A Brief History of French Animation

France is an interesting country for many reasons but in regards to the one thing we care about: manga and anime it is a particularly a noteworthy nation. Part of this is because of the status animation has held in France historically. France was one the pioneering nations in the through the works of Emile Reynaud, Emile Cohl and others. These figures alongside others like Blackton where pivotal to the development of forms of animation in the late 19th and early 20th century. Working in animation back in those early days involved not only drawing but inventing and crafting new devices and methods to project images in a sequence to mimic motion to the audience in a way that had not been done before. 

At the beginning of 20th century, animation was developed used in short films and in adverts. Emile Reynaud and Emile Cohl who were pioneer of animation at the time, were both driven by their passion and artistic desire, which meant their works were often experimental. This caused them to not really find commercial success, and besides there was not enough money to be made in the industry at this infant stage. Consequently, whilst Emile Reynaud and Emile Cohl are acknowledged as pioneers of animation, the financial return from their works were meagre and in the end, both died in poverty. 

Their legacy was not forgotten but they did not help themselves in regards to that, Reynaud actually threw most of his works in the Seine river which meant many did not survive. However, their methods and inventions were formed the basis for the development of new animation techniques both in France and in the United States. The United States emerges in this period through its own pioneering animators but they were helped by Cohl, who moved to the United States in 1910s to work with Eclair a French studio there. In there, he would produce a series title The Newlyweds that would be the first animated product to be called an animated cartoon. 

© Eclair New York The Newlyweds

Cohl's animation techiniques were built upon and animation in the United States became increasingly commercialized in a way that it did not in France. First, animation studios became bigger and whilst it began with adaptation of strips, they soon developed their own characters.  French's animation continued to hold a distinct production style that involved small niche studios that produced animation mostly in the form of adverts and short films as an artistic endeavor. Animation as an art continued to hold sway in France, animation techniques did develop and the introduction of sound added many new elements for animators to put into their animated products. However, the small studios structure in France still lived off adverts as even short animated films often were often costly to create, so whilst iconic animation projects in France emerged in this period like The Little Solder, Blue Beard and The Tale of The Fox most did not result in much profit for their creators. 

The Little Soldier directed by Grimault

In the 1950s, Disney continued to grow into a powerhouse when it came to commercial animation . , American cartoons expanded around the world supported by the postwar economic boom with Disney at the forefront. In France, animation was at crossroads, in this period of uncertainty and from this period a few figures stood out within France's animation industry. One such figure was Grimault that had founded his own studio in the 30s and in his leadership they produced many animated works through the 40s and 50s onwards. However, many of those works were still mostly shorts which did not provide much return on investment. When it came to full feature length films, the cost was major problem but Grimault managed to produce one of the most iconic works in french animation The King and the Mockingbird. The production of the film was riddled with issues, it became such an issue that even thought Grimault and his studio Les Gemeaux started working on it in 1948, it was shown unfinished in 1952 against Grimault's wishes. This led to a break down in the relationship between the studio and its producers that ultimately caused Les Gemeaux to go under in 1958. 

The imbroglio between the Grimault and the producers was only resolved years after, and then Grimault, who had significantly reduced his role in animation was finally able to remake and finish the film and release it in 1980. The King and The Mocking bird immediately become a classic of French animation not only due to its satirical and highly fantastical story telling but also its animation. It would come to influence many animators but whilst it has achieved a classic status, it was not a big commercial success. However, it did become a crowning piece in Grimault's large portfolio of animated works. 

In the period of Les Gemeux prominence in French animation, the same old question the industry faced still remained. It continued to struggle between a pursuit of an artistic endeavor and the reluctance to draw much influence from hugely commercialized American cartoons. One reason for this was that French animation continued to be focused on short films with the occasional feature film that gave space for more experimental works. It did mean that the largest amount of animation produced from the 50s onwards were television cartoons largely from the United States. Part of this reluctance to be drawn by the United States was expressed by Grimault and other animators belief that France should stay true to its own style of animation instead of drawing too much of the style prominent in the United States, specifically Disney's style that felt uninspiring to them. 

