Like Westcott, she added that there will also need to be an increased appetite for big budget productions if the Europeans are going to really take on American dominance in the sector — especially given the popularity of 3D CGI films. Out of 72 animated movies produced in America from 1991 to 2003, just 11 were CGI. In just two years, 2004 to 2005, that leaps to 11 out of 15. It’s a trend that means higher costs that the Europeans will have to match.

For Frank Gladstone (left) of DreamWorks/Go Fish, said it always comes down to story, story, story. Anne-Sophie Vanhollebecke from Lanterna Magica discussed the realities of budgeting.

The practicalities of budgeting were clearly set out by Anne-Sophie Vanhollebeke from Italian studio Lanterna Magica, who divided the market between low budget (below €4m and purely for national distribution), medium budget (€4-10m for European distribution) and high budget (over €10m for worldwide distribution).

Further budgeting know-how was provided by Michael Rose of Magic Light Pictures in London. He was previously with Aardman Animations, where he was exec producer of Chicken Run. He confirmed that the budget for this movie was well above European averages — starting out at $35m and finally coming in at $50m.

“We made our half-hour TV special of A Close Shave as a trial run for Chicken Run, using the same kind of production techniques that we would use for the feature, and the budget for that was $2.5m,” he said.

“But you have to expand the budget many times over if you want to go on to make a feature. You need more animators, more support crew, a bigger studio — everything increases in scale. There’s also an impact on your whole business — and costs always go up rather than down.”

Being Europe, there were plenty of contributions from various organizations responsible for state subsidies and tax benefits. The truth is that most European productions only get made as a result of such programs, which successfully draw investment and employment to their own target regions. Probably the most effective schemes are the German regional film funds, the national French CNC system funded from a tax on all cinema admissions and the British and Irish tax relief systems.

Panelist Catherine Winder (left) listed the triumvirate for a successful feature: concept, character and story while Michael Rose, of Magic Light Pictures, talked about the hard budget numbers needed for a feature film.

But it’s one thing to make an animated movie and quite another to successfully create an audience for it. So everyone was keenly aware of the key role that has to be played by distributors in both funding and marketing. And there were plenty of insiders from that sector on hand to share their insights.

“Is the distribution of an animated film influenced by its production –and should it be?” asked UIP’s Camille Trumer, in a plea to separate distribution strategies from financial necessities.

“The answer, brutal as it may seem, is a very firm NO. The only possible meeting of the two activities is when the budget is being put together. At this stage, a distributor acquiring the cinema or video and TV distribution rights is a part of the formula for financing the project and is helping it to take shape.