Animation cinema: Toulouse, a city of excellence?
While TAT Productions, an animation studio Toulouse, just celebrated the beanie of the millione foreign spectators with “pil”, Culture 31 is interested in the place of animation cinema in the pink city. Productions, teaching, dedicated events… The trick of the question in a few paragraphs.
It is a course to mark with a hot iron. After a national success, “Pil” won over an international audience. The animated film made in Toulouse has exceeded one million spectators abroad, announced the studio TAT Productions on his social networks, on October 6th. Founded in 2000, the Toulouse production company has a good reputation in the field of animation.
Notably behind the “As of the Jungle”, TAT was also offered a contract this year to design Alain Chabat’s animated series, on the theme of Asterix, for the giant Netflix. A project to be released in 2024. But before that, the studio will unveil its next film on January 25, 2023. This is “Pattie and the Wrath of Poseidon”, a comedy set in Ancient Greece. The last step is in progress: the sound mixing. The first images have been published to make the public wait before the release in dark rooms.
Our students have talent
Other animation film enthusiasts, students from the higher establishment of artistic professions (ESMA) in Toulouse. Some also stood out in September 2022 with a jury of professionals. 27 projects were presented in Montpellier during a competition. “Swing to the moon” was awarded on this occasion. The animated short tells the story of a spider dreaming of catching the Moon. The group of students from the city meanwhile attracted the first prize.
If our students have talent, it’s probably for a good reason. In any case, ESMA was ranked among the best 3D animation schools by a specialized site in 2022: Animation Career Review. It should be noted that, even outside of animated cinema in the cartoon sense, the graduates stand out from the crowd. The graduates of ESMA Toulouse have actually participated in the special effects of the third part of “Fantastic Beasts” or the film “Notre-Dame burns”.
Children are served
Younger but no less fond of animated cinema, the children. The city of Toulouse then offers many events dedicated to young audiences. Families notably returned to the “Cinéminots” festival in April 2022, with, among other things, the screening of “Beauty and the Beast”. The cinematheque offers the festival “La Cinémathèque Junior en fête”. As for the Gaumont-Pathé cinemas, there is also the “Great Children’s Day”.
Still in progress, and until November 6, the animation festival “Les Toons Débarquent”. An event coordinated by the art cinema association Cinephilae, on the initiative of the City of Toulouse. The objective, to promote animation to the general public. So many elements that made Anne Boyer, vice-president of the department in charge of Culture, say: “We can become the city of animated cinema”, last May, with La Dépêche.