loved graphic novel from Stephen Collins and shapes it into a phobia battling story billed as The Truman Show meet’s Up. There are detectable flavours of Edward Scissorhands in the story as the protagonist faces challenges from a prim and proper island society when an avalanche of facial fuzz sprouts from his face making him an outcast as he and his burly bristles seek to uncover a mystery that surrounds the residents of the island of Here.
Another adaptation and returning Cartoon Movie feature – The Character of Rain sees the Amélie Nothomb novel about a child who sees themselves at the centre of the universe and almost god like in their command until they reach the age of three. Accompanied with the results of a years worth of exploration and development, rendered through gorgeous artwork it looks like audiences are in for a real treat. There are films for children which kids can laugh along with and be entertained, but it is rare that we see a film that speaks on a metaphysical level with children such as this.
The Character of Rain
With animation proving to be an indomitable art form in the face of international lockdowns, Cartoon Movie 2021 has revealed that impressive ideas have found the ingenuity to be created, developed and produced and with any luck, this event will have both secured finances and workforces to develop entertainment for eager audiences. With an impressive array of stories on display at this years edition, the future of feature animation is in very safe hands.
Read our review of the first day of Cartoon Movie 2021 here or see the projects yourself on the Cartoon Movie Website.