In the cinema, on television, on our tablets… Animated films have conquered all our screens. Cororico: behind many blockbusters, French studios are triumphant. How did the sector conquer the world? L’Express returns in three episodes to the success of this industry made in France.
She has blue mop of hair collected in pigtails and the clumsiness of adolescence. She studied at the Françoise Dupont college, but like her illustrious elder Fantômette, she led a double life. Marinette by day, Ladybug by night. Born from the imagination of Frenchman Thomas Astruc, the little Parisian in the red and black polka dot costume has conquered 150 countries in series format, which allows her to afford a highly anticipated first feature film: Miraculous, the movie, in theaters in France on July 5. And like so many other characters, this endearing heroine in 3D reinforces the success of French animated cinema.
Year after year, the sector multiplies the audience cards on the small and big screen, at home as well as abroad. Behind Oggy and the Cockroaches And Space Goofs, hides the French Xilam. On Netflix, the series Arcane, inspired by the video game League of Legends, is signed Fortiche. In the United States, Ellipse is making a name for itself by giving a facelift to the Smurfs – our famous Smurfs. Without forgetting feature films for adults such as Persepolis And my zucchini life, on which French studios have also worked. Result: “Animation is the leading audiovisual genre for export, ahead of fiction and documentary”, welcomes Mickaël Marin, the director of the famous Annecy festival and its professional counterpart, the Marché international du film d’ animation (Mifa), organized on the edge of the enchanting lake of the prefecture of Haute-Savoie.
France, third world producer
Fed with the works of Paul Grimault (The King and the Bird), by René Laloux (The Savage Planet) and the essential Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the witch), the French sector has been playing in the big leagues for more than a decade. In the space of a year, France has recorded nearly 45 orders for animation programs, which puts it in third place in the world behind the American (205 titles) and Japanese (252) behemoths. A destiny that does not depend on the intervention of a few fairies above its cradle: it is primarily thanks to its talent that the animation of France has been able to make the difference.
She takes full advantage of her long tradition of drawing, and her early interest in the genre. “It was Emile Cohl who invented animated film, before Walt Disney industrialized it!”, insists Antoine Rivière, director general of the eponymous Lyon school. The French are now hailed for their ability to adapt. Their style is considered more universal than that of its competitors – like Japanese anime, recognizable among a thousand – and therefore easily exportable. “The films of our students are very popular, because they are at the crossroads of several cultures”, confirms Agnès Billard, head of the first cycle of training in animation cinema at the Gobelins school.
A “French touch” served by a wide range of know-how, from stop motion to 3D. And this, thanks to the quality of the training provided in France. In the wake of the famous Parisian Gobelins, French schools often top the world rankings. So much so that their graduates are coveted by companies around the world. “When we were created in 2017, half of our students went abroad. With the success of the French sector, only 40 to 30% left the country”, illustrates Julien Deparis, who heads the singular School new images of Avignon, a private structure based on a non-profit association mode.
But if the sector is so successful, it is because it is based on a long-term industrial policy, assure its protagonists. “The sector benefits from strong public support, via tax credits. Production obligations for all television channels guarantee a flow of funding essential to the balance of the sector”, summarizes Stéphane Le Bars, the general delegate of the main independent production union, AnimFrance.
Platforms in action
Sent in mid-June to the heart of the bubbling Mifa, the emissaries of Netflix and other Disney are not mistaken. The triumph of minions and of Super Mario Bros., two blockbusters signed Illumination – a French studio owned by Universal – finally convinced them. They follow meetings on the stands of the Frenchies, in the middle of a crowd of enthusiastic students, who have come to present their notebooks full of illustrations and unroll their CVs at the speed of a machine gun. A golden opportunity for French studios to establish or strengthen their relationships with platforms that have become essential in the audiovisual panorama.
No question of missing out: “Sorry, it’s not polite, but it’s very important”, apologizes a leader flatly, before cutting short his conversation with L’Express to join his American guests. This is because the links formed do not take long to materialize into projects. Over the past three years, the performance business has surged in animation. According to the National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), spending on animation programs eligible for the international tax credit (C2I) has doubled compared to 2019, reaching a new record of 189 millions of euros.
Carried by this manna which would delight the friend Scrooge, the sector is hiring with a vengeance. In 2021, the workforce exceeded the 9,000 job mark. The phenomenon may only be in its infancy. As part of France 2030, the State wants to make France “one of the world leaders in filming and digital production”. The executive intends to double the number of jobs in the sector, which has only one flaw… it runs on intermittent workers. “But they are full-time. The contracts last from eighteen months to two years, and three-quarters of our intermittent workers are executives”, tries to reassure Clément Calvet, who founded Superprod with Jérémie Fajner in 2010. Since , the Parisian group has branched off its studios in Angoulême and Milan, Italy.
Because, little by little, this industry is decentralizing. Based in Toulouse since its birth in 2000, TAT Productions has long demonstrated that it is possible to shine internationally without having to go to the capital. Crowned since 2015 with an International Emmy Award for her soap opera Jungle aces to the rescue, the company was approached by Netflix. His first mission for the platform will be to bring to life the animated series ofAsterix directed by Alain Chabat. To carry out its projects, TAT is following the path set out by France 2030 and intends to double its workforce… subject to hiring. “The tension on the job market is very strong, especially since the generalization of telework allows our employees to work from anywhere for companies based in Paris and elsewhere. This reinforces an already enormous competition”, notes, a bit annoyed, Jean-François Tosti, one of the three co-founders.
A weakened independent production
To get out of the game, the Toulouse company decided to call on a recruiter. Others hope to “match” with future graduates during “speed recruiting” – in other words, express recruitment sessions – organized by the schools themselves, as the Gobelins do so well in Annecy. A challenge that French animation must take up while taking care not to give in body and goods to the sirens of the service. “The American platforms and majors bring turnover to France, but there is no guarantee that they will not leave one day. Delegate production must [NDLR : qui permet aux entreprises de se conserver la propriété intellectuelle] prosperous. However, this activity is on a flat encephalogram”, warns Stéphane Le Bars.
In this context, AnimFrance calls in particular for the reopening of discussions around the Smad decree, which frames the obligations of platforms in the financing of French works. The union believes that the measure, adopted in 2021, has “generated no additional volume for independent production”. Aware of the threat, the studios try to maintain a balance between their different activities. “Platforms come with work and allow us to improve. But our philosophy is to be independent and to create,” insists Jean-François Tosti. An essential dosage to allow French animation to continue to “cartoon”.