On a Desert Island With....Three Kinder Folk and an Animator
This month we asked our inevitable question of, "If stranded on a desert island, which ten films (animated or otherwise) would you want to have with you?" of As in any classroom, there will always be kids who want the same toys or have the same birthday. Thus, it is no surprise that several titles inevitably show up in more than one top ten list. This month, the luck of the draw favors The Wrong Trousers, Tale of Tales, Pinnochio, and the animated sequences from The Charge of the Light Brigade, which all got counted twice.
"When I was 5 or 6 years old, I was 'a child who drew.' Each of my drawings crystallized the essence of a story that an adult would title according to my explanations. These stories dealt with actions and thus could involve movements. I had been thinking for long time about trying to animate a child's drawing. At the same time, Jérôme Coullet, the composer, wanted to create an opera using everyday noises and sounds. So, we decided to work together with Entracte, the animation studio, and plunged into the world of 2-3 years olds and a crèche. We captured some elements in the soundtrack and built the screenplay as if for a documentary: we wanted to remain close to the young children's concerns. For the images, we worked with 5-6 children, who listened to the soundtrack and drew. I used the results to direct Alice, of which you can see an extract here.
--Translated from the French by
Annick Teninge
four people involved with children and animation: Nicolas Bellanger, director Alice, a short based on children's drawings and their voices; Arlene Sherman, film and animation producer for Children's Television Workshop's Sesame Street; Yvonne Andersen, animation teacher and founder of The Yellow Ball Workshop. We also queried Alex Williams, who is creating something that will be seen by millions of young eyes next year, as an animator on Warner Bros.'Quest for Camelot, and has been known to help out with his father's films.
Nicolas Bellanger
"I came up with this list but it was very hard to choose. If I had to do another one tomorrow, it would certainly be different."
"Quand j'avais 5 ou 6 ans, j'étais un "enfant qui dessine". Les dessins étaient chacun la cristallisation d'une histoire qu'un adulte pouvait légender selon mes indications. Ces histoires comprenaient des actions et pouvaient donc impliquer des mouvements. Depuis longtemps, trotte dans ma tête l'idée de faire vivre un dessin d'enfant par l'animation. Parallèlement, Jérôme Coullet, le musicien, désirait créer un opéra consitué de bruits et sons du quotidien. Nous nous sommes donc associés avec la société de production Entracte et nous nous sommes baignés dans le monde des enfants de 2 et 3 ans, dans une crèche. Nous avons capté les éléments de la partie sonore en gardant comme trame scénaristique un axe documentaire: rester auprès des préoccupations des tout petits. Ensuite, pour l'image, nous avons sollicité des enfants de 5 et 6 ans. Il sont écouté notre bande sonore et ont dessiné. Je me suis inspiré de cette production pour réaliser Alice, dont vous pouvez voir un extrait."
"J'ai écrit cette liste de films, mais il en manque plein. Il est très difficile de choisir. Si je recommencais une telle liste demain, elle serait sans doute différente."
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