A former president of the International Animated Film Association, Michel Ocelot was born October 27 in 1943, is a French writer, designer, storyboard artist, and director of animated films and television shows.
He has also worked as an animator, background artist, narrator, and in other roles in earlier works. Although he is best known for his 1998 directorial debut Kirikou and the Sorceress, his earlier films and television work have already garnered numerous accolades, including Césars and British Academy Film Awards.
On October 23, 2009, he was appointed a chevalier of the Légion d’honneur, and Agnès Varda, who had been elevated to commandeur earlier that year, presented the award to him. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 at the Animafest Zagreb International Animated Film Festival.
Michel Ocelot Biography
He was born in 1943 to a Catholic family living in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera. During his early years, the family lived in Guinea, West Africa, before returning to Anjou, France, during his adolescent.
He produced toy theater shows as a child and was motivated to pursue animation after seeing Hermna Trlová’s 1946 film Vzpoura hraek (The Revolt of Toys) and coming across a book on do-it-yourself stop motion animation.
But he never received official instruction in animation; instead, he studied decorative arts at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, and the Ecole régionale des Beaux-Arts in Angers. He currently resides in a Paris atelier-apartment where he works.
His body of work is distinguished by the fact that he used a variety of animation techniques, usually choosing a different medium for each new project, yet he virtually exclusively worked in the fairy tale and fantasy genres.
Some, like Kirikou and the Sorceress, are rough adaptations of already-written folktales, while others are brand-new narratives created using the “building blocks” of these tales. As he puts it, “I play with balls that countless jugglers have already used for countless centuries. These balls, passed down from hand to hand, are not new. But today I’m the one doing the juggling.”
Visually, they are characterized by a rigid use of the side-on, straight-on, and 34 viewpoints of silhouette and cutout animation, excepting brief transitions between them, even when working in mediums which allot for these viewpoints (such Despite frequently being compared to Reiniger, he does not include her films among his favorites since he deems them “very antique and not particularly lovely.”
He also admires Hokusai, the pottery of ancient Greece, the artwork of ancient Egypt, W. Heath Robinson and his brothers, and, above all, the illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley. From 1994 to 2000, he served as the Association International Du Film d’Animation’s (ASIFA) president.
His success in the more conservative markets of the United Kingdom, United States, and Germany has been constrained by a mixed response to the realistic and non-sexual, but nonetheless omnipresent nudity in his breakthrough film Kirikou and the Sorceress
. Despite being a household name in much of continental Europe and being highly respected by Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata (who has directed the Japanese dubs of his films), this has limited his success there.
The film has been deemed appropriate for all ages by the classification boards in each of these nations, but despite this, movie theaters and TV networks have been hesitant to air it for fear of parental outrage. By helming the music video for the lead track from Icelandic singer Björk’s album Volta in 2007, he increased his notoriety in the English-speaking community.
He also cited Voltaire’s letters, The Heron and the Crane, Crac, Father and Daughter, the first section of Grand Illusion, Neighbors, the Eiffel Tower, Millesgrden, Persian miniatures, Jean Giraud’s free drawing, and illustrations by Kay Nielsen as additional examples of his favorite and influential artistic works in a 2008 interview.
His body of work is distinguished by the fact that he used a variety of animation techniques, usually choosing a different medium for each new project, yet he virtually exclusively worked in the fairy tale and fantasy genres. Some, like Kirikou and the Sorceress, are rough adaptations of already-written folktales, while others are brand-new narratives created using the “building blocks” of these tales.
He explains the procedure as “I use balls that have been used by many jugglers for countless ages. These balls have been handed down from one person to another. However, I’m the one juggling today.”
Even when working in mediums that allow for greater flexibility and dynamic viewpoints, they are distinguished visually by a rigorous usage of the side-on, straight-on, and 34 viewpoints of silhouette and cutout animation (such as that of Lotte Reiniger and Karel Zeman).
Despite frequently being compared to Reiniger, he does not include her films among his favorites since he deems them “very antique and not particularly lovely.
” He also admires Hokusai, the pottery of ancient Greece, the artwork of ancient Egypt, W. Heath Robinson and his brothers, and, above all, the illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley. From 1994 to 2000, he served as the Association International Du Film d’Animation’s (ASIFA) president.
