Le Chant de la mer by Tomm Moore, is inspired by his culture, his childhood and Celtic myths. Contrary to Brendan, which was firmly rooted in Irish tradition, he aims to add a more universal dimension to his new film and attract a younger target audience (7 to 10 years). The graphic style is more naïve, but it still unmistakably has the Moore’s touch which gained its author (and thus Wallimage) an Oscar nomination for best animated film. Le Chant de la mer is co-produced by The Big Farm, a company consisting of Iota, Mélusine and the Digital Graphics studio. The latter will create an important part of the animation in Alleur. An amazing recognition for the Umé brothers and their crew.
Up until now, Minuscule was a television series much appreciated by young (and not so young) viewers. The second season, co-produced by Wallimage, was partially made by Nozon at the Pôle Image de Liège, under supervision of Guyonne Leroy. A true success! Quite quickly, it was then decided to give these cute bugs a chance on the big screen. Futurikon, who are still directing the project, found a new partner in Belgium: Entre Chien et Loup. To give you an idea about the size of such a project: the live shots will take 65 days and the work on the animation will last 45 additional… weeks. This will be done in France, but also in Belgium, at the Nozon studio. As they say, never change a winning team.
Finally, the last film Wallimage approved will be directed by… Louis Chédid. Why not ? The singer is captivated by film. He studied audiovisual communication at the Inraci before becoming key editor at Gaumont. All melodies from the show and CD will be included, some in full, others in shortened versions. Two new ritornellos will thicken the plot. But all will be adapted, rearranged and re-recorded to suit the dramaturgy. Because the aim is to create a film in which dialogue and songs will both be part of the same whole. The vocal casting is certainly on par with the film’s ambitions : Mathieu Chédid, Vanessa Paradis, Benabar, Alain Souchon, Francis Cabrel and Louis Chédid self. Nexus Factory co-produces in Belgium and part of the animation will be done by Dreamwall in Marcinelle.
Of course, none of these three projects will be here next year. To discover them, long months full of patience are still needed. That is the mystery and magic of animation. In all three cases however, the wait should be more than worth it.
