Colourful characters in an Amsterdam working-class neighbourhood, a lazy red tomcat who turns into a kind of King Kong clone, fierce debates about the importance of art, stilt-walking elephants - it all turns up in two feature-length animated films that both happen to be released in Dutch cinemas on 18 April.
And coincidentally, two films that demonstrate convincingly, and in completely opposite ways, that an animated film is not necessarily for children.
Heinz is Piet Kroon's contrarian cartoon based on the famous newspaper strips by the duo René Windig and Eddie de Jong. A whimsical cartoon universe that combines delightfully recognisable Amsterdam-ness with a parody of big feature films.
The also signed Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles is about the socially troubled side of surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel. In this story based on true events, we see how Buñuel, discredited as a surrealist, made his harrowing and confrontational documentary Las Hurdes (1933) makes. Drawn in a style realistic but also making room for Buñuel's magical nightmares.
Dutch animation industry
The Dutch-Belgian co-production Heinz is the first full-length animation of BosBros, the producer who made a name for himself with youth and family films. Made with a major contribution from the animation studio of Submarine, versatile producer of feature films, documentaries and animation. More coincidentally, the same Submarine was also involved in the co-production realised as a Spanish-Dutch-German Buñuel.
Yes, how coincidental is all this? Perhaps less than you might think. Because something is buzzing around. Namely that feature-length Dutch animation is on the verge of a breakthrough. Perhaps not a coincidence, then, that a few weeks ago Dutch animation took centre stage at the annual Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux, an event where creators, producers and financiers meet. Every reason, then, to attend the recently held Heinz-press day to find out a bit more. Not only about the production of Heinz, but mostly about the leap forward that the Dutch animation industry seems to be taking.
Back from America
Piet Kroon, director, screenwriter and part storyboard artist of Heinz, sees that a lot has already changed. He once debuted with the quirky short animations Dada (1997) and T.R.A.N.S.I.T. (1998). He then left for the United States to collaborate on major productions such as Osmosis Jones, Rio and Shrek 2. At the same time, he became involved in long-running plans to make a Heinz film. When the go-ahead for that finally fell in 2017, he returned to the Netherlands to direct the drawing work of several dozen animators.
That return was fantastically pleasing, he reveals with a laugh. "After 23 years in the US animation industry, this was a great outside chance to make a film of my own choosing. I learned an awful lot over there and enjoyed working there. The downside is that it's a very conservative kind of filmmaking. Films with very large budgets, family entertainment for a very wide audience. While so much more can be done with animation. But in America, that's hard to achieve."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFatC27EZkg
"In addition to my regular work, I was writing the script for Heinz. The idea was to make something completely different that is not necessarily for children. Something that doesn't try to compete with American work in terms of form either. The big challenge was to translate the loose gag strips with that quirky anti-hero Heinz into a feature-length film. And then still stay true to that insane, hutty world Eddie and René have drawn over 25 years."
Kroon noticed that a lot had changed in the animation field during his absence in the Netherlands. When he left, such a project as Heinz according to him, had not yet been possible. Now he found a country with lots of potential, fresh young talent and a Film Fund that actively supports long animation films. He recalls how Willem Thijssen, as the Film Fund's first animation intendant, helped at the time to get the stranded plans for Heinz refloat.
Catch-up
Producer Burny Bos of BosBros also sees a lot of change. "Until now, few animation films were made for cinema in the Netherlands," he says.
As scarce examples, he cites Pim & Pom: The big adventure (2014) and Trippel Trappel Animal Saint Nicholas, both in 2014. In 2016, we saw Woezel & Pip. The animals of the Hakkebakke forest was a Norwegian production, but already with a solid contribution from the Dutch stop-motion studio Pedri Animation.
But now, according to Bos, the Netherlands is definitely on the verge of a breakthrough. He was also in Bordeaux where several Dutch animation productions were looking for an international partner. "With pretty good response."
"We have a backlog to catch up with Belgium and France, for example. The Netherlands was always the country of enthusiastic animators who made artistic short films and won prizes with them. Think of Michael Dudok de Wit and the trio Job, Joris and Marieke. But an industry it was not. Recently, such a thing is starting to emerge. Producer Submarine, for instance, has its own animation studio, a digital workplace that can accommodate around 50 animators. Another animation producer is Il Luster. We ourselves are also working hard to get started with animation."
"Between now and three years, I expect quite a bit of catching up. I leave out the US market, but Europe is big enough. Twenty years ago, feature films like Abeltje, Minoes and Pete Bell seeing that the Netherlands could compete with Disney. I expect something similar will happen in the animation field as well."
International reach
An animation film is usually more expensive than a feature film, but it is easier to enter into international co-productions, and thus get more funding. It is difficult to release a feature film with Dutch actors unknown to foreign audiences in the rest of Europe. With a dubbed animation film, you don't have that problem. "An animated film has a greater chance of breaking through internationally," says Bos.
Bruno Felix of Submarine - highlighted in Bordeaux as animation producer of the year - agrees. The next two or three years may show a breakthrough. "Dutch animation film has gone through puberty. There are serious production companies and studios, some good projects have been delivered, there are good courses and there is talent."
"Among small European countries, the Netherlands is the biggest. So we can be a nice glue in international co-productions. The ability to work well together and the no-nonsense mentality come in handy." As qualities that play a role in animation, he mentions the innovative style of Dutch animators, plus the fact that we are not too dogmatic and not afraid of technology.
Designland
The 'madhouse' that Heinz according to Burny Bos in many ways, with a mishmash of situations and characters, is a fine example of that Dutch open-mindedness.
Michiel Snijders of IL Luster (Woezel and Pip, Trippel Trappel), whom I speak to later, sees the Netherlands taking a new step. "With that industrial size, we are entering an exciting area. Of course, it is not just about tax-shelters and financing models. The Netherlands is known as a design country and I hope we will keep that distinctive character."