His success in the more conservative markets of the United Kingdom, United States, and Germany has been constrained by a mixed response to the realistic and non-sexual, but nonetheless omnipresent nudity in his breakthrough film Kirikou and the Sorceress
. Despite being a household name in much of continental Europe and being highly respected by Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata (who has directed the Japanese dubs of his films), this has limited his success there.
The film has been deemed appropriate for all ages by the classification boards in each of these nations, but despite this, movie theaters and TV networks have been hesitant to air it for fear of parental outrage. By helming the music video for the lead track from Icelandic singer Björk’s album Volta in 2007, he increased his notoriety in the English-speaking community.
He also cited Voltaire’s letters, The Heron and the Crane, Crac, Father and Daughter, the first section of Grand Illusion, Neighbors, the Eiffel Tower, Millesgrden, Persian miniatures, Jean Giraud’s free drawing, and illustrations by Kay Nielsen as additional examples of his favorite and influential artistic works in a 2008 interview.
Lotte Reiniger and Karel Zeman), even when using media that promote greater adaptability and diverse points of view. Despite frequently being compared to Reiniger, he does not include her films among his favorites since he deems them “very antique and not particularly lovely.” He also admires Hokusai, the pottery of ancient Greece, the artwork of ancient Egypt, W. Heath Robinson and his brothers, and, above all, the illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley. From 1994 to 2000, he served as the Association International Du Film d’Animation’s (ASIFA) president.
His success in the more conservative markets of the United Kingdom, United States, and Germany has been constrained by a mixed response to the realistic and non-sexual, but nonetheless omnipresent nudity in his breakthrough film Kirikou and the Sorceress.
Despite being a household name in much of continental Europe and being highly respected by Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata (who has directed the Japanese dubs of his films), this has limited his success there.
The film has been deemed appropriate for all ages by the classification boards in each of these nations, but despite this, movie theaters and TV networks have been hesitant to air it for fear of parental outrage.
By helming the music video for the lead track from Icelandic singer Björk’s album Volta in 2007, he increased his notoriety in the English-speaking community.
He also cited Voltaire’s letters, The Heron and the Crane, Crac, Father and Daughter, the first section of Grand Illusion, Neighbors, the Eiffel Tower, Millesgrden, Persian miniatures, Jean Giraud’s free drawing, and illustrations by Kay Nielsen as additional examples of his favorite and influential artistic works in a 2008 interview.
About Kirikou and the Men and Women
Michel Ocelot wrote and directed the 2012 computer-animated children’s film Kirikou and the Men and Women (French: Kirikou et les Hommes et les Femmes). The movie is an anthology that tells five stories that are loosely connected by a framing mechanism. It is the second sequel to Ocelot’s 1998 film Kirikou and the Sorceress, following Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005).
The movie’s initial release date was October 3, 2012.
Even though it was a box office hit, critics had conflicting opinions about it.
Synopsis
The third movie by renowned French animator Michel Ocelot chronicles the adventures of the irascible little Kirikou, a spirited child with a huge heart. It follows his exploits as he uses his wits to save his fellow villagers from a variety of issues, including the dangers of an evil sorceress. The tales combine mythology, folklore, and humor to convey key lessons about bravery, self-belief, and tolerance as seen through the eyes of Kirikou’s grandpa, the Wise Man who resides in the Forbidden Mountain.
Cast
- Romann Berrux : Kirikou
- Awa Sene Sarr : Karaba
- Sabine Pakora : Strong / Neutral Woman
Facts About Kirikou and the Men and Women
Kirikou and the Men and Women: Is a Cmputer-animated children’s film
Directed by: Michel Ocelot
Written by: Michel Ocelot, Bénédicte Galup, Susie Morgenstern
Produced by: Didier Brunner, Jacques Bled, Ivan Rouvreure
Starring: Romann Berrux, Awa Sene Sarr
Edited by: Patrick Ducruet
Music by: Thibault Agyeman
Production companies: Les Armateurs, Mac Guff Ligne, France 3 Cinema, Studio O
Distributed by: StudioCana
Release date: 3 October 2012
Running time: 89 minutes
Country: France
Language: French
Budget: $7.5 million
Box office: $9.4 million