French Animation History

Richard Neupert is the Wheatley Professor of the Arts and a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in Film Studies at the University of Georgia.  His previous books include A History of the French New Wave Cinema (2007) and The End: Narration and Closure in the Cinema, as well as translations from French of Aesthetics of Film (Aumont, et al) and The French New Wave (Marie).

• Figures ixPlates xiiiAcknowledgments xvii1 Introduction: The Rise of Animation in France 1The Beginnings of Animation 4Stop-Motion Animation Attractions 192 Silent Animation: Emile Cohl and his Artisanal Legacy 22Emile Cohl, Caricature, and the Rise of Studio Animation 22Emile Cohl at Pathé, Eclipse, and Eclair Studios 36Graphic Art and the Cartoon: Lortac and O’Galop 45But is it “Animation?” French Avant-Garde and Moving Pictures 543 French Animation and the Coming of Sound 60Ladislas Starewich’s Fabled Puppets 61Berthold Bartosch’s L’Idée: A Working-Class Allegory 73Jean Painlevé’s La Barbe bleue 78Alexandre Alexeieff, Claire Parker, and the Pinscreen 82Niche Cartoons: Lyrical Joie de vivre and the Surreal La Fortune enchantée 904 Toward an Alternative Studio Structure 99Paul Grimault and the Artist-Owned Animation Studio 100Transitional Animation: From High Art to Made-for-TV 107Toward a New Era of Micro-Studios: Laguionie and Laloux 1145 French Animation’s Renaissance 124Le Cartoon Plan 124Michel Ocelot’s Alternative Mode of Production 127Comic Book Aesthetics and Niche Studios 139Contemporary French Animation: 2006 and Beyond 1496 Conclusion: French Animation Today 162References 171Further Reading 178Index 181

“French Animation History is a richly informed and highly readable scholarly book that will appeal both to specialists in the field and to the curious interested in this popular, and often neglected, dimension of French filmmaking...Scholars of French film and cultural studies are encouraged to have Neupert’s book added to their university library collection.”  (H-France Review Vol. 1, 1 February 2013)"The book jacket proclaims this the first history of French animation; it is also rich, comprehensive, and absorbing. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." (Choice, 1 December 2011)