Feb 3, 2017

Cartoon Movie 2017: Six Adult Skew Feature Projects to Keep an Eye on

This year, two of the five Oscar-nominated animated features-My Life As A Zucchini and The Red Turtle-are European co-productions. That should hardly be a surprise. European feature animation is currently booming, and has plenty of room for growth in the coming years.

A key event for getting perspective on what's happening in European long-form animation is Cartoon Movie, set to take place next month in Bordeaux, France between March 8 and 10. Fifty-five animated projects have been selected to be presented at the upcoming edition.

Cartoon Movie presents films in various stages of the production cycle, from concept and development through production, and even fully-completed films. The pitching and co-production forum, now in its 19th year, is where European producers often find financing, co-producers and distributors for features. Over 265 animated films that have been pitched at Cartoon Movie over the years have secured financing and release.

To understand Cartoon Movie, one has to first understand the key financial distinction between American and European animated features. In the U.S., most of the major animated films (Laika being the notable exception) are produced within a studio system, where one of the major entertainment corporations will put up all the money to make a film. European financing is less straightforward; film budgets are usually cobbled together from a complicated system of co-productions where different producers, distributors, and broadcasters (often in different countries) each put up a portion of the budget.

Both systems have advantages and drawbacks, but the key advantage to the European system is that there is more opportunity for variety in animated filmmaking. Average European budgets are a tiny fraction of average American animated features, which not only allows for more films to be made, but also allows producers to take risks without the looming fear of failure. For example, the Oscar-nominated My Life As A Zucchini, a Swiss-French co-production cost just US$8 million, whereas Disney's Zootopia cost $150 million. While Zucchini won't ever come close to matching the gross of Zootopia, at 1/19th the cost, it doesn't need to put up blockbuster grosses to make back its money.

For a long time, European producers tried to replicate American-style animated features on European budgets, which resulted in films that were derivative and subpar. But that formula has begun to change in the last decade, and increasingly, European producers are making films that have unique graphic styles and content designed from the ground-up for lower budgets.

As part of that trend, producers are also exploring thematic concepts and stories that go beyond family-friendly fare typically associated with animation. These trends are fully evident among Cartoon Movie's selections this year, where around one-third of the 55 projects are targeted at teen and adult audiences.

Here's a few of the mature animation projects that have caught our attention at the upcoming pitching event:

A 2D Spanish animated feature directed by Manuel H. Martin and produced by La Ciaqueta, the project is about a woman in an abusive relationship who takes matters into her own hands:

Spanish film legend Luis Buñuel takes center stage in this 2D animated feature directed by Salvador Simó. Manuel Cristobal, producer of another recently successful Spanish animated feature, Wrinkles, is also on board. The film is based on the making of Buñuel 1932 documentary short Land Without Bread, and the censorship of the film that followed. The feature has been pre-bought by the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE:

Celebrated Czech animator Michaela Pavlátová, winner of the Annecy Cristal for Tram and Academy Award-nominated for Reci, Reci, Reci…, is developing her feature debut, My Sunny Maad. The Afghanistan-set film is a co-production between France's Sacrebleu Productions and the Czech Republic's Negativ:

Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy, whose southeast Asia-set short Cafe Froid is currently nominated for a Cesar, return to the region for Super Vinamotor, a mixed-media project that uses 2D, 3D, and live-action. France's Je Suis Bien Content is producing:

Sepideh Farsi, an Iranian filmmaker based in France, moves from live-action fiction and documentary into animation with The Siren, a co-production between France's Les Films d'Ici and Belgium's Lunanime. The 2D/3D film, which touches on themes of political resistance, also presented at last year's Cartoon Movie. (Films can be presented multiple times at the forum, based on what stage of production it's in.) Here is the synopsis:

A full list of projects that will be pitched next month at Cartoon Movie, as well as information on how to attend, can be found on the Cartoon Movie web site. Cartoon Brew will attend and report from Cartoon Movie next month.