Where Do Animated Features Come From? Cartoon Movie 2020
It’s a well known fact that babies come from the stork, or at least that is what I have been told, but it got me thinking – where do other things come from? This week in Bordeaux is Cartoon Movie, a pitching and selling event which answers the question – where do animated feature films come from?
In the multiplexes our american staples are financed through long standing agreements with distributors. Disney make and distribute their own work through one of the many arms of the company, Warner Bros and Paramount have their own animation divisions and so a steady stream of family friendly features fast track their way onto our screens almost effortlessly. It’s often stated that Walt Disney managed to make Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the feature film that changed it all for animation with “just a dream”, quite a flowery notion but what isn’t often stated is that he also had to remortgage his house to finance the film. Animation costs cash, bundles and bundles of it. Whilst remortgaging your house is an option, it isn’t really a wise one. Partnering with likeminded people who believe in the idea of your film is a much safer bet.
One such place that brings together the animation community in the spirit of collaboration is Cartoon Movie. The 21 year old event gathers together buyers, distributors, investors and publishers who can make the dreams of directors and producers come true by providing a pitching & co-pro forum for animated feature films, giving creatives a stage to sell their idea. Cartoons are big business with the forum attracting over 900 delegates in 2019 and since its creation, 365 films have found financing with investors chipping in €2.4 billion in total. Cartoon Movie also gives industry insiders a glimpse of what to expect for the future of animated films as some of the films that will be pitched this week in Bordeaux will find their way into festivals and multiplexes before you know it. The event is part of Cartoon Media which also hosts Cartoon Forum for TV Series and Cartoon 360 for trans media among other events.
Feature films after finance take to the stage to pitch!
You only need to scroll back through their archives to see some of the current festival favourites being pitched, Buñuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles was originally pitched in 2017 alongside Morona’s Fantastic Tale and Cartoon Saloons upcoming feature Wolfwalkers was unveiled at the forum. A year earlier saw I Lost My Body, Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs and Funan meet the public for the first time and crucially, meet the financiers.
Lupus Films will pitch Molesworth at this years Cartoon Movie
This years forum offers another tantalising gaze into the future with well known studios such as Lupus Films are pitching the Uli Mayer lead Molesworth feature based on the work of Ronald Searle, Franck Dion (Edmond Was a Donkey, The Head Vanishes) is pitching The Legacy of the Depanurge and Jerrica Cleland is representing two projects Raven Girl and Planet of Kids. There are lots more exciting projects to keep an eye on over on the website.
The Legacy of the Depanurge by Franck Dion is among the works to be pitched this year
The forum also celebrates the animated form with the annual Cartoon Tribute Awards which award the best and the brightest in the field for Directing, Producing and Distributing. Here are the 2020 nominees.
European Director of the Year
Zabou Breitman & Éléa Gobbé-Mévellec (France) for The Swallows of Kabul
Frank Mosvold & Atle Blakseth (Norway) for Ella Bella Bingo
Sergio Pablos (Spain) for Klaus
European Distributor of the Year
Filmin (Spain)
Les Films du Préau (France)
Lumière (Belgium)
Outsider Films (Portugal)
European Producer of the Year
Atom Art/Letko (Latvia/Poland) for Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs,
Prima Linea Productions/France 3 Cinéma/Indigo Film (France/Italy) for The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily,
Trickstudio Lutterbeck/Balance Film/Doghouse Films/Artémis Productions/Maur Film (Germany/Luxembourg/Belgium/Czech Republic) for Fritzi — A Revolutionary Tale,
Xilam Animation/Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma (France) for I Lost My Body
Don’t forget you can follow Skwigly all week on Twitter and Instagram as we share the highlights of Cartoon Movie 2020.