Michel Ocelot ( pseudonym ), born in 1943, is a realizer French which is illustrated in the Cinéma of animation.

Born with Villefranche-sur-Mer, on the Riviera, he lived his childhood in Guinea, his adolescence in Anjou, and lives now with Paris.

He studies initially with the Art schools of Rouen, then with the Art-decorative in Paris and finally in California Institute off the Arts.

It is interested initially in the cinema of animation as an amateur, while realizing during his holidays, with a group of friends, different short films, where each person used the techniques which she wished. That gave, according to its words, of very varied creations, with very simple techniques. He for its part used cut out paper, technique which he re-used later at the time of the realization of the series Ciné If ( Princes and Princesses ). It is very attached to try to make the things most simply possible.

In 1976, it carries out the series the Adventures of Gédéon (according to Benjamin Rabier), then its first short film produces professionally, the Three Inventors is produced in 1979 by aaa (which also produces Jacques Rouxel, the realizer of the Shadoks). It receives the same year a price with BAFTA, for this film, in London. It receives in 1983 the César of the best short-measuring of animation for the Legend of poor uneven the also produced by aaa.

He is the realizer of the televised series Ciné If (the Factory, 1989), which inspires in 2000 the exit with the cinema of the program Princes and Princesses in Chinese shades, carried out in cut out papers

He also carries out feature-length films: Kirikou and the Witch (1998), Kirikou and wild beasts (in corealisation with Benedicte Gallup, 2005) and Azure and Asmar (2006).

To celebrate the “world Day of the cinema of animation”, Michel Ocelot in particular took part on October 28th, 2003 in one day special on the technique of animation, with the Forum of the images, Paris, in Festival closure “of the cinema of animation”. It made there the demonstration of the simplicity of its techniques on line.

Michel Ocelot is very sensitive to works of the Russian cinema of animation , at which it has friends, like Nina Chorina. This one made besides him gift of the dog which was used in the Poodle, film mixing decorations and objects out of cut out and painted papers, but also articulated puppets (like the dog).

It chaired the International association of cartoon film (ASIFA), of 1994 to 2000.

In 2007, Michel Ocelot produces for Björk the clip of Earth Intruders , first individual resulting from his album Volta . He takes again there the inspirations of the traditional topics of West Africa, as in the two films Kirikou .

Catalog of films

Short films

• 1976 : Adventures of Gédéon
• 1979: the Three Inventors (price BAFTA)
• 1981: Girls of the equality (special price of the Jury to the Festival of Albi)
• 1982: Beyond Oil
• 1982: the Legend of poor uneven the
• 1986: the insensitive Princess
• 1987: the Four Wishes
• 1989: Ciné If
• 1992: Tales of the night

Feature-length films

• 1998 : Kirikou and the Witch
• 2000: Princes and Princesses , program made up of episodes of the series Ciné If
• 2005: Kirikou and wild beasts
• 2006: Azure and Asmar

External bonds

• to find films of Michel Ocelot on the site of '' aaa ''
• Short biography on the site of '' the Factory ''
• '' Princes and Princesses '' on the site of '' the Factory ''
• Page on '' Kirikou and the Witch ''
• Short biography on Arte in the emission '' Court-Circuit ''
• Interview of Michel Ocelot in the Humanity of October 25th, 2006, for the exit of Azure and Asmar

See too

• Cartoon film