AT: There are quite a few veiled references: Jacques Drouin, Gerard Majax.

GD: That's true. In one episode, people have the ability to go through the paintings at the Louvre museum -- it is the only time where the transgression of physical laws leads to this level of fantasy -- and I got the idea while thinking of one of Jacques Drouin's films Le Paysagiste (The Landscape Architect). Thus, I figured it was just fair to pay tribute to the author by naming the "magic painter" after him. But, apart from a few animation groupies like you and me, had we not mentioned it, who would have noticed? Same thing with Gerard Magix, a transparent allusion to Gerard Majax, a fearsome destroyer of telekinesis in the '70s. And there are many of them. But, in most cases, they are veiled messages to nobody. It's just that, at some point, you need to come up with a name. For instance, I named the main female character Sarah, and her surname is Kozminsky. Who knows why?

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Interview with Gérald Dupeyrot conducted in French and translated by Annick Teninge.

Annick Teninge is the general manager of Animation World Network. A French native, Annick began her animation career as Assistant Director at the Annecy International Animation Festival, a post she held for six years.