Coproductions need
It has been touched on above that feature-length animation films realised here are actually always European co-productions. Why this is so Bruno Felix summarises in three points.
- Translatable. An animated film is easy to transfer into another language and can therefore easily reach multiple audiences.
- Affordable. Animation is very labour-intensive, hence expensive. This requires money from different countries, which must also be spent in different countries. A foreign producer can, for instance, apply for the so-called production incentive from the Dutch Film Fund. That money must then be spent here. With a feature film, this is sometimes difficult, with animation it is usually not a problem.
- Scalable. As a third point, Felix mentions the large amount of work involved in animation. In that case, it can actually be convenient to divide that over several studios. Animating the various characters is a job that is relatively easy to divide over several workplaces. This is also confirmed by Jolande Junte, who works for Heinz oversaw that.
Heinz
We take Heinz again as an example. Its budget of just under €2 million is relatively modest. About equal to that of an average Dutch feature film. Yet Belgian money was also needed to make things happen. For instance, the Flemish production house Fabrique Fantastique co-producer. They provided the background footage and, according to Burny Bos, helped raise the artistic level very well. "Their work stimulated the foreground makers," he says. Most of the characters were animated at co-producer Submarine. For a smaller part of the animation work, Rotterdam animation studio Ka-Ching Cartoons.
In turn, Bruno Felix ensured that Dutch Submarine became co-producer of the Spanish Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles. "Buñuel was pitched in Bordeaux. I thought it was a great story in which journalism, art, religion and politics form an interesting melting pot. A story with urgency that matters again today. Thereby, a story about Buñuel as one of the founding fathers of European cinema is worthwhile anyway. An arthouse film with a nice style that can find a (modest) audience in film theatres. All that made it an interesting project to get into."
Anne Frank
Another project where Submarine has secured a place as co-producer is Where is Anne Frank. That's the new animated film by Ari Folman, best known for directing the impressive Walz With Bashir. "That's the premier league, a project that allows me to show what Submarine has to offer. I really did my best for that. Besides, I thought it would be idiotic if a film about Anne Frank had no Dutch contribution." Animation for this will start at Submarine in May.
Currently, the same studio is still hard at work on Undone, an animated series for adult viewers for Amazon, with Hisko Hulsing as co-director. Another feature-length animated film already firmly in the works at Submarine is Coppelia. A modern fairy tale for young and old, designed as a combination of 2D animation and live ballet. Still in the script phase is The Young Vincent, a youth film about Vincent van Gogh's early years. Also in development is Fox and Hare save the forest, a fantasy for young children by Mascha Halberstad. Bruno Felix is also working on something based on Toon Tellegen's stories.
Miss Moxy
That BosBros decided to start an animation branch (feature films and series) has to do with the possibility of expanding its reach. As mentioned, you cross borders more easily with animation than with feature films, however beautiful they are.
On 2 May is the Dutch premiere of the Belgian animated film Urban the rubbish hero. A crazy adventure based on the comics by Urbanus and Willy Linthout. BosBros participates as Dutch co-producer.
BosBros' next own feature-length animation film is Miss Moxy, directed by Vincent Bal (Minoes). A road movie about a wayward cat that has to find its way home from France. The script is complete, the financing almost. The budget is 8 to 9 million euros. Of that, some six million will have to come from abroad. There was already a lot of interest in Bordeaux and Bos hopes to fill the last gap at the animation festival in Annecy. If all else goes well, in cinemas in 2021.
Another imaginative BosBros animation is Hieronymus by Erik van Schaaik. An imaginatively designed coming-of-age story about the rebellious teenager Jeroen, who will later become known as the famous painter Hieronymus Bosch. There is a script, but Burny Bos says it needs a lot of tinkering first.
What else is in store for us?
Without pretending to be complete, here are a few more feature-length animation films with a Dutch lead producer that could hit cinemas in the next three years.
Victor Bat is a new youth film about a young bat afraid of the dark. From Il Luster, the Utrecht production house specialising in animation, which has been active for 20 years. Production together with The Storytellers Film & TV and probably two foreign producers. Expected in late 2021.
Charles and Elegast, also by Il Luster, here together with the Hague animation studio Anikey who also collaborated on Trippel Trappel. The family film Charles and Elegast will be the first film adaptation of this oldest story written down in Dutch. Is in the stage of script development.
Ainbo is a Dutch-Peruvian co-production by production company Cool Beans/Richard Claus & Co.. A 3D animation about a girl from the Amazon jungle. Scheduled for 2021.
Little Sofie and Long Wapper, based on the award-winning children's book by Els Pelgrom and Thé Tjong-Khing. Combination of live-action and stop-motion animation. In it, the fantasy comes to life with which a dying girl deceives death. From the versatile (feature film, youth drama, documentary, animation) producer Ice water. Scheduled for 2022, if all goes well.
Blender Institute develops his first feature-length animated film Agent 327. Based on the Dutch comic strip of the same name by Martin Lodewijk. Promises to be an all-Dutch production. The treatment is ready. Work is now underway to assemble the team for direction, script and storyboard. Funding is not yet in place, so that will be 2022 at the earliest, Ton Roosendaal hopes.
The revenge of Knor will be a stop-motion film for young and old, directed by Mascha Halberstad based on the children's book by Tosca Menten. Nine-year-old Babs must keep her piglet out of the hands of the sausage makers. A Dutch-Belgian-French co-production from Amsterdam's Viking Film. This is Marleen Slot's company specialising in arthouse and animation. Pedri Animation will make the puppets. Financing is almost complete. Production will start in September. She hopes to release Knor in late 2021 or early 2022.
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