Sylvain Chomet’s Distinctive Animation

Some filmmakers change the film industry: Sylvain Chomet is one of them. This well researched, engaging book is a fitting documentation of The Triiplets of Belleville and his other works. An important book for every film library. * Maureen Furniss, Faculty, CalArts, USA *

The importance of Maria Katsaridou’s Sylvain Chomet’s Distinctive Animation: From the Triplets of Belleville to The Illusionist cannot be understated. The insight into Chomet’s work in animation and comics is enlightening for makers, academics and fans alike. Through beautiful graphics and well-explained theories, Katsaridou exposes the reader to the creative and technical processes of an artist that has moved fluidly between independent and studio work.

Katsaridou focuses on how Chomet bridged comics and animation and his innovations and experiments in process and style, all while reminding us that his work has been commercially and critically successful. Through this book’s analysis of Chomet’s animations, we gain a deeper understanding of Chomet, his unique choices as a filmmaker, the animation process and animation itself.

There is also another level to this book that should not be missed: Katsaridou gives us a more rigorous methodology in which we might study all animators and comic artists. As we continue to try and understand cartoons and animation, the very form that we work in, it is vitally important that we expand the lens of our inquiry beyond the big studio productions and classically historic figures. Katsaridou leads the way for us by analysing the career of such an important figure in modern animation.

* Marc Russo, Associate Professor of Animation, North Carolina State University College of Design, USA *
A deep exploration of the landmark animated films of Sylvain Chomet and his indelible impact on the medium, Katsaridou illuminates Chomet’s distinctive style using the techniques of semiotic analysis across image, sound and story with a clarity and level of detail that will appeal to both scholars and anyone with an appreciation for the art of animation. * Silvia Ruzanka, Assistant Professor of Arts and Media, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA *