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Of the 68 films (as of this writing) that will screen at the Cannes Film Festival this month, three of them are animated. All three films are being presented as special screenings, thus won\u2019t be competing for an award. <\/p>\n
Nevertheless, premiering at Cannes, even as a special screening, is a prestigious accomplishment and it bodes well for the future prospects of all three films. <\/p>\n
The three films are Arco<\/em> (France, 82 minutes) by Ugo Bienvenu<\/a>, A Magnificent Life<\/em> (France\/Luxembourg\/Belgium, 90 minutes) by Sylvain Chomet<\/a>, and Am\u00e9lie et la M\u00e9taphysique des tubes (Little Am\u00e9lie or the Character of Rain)<\/em> (France, 77 minutes) by Ma\u00eflys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han. Notably, all three films have also been selected to screen in competition next month at the Annecy festival<\/a>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n There\u2019s an especially good reason for awards watchers to pay close attention to these titles as potential year-end Oscar contenders. The Cannes-to-Annecy route was the path that Flow<\/em><\/a> went down last year, and it took that film from being a little-known European co-production to one of the most critically acclaimed animated features of the decade. The film capped off its illustrious list of accomplishments (C\u00e9sar Award, European Film Award, Golden Globe) with an Oscar win a couple months ago. <\/p>\n There are other reasons to focus on these films. All three are primarily hand-drawn 2d films, a technique that has been overlooked by AMPAS voters in recent years. Only four 2d films have earned Academy Award nominations in the last five years; stop-motion animation, which is even more of a niche technique, has five nominations in that same period. We\u2019re long overdue for some genuine 2d recognition at the Oscars \u2013 and with the major U.S. theatrical studios having a relatively quiet year on the cg front, this has the potential to be a banner year for hand-drawn filmmaking. Besides these three titles, there are other promising 2d contenders on the way including Genndy Tartakovsky\u2019s Fixed<\/em><\/a> and Kenji Iwaisawa\u2019s 100 Meters<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n The fantasy film Arco<\/em>, which is set in the year 2932 and involves rainbow time machines, is backed by Natalie Portman, who has not only joined the film\u2019s English voice cast but is also producing under her banner MountainA. If Portman becomes involved with the film\u2019s promotion as Angelina Jolie did with The Breadwinner,<\/em> it would greatly improve the film\u2019s year-end award possibilities. Arco<\/em> has not announced U.S. distribution at this point, but don\u2019t be surprised to see an announcement out of Cannes. <\/p>\n Then there\u2019s A Magnificent Life<\/em> from Sylvain Chomet, who has already been nominated for the Oscar multiple times \u2014 for his contemporary classic The Triplets of Belleville<\/em> as well as The Illusionist.<\/em> Chomet is considered one of animation\u2019s top auteur filmmakers, so if the film achieves the standard that is expected from him, expect more accolades. The film has already been acquired for U.S. distribution by Sony Pictures Classics<\/a>. <\/p>\n The underdog among these films, if a film premiering at Cannes can ever be called an underdog, is Am\u00e9lie et la M\u00e9taphysique des tubes.<\/em>. Adapted from an autobiographical novel by Am\u00e9lie Nothomb, this is the synopsis: <\/p>\n Am\u00e9lie is a little Belgian girl born in Japan. Thanks to Nishio san, her nanny, the world is all about adventure and discovery! But on the day she turns three, an event changes the course of her life. Because at this age, for Am\u00e9lie, everything is played out, happiness as well as tragedy\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It is the only one of the three that has already released a trailer and it looks stunning. Both directors are respected industry artists who are transitioning to the director\u2019s seat for the first time; Han is a respected veteran who played a key role as animation director and other positions on Remi Chaye\u2019s film Long Way North<\/em> and <\/em>Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary.<\/em> Little Am\u00e9lie<\/em> will release in French theaters on June 25; no U.S. distributor has been named.<\/p>\n\n