Others animators emerged after the period of Grimault's studio preminence, like Laguione and Laloux that navigated in the animation industry through the 70s and 80s, which was in many ways a period of great animated works in large parts due to the works of the two men. First off Laguione was inspired by Grimault and amongst other french animators, he in particular stood out for his subtle story telling in his short films , most notably The Lady and The Cellist and Rowing Across the Atlantic, both would be awarded in the film festivals that were becoming more prominent across the globe. 

It was only in the 80s that Laguione would release his first feature film Gwen, or The Book of Sand in 1985. Gwen was an epic science fantasy tale that not only stood out for its animation but also because of its storytelling that relied significantly on visual cues. Critics praised the film and it won awards but it found limited commercial success. 

Gwen, or The Book of Sand 

Rene Laloux story is quite similar to Laguione,  he started off his career with short animated films as well.  However, his career dated at least to the 50s which was at least 10 or so years before Laguione.  This earlier debut allowed him to actually have experience of working with Grimault's and his studio with in the 50s in many short animated pieces. One of those short animated pieces was Monkey's Teeth, which Laloux based on the pictures drawn by the people in the psychiatric warden he worked in at the time. It was a rather peculiar project, but this highly experimental style would become a known trait for Laloux works. Fantastic Planet his first and most well known feature film done alongside a czech studio is a science fantasy works but with a setting and story telling that is imbued with allegories and psychedelic elements. 

Both Laloux and Laguione provided excellent animated works in the 60s, 70s and 80s, both also tried to shift to create animated works that could be commercially successful. However, they still tried their utmost to avoid many commercial animation cliches, many of which came from what they would call Disney 'Demagoguery.' In a sense, they tried to bring out animated works in France from outside the arthouses but at the time still trying to define their own style against the major international competition and conventions. 

The animation industry seemed capable of releasing critically acclaimed works that found mild commercial success. However, international competition only grew stiffer with the introduction of cheap Japanese animation and the continued presence of American cartoons within the midst of it all. Japanese animation emerged in the international market with adaptations of western works like Moomin, Heldi in the Alps and many others during the 70s and 80s. This stiffer competition in the animated market and the prominence of feature American films in the international market heightened a sense of fear in France and Europe of Americanization threatening their culture. France in particular that has always been protective of its culture had to think of ways to protect its creative industries.

One of the solutions to the issue was a European wide plan was policies to protect national cultural industry. In France, this was had a direct effect on the growing animation within the country from the 90s onwards when the policies first emerged.  A prominent animator that would emerge in this period was Michel Ocelot, who would release the popular and critically acclaimed Kirikou and the Sorceress.

During this period many other critically acclaimed films like The Triples of Belleville, Rain Children, Raining Cats and Frogs. These films whilst their revenue was measly when compared to American titles, due to lower costs less revenue was needed for them to be profitable. This trend has continued and animation production has increased in France to the level that it has become the third biggest producer of animated feature films closing in on Japan and the United States. When it comes to animation in total Japan is ahead by a large margin due to its television animated series, but like in most cases production does not take into account the large amount of outsourcing involved in animation that has meant South Korea for instance is the largest supplier of animation in the world. 

The Triplets of Belleville

This growth of French animation not only came from the policies of protection but also investment in its creative industries, which included animation. It also originates from the continued tradition in France that was formed in the early 20th century that its animation has to have its own identity. All these elements with the talented animators like Laguione, Ocelot, Chonet and others that continue to pump out unique animated works helped France to become the standout country for the animation industry within Europe. Television animated series still do not have the sort of identity that feature films have in France, but they have come to produce many works as well, and streaming services like Netflix also expanded options for studios in France which have resulted in shows like Arcane.