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Event Spotlight
Your Cartoon Movie Sampler There are so many amazing features being unveiled at this year’s Cartoon Movie (March 8-10, cartoon-media.eu/movie), and we wish we had the space to spotlight all of them. Here is a brief overview of some of the projects that grabbed our attention. Visit AnimationMagazine.net daily during the event for more in-depth coverage: Fleur
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e know we can expect great things when acclaimed French director Rémi Chayé’s name is attached to a movie. The helmer behind such instant classics as Long Way North and Calamity is back with Fleur, another intriguing movie with a fascinating female central character. The script, which is penned by Chayé, Sandra Tosello and Fabrice de Costil, follows the life and times of a young woman who rebels against the awful conditions of working class life in a soap factory and gets a taste of the artistic life in Paris during the early days of the 20th century. The project is produced by Henri Magalon (Maybe Movies) We only have three words after seeing the early images from this movie: Sign us up!
Tony, Shelly and the Spirit
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irected by Czech graphic novelist Flip Pošivač, the stop-motion feature Tony, Shelly and the Spirit centers on two oddball characters (one glows, and the other has an odd way of expressing herself) and their encounter with a strange spirit that enjoys destroying the light bulbs in their house. As producer Jakub Vikortin (Nutprodukce) tells us, “I really like the topic of our characters’ unique otherness and how to cope with it and work with tolerance. We are trying to reach an audience that is nine-yearold plus, so it’s especially challenging to share this topic with this age group and try to entertain and inspire them.” He adds, “Our main characters are children with vivid imaginations and whimsical inner lives. We hope our audience will be entertained by the story of glowing Tony and the visual world created by our director and his team.”
Just Super
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young girl has to replace her father as the town superhero in Just Super, a new Norwegian animated feature directed by Rasmus A. Sivertsen (Captain Sabertooth) and produced by Åshild Ramborg (Qvisten Animation). “This is one of those rare projects that you seldom come across — a gripping story that is truly entertaining and thought-provoking for the entire family,” says Ramborg. “I believe our core message, which is, ‘You don’t need to be a superhero to be super!’ cannot be repeated enough in our competitive and performance-driven society.” The charming movie is based on an original idea by veteran director Siversten. “This added a layer of authenticity to this unconventional take on the superhero genre,” says Ramborg. “The irresistible characters are designed by the extraordinary Carter Goodrich (Ratatouille, Coco, Despicable Me). The overall design has a tactility to it that is inspired by Aardman’s stop-motion films as well as stylized CGI films like Trolls and The Willoughbys.” The film is slated to open in Norway in September, and an English-language version will be available in the fourth quarter through TrustNordisk.
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march 22
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