[Annecy] Netflix Previews Upcoming Animation

 At last week's Annecy International Animation Festival it seemed like all the big names in animation were there. And there aren't many bigger names in animation in the year 2024 than Netflix. The streamer produces animation of all kinds (CG, stop-motion and 2D) for all audiences from preschoolers up to adults. They've been nominated for and won dozens of awards including an Oscar, two BAFTAs, numerous Annie Awards and more. Netflix's presentation this year was called Netflix Animation: From Wallace and Gromit to Twilight Of The Gods.

First to take to the stage were Alain Chabat and Fabrice Joubert, directors of the upcoming French series Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight. The series is produced by French studio TAT, and is based on the beloved graphic novel series created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The directorial duo showed off a world-exclusive clip from the series.

Chabat said: "After the extraordinary experience of making the film Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra and the audience's reception, it is an immense pleasure to dive back into the universe and characters created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo! Animation brings us back to the very essence of the work and offers new creative spaces to have fun in different ways. Revealing the first images (even WIP) at Annecy is a privilege and a great joy shared with the team!"

Next up were Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park, directors of Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. They too treated audiences to an exclusive clip for Wallace and Gromit's second feature-length outing. They said “Annecy has welcomed Wallace and Gromit warmly and generously for many years, and so there couldn’t be a more perfect festival for us to share a special sneak peek of our latest upcoming Wallace and Gromit extravaganza, ‘Vengeance Most Fowl’. It’s so exciting to return to Annecy again, stepping away from production for a couple of days, to share a special taster of the latest madcap adventure we’ve been cooking up for the duo over the last couple of years and to reveal the return of our most infamous villain, Feathers McGraw!”"

Director Zack Snyder and his producing partner/wife Deborah Snyder were there to share their upcoming adult animated series Twilight Of The Gods. The co-showrunners The Snyders took part in a Q & A alongside art director Slimane Aniss. Zack and Deborah said of their first Annecy experience “We are so excited to make our first voyage to Annecy, such a remarkable showcase for groundbreaking animation, with our series, Twilight Of The Gods, a monumental tale, steeped in the rich lore of Norse Mythology, of mortals and gods facing off in a pitched battle, where the lines between honour and revenge are blurred. It has been an amazing journey creating this epic series in partnership with both Netflix and Xilam. We’re thrilled for audiences to finally see it – on a big screen.”

Skydance Animation director Vicky Jensen shared a clip from their upcoming feature Spellbound. Jensen said "I am so looking forward to bringing a preview of Spellbound to Annecy. The audiences there are some of the most enthusiastic in the world and are filled with not only animation fans but also students, professionals and old colleagues! Spellbound is a truly special film, and I could not be more proud of it and every artist who helped to make it happen. It is a new fairytale that, while feeling rooted in classic storytelling, has a twist that is both unexpected and universal at the same time."  

The presentation also included a clip from the upcoming adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Twits. The project is led by writer/director/producer Phil Johnston (Zootopia, Ralph Breaks The Internet).

Elsewhere in the festival, Annecy hosted the world premiere of Ultraman Rising, and Studio Ponoc's The Imagninary. There were also making-of panels for Ultraman Rising, Big Mouth's final season, Arcane and a work-in-progress session of Locksmith Animation's forthcoming That Christmas.

There was also a Wallace and Gromit exhibition, where visitors could see in person some of the puppets used in the upcoming film.