News

MK2 has boarded Alex Helfrecht’s “A Winter’s Journey,” a feature blending live-action, CGI and hand-painted backgrounds made by the creative teams behind “Despicable Me” and “Loving Vincent.”

Adapted from Franz Schubert’s “Winterreise,” the film stars Gaspard Ulliel, John Malkovich, Martina Gedeck, Charles Berling and newcomer Gabriella Moran.

Set in 1812 Bavaria, the film tells the story of a lovelorn young poet who, banished from society, is forced to wander across mountains, ice and snow on a dangerous journey that will either lead him to death or to a new life.

“A Winter’s Journey’ is a passionate love story with epic visuals. It’s an animated film… putting performance at its core and speaking the international language of music and art,” said Helfrecht.

MK2 Films has acquired international sales rights and will begin pre-sales at the Efm. “Helfrecht’s unique vision for this adaptation of Franz Schubert’s...

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

One of three 3D films in the main section of the 61st Berlin Film Festival, Michel Ocelot’s animated Les Contes de la Nuit (Tales of the Night) is a charming collection of six short allegorical folk tales revolving around ideas of morality and love. The stories are told at night-time by an eccentric trio who inhabit an otherwise empty (but oddly high-tech) theatre, as they use Mr. Ben-like transformation powers to put on elaborate shows – apparently seen only by a gormless owl.

The 3D, whilst by no means essential to the experience, works and gives Ocelot’s distinctive two dimensional look a pop-up book feel that separates the stylised, silhouetted characters from the gaudy backgrounds. The folkloric and multi-cultural nature of the tales is reminiscent of his previous films, especially Azur et Asmar with which this shares a certain educational vibe. As always the simplicity...

Michel Ocelot - the master animator behind Azur et Asmar, Kirikou and Princes and Princesses - is back! First reported back in June, Ocelot's next is Dragons And Princesses, a project being developed simultaneously as a television series and a feature film. Not surprisingly, given the title, it is very much back into the silhouette style of animation used for his previous Princes And Princesses project, with a very similar story format in which multiple fairy tales are delivered over the course of things. The television will present each story as a standalone episode while the feature will merge them together while also adding addition material.

And now the first trailer for the project has just arrived for us to take a look at. Ocelot is one of the true masters of global animation and this is absolutely up to his very high standards. Very nice. Check it below.

TORONTO -- In a year big on animated films, the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children on Tuesday said that the North American premiere of The Reef, a 3D movie voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rob Schneider, will open its 10th edition on April 13.

The U.S.-South Korean film from directors Howard E. Baker, John Fox and Kyeong-ho Lee portrays an orphaned fish who is transplanted to an exotic reef to live with an eccentric aunt after getting caught in a fishing net in Boston harbor.

Also lending their voices to The Reef are Evan Rachel Wood, Fran Drescher and Donal Logue.

In all, Sprockets will screen 43 animated films from a total lineup of 98 films -- 39 features and 59 shorts.

These include closing night film The Ugly Duckling and Me, an Ireland/Denmark/France/Germany co-production by Michael Hegner and Karsten Kiilerich; French animator Michel Ocelot's Azur and Asmar; Janis Cimermanis' The Three Musketeers from Denmark; and Khan Kluay, another 3D-animated movie from Thailand's Kompin Komgunmird.

ANNECY, France -- The winning feature film at this year's Annecy International Animation Festival was director Christian Volckman's striking black-and-white futuristic thriller Renaissance. The film's title is an apt reflection of what is going on in the Gallic cartoon business, which is undergoing an unprecedented boom. A report released last week by the Center National de la Cinematographie showed eight French animated films were completed in 2005, double the number in any of the previous four years. The lineup at Annecy, which wrapped Saturday, bears testimony to the bursting health of the French toon industry. Two of the five features in competition were French-made, while the fest opened with another local picture, "U," the tale of a princess rescued from misery by a unicorn, directed by Gregoire Solotareff and Serge Elissalde. Michel Ocelot's dazzling Arabian adventure Azur and Asmar also unspooled after its premiere at Cannes in Directors' Fortnight, and Piccolo, Saxo and Company, based on the best-selling musical children's story, also had its premiere in the Alpine lakeside town. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, as French producers known for traditional live-action movies are increasingly becoming involved in animated projects.

CANNES -- As the festival pulls into its closing weekend, the Directors' Fortnight is basking in the glow of arguably its best edition for years. The sidebar has included several of the standout films in Cannes, including The Host, Azur and Asmar and Princess, and has provided a rich hunting ground for buyers, in contrast to the Competition where many of the titles arrive in Cannes pre-sold. Many on the Croisette consider that the Fortnight has come up with the most exciting selection in town. "Absolutely," said one French critic. "It's the most coherent selection. The films seem to respond to one another, or tackle similar issues from different viewpoints." Audiences have been flocking to screenings at the sidebar's main theater in the Hilton Hotel, and some films have received rapturous receptions. "I'm very satisfied with the result," said Olivier Pere, head of Directors' Fortnight who is currently overseeing his third line-up. "This year has been really good, and is exemplary of what the Fortnight can do. There are lots of first films, a wide mix of countries, and some surprises with the more experimental titles."...

CANNES -- As the festival pulls into its closing weekend, the Directors' Fortnight is basking in the glow of arguably its best edition for years. The sidebar has included several of the standout films in Cannes, including The Host, Azur and Asmar and Princess, and has provided a rich hunting ground for buyers, in contrast to the Competition where many of the titles arrive in Cannes pre-sold. Many on the Croisette consider that the Fortnight has come up with the most exciting selection in town. "Absolutely," said one French critic. "It's the most coherent selection. The films seem to respond to one another, or tackle similar issues from different viewpoints." Audiences have been flocking to screenings at the sidebar's main theater in the Hilton Hotel, and some films have received rapturous receptions. "I'm very satisfied with the result," said Olivier Pere, head of Directors' Fortnight who is currently overseeing his third line-up. "This year has been really good, and is exemplary of what the Fortnight can do. There are lots of first films, a wide mix of countries, and some surprises with the more experimental titles."...

PARIS -- Animation will feature prominently this year at the Festival de Cannes' Directors' Fortnight sidebar, which will open May 18 with Danish manga-style film Princess, co-written and directed by Anders Morgenthaler, organizers said Wednesday. The adult cartoon centers on a priest who embarks on a violent mission to erase all pornographic material featuring his dead porn star sister. Princess is produced by Zentropa, with Trust Film Sales handling international sales. A second animation unspooling in Directors' Fortnight is Azur and Asmar, directed by Gallic cartoon maestro Michel Ocelot, who last year hosted a lesson in animation for kids as part of the official selection. Produced by Nord-Ouest Prods., Azur revolves around the friendship and rivalry between two boys -- one European, one Arab -- against a backdrop of the ancient Orient. The full list of titles for the sidebar will be unveiled Tuesday in Paris.