UNITED KINGDOM: THE 13TH CARTOON FORUM FILM FESTIVAL TAKE PLACE AT THE VAYNOL ESTATE.

Record ID: 393072

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: THE 13TH CARTOON FORUM FILM FESTIVAL TAKE PLACE AT THE VAYNOL ESTATE.
  • Date: 20th September 2002
  • Summary: VARIOUS, OF PEOPLE AT CARTOON FORUM WATCHING FILM (4 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 5th October 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WALES, UK
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADOJ2H8G2S59XNAAMQUYNK5TWJ
  • Story Text: North Wales became home to animators from all over Europe when the 13th Cartoon Forum took over Gwynedd's beautiful Vaynol Estate. 80 new projects were presented from 15 European countries, looking for 290 million Euro to put 458 hours of animation into production.
    The sweeping landscape of North Wales - not a place one would normally associate with the world of animation. But the Snowdonia mountains became Cartoon Kingdom, as more than 800 people from all over Europe came to the Vaynol Estate for the 13th Cartoon Forum.
    This is where all the latest and greatest in animation gets its first airing, in the hope of securing funding from the numerous commissioning editors on the hunt for new series.
    Like this - Beryl's Dreams and Desires - the eagerly-awaited project from Oscar nominated artist/director Joanna Quinn.
    "Line drawing is my passion. It is all about drawing and the people in my studio... having said that the people in my studio are on computers... it's to do with adding... it's giving it a feeling."
    Pitching her project to an audience of investors, Joanna hopes to raise the 1.3 million Euro needed to make a 30-minute film.
    It's not easy because this is animation for adults. And as far as terrestrial TV in Europe goes, children are the only audience worth investing in.
    It means that one rarely gets the chance to see projects like The Umbilical Man (Fictitious Egg Productions) make it beyond the trailer.
    From one umbilical chord to another...
    Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck have been cast aside for a lady with four breasts, and a mountain of a man who's escaped from Death Row called Anus. John Doyle is the man who came up with this disgusting group of creatures, otherwise known as The Inbreds.
    "It's a family that lives in the deep south."
    Doyle managed to convince one of the UK's leading animation production companies Cosgrove Hall to take on The Inbreds, joining their child-friendly catalogue of Danger Mouse, Andy Pandy and Bill and Ben.
    "What happened is he came into a meeting and unveiled these characters and talked about Foetus, Anus and ... the room exploded."
    Nicolas Bonnard is considering giving The Inbreds a slot on MTV.
    "I think that it's completely out there and it's a very interesting project. Will it work on MTV? I don't know, we have to follow up in the next couple of weeks and see, talk to the creators and really determine the direction that it's going to go. But it has a lot of potential in my opinion."
    MTV might be sold on the Inbreds but the sorry story is that they are one of the very few channels that are actively searching for adult animation. In Europe, broadcasters are behind audiences in picking up on new trends and the risk is too great in giving slots for series that are not family-friendly.
    That's why Ugly Duckling Junior (A. Films) will soon be appearing on television all over the continent. It's beautiful, funny, sweet and inspired by one of our great storytellers, Hans Christian Anderson. But we're still a way off seeing the story of the ugly duckling that grows into the ugly embittered, foul-mouthed swan.
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