without any deadline or budget! It was basically a blank check. He gave us his green light to develop the technology and to create the 3D sequences. We didn't even know how we were going to make this movie at all, and I didn't want to be contractually tied up to a deadline and a budget that I wasn't certain I could meet."īuffin continues, "We looked into the option of co-producing the movie, but I knew shot approval would become an issue, as this was Luc's movie. Without any reference, it was just impossible to evaluate how much it would cost and how long it would take. Unfortunately, I could not give them any estimation. "They were asking us, 'Can you create animation for a feature film? How many animators will we need? How many Americans?' Besides animation, their main concern was, obviously, the cost and the duration of the project. "So, the producers were really concerned about our capacity in this regard, as no one in France had ever attempted a project of this magnitude. "We had to animate CG characters in more than 1600 shots," Buffin says. For founder and 3D director Pierre Buffin, this marked the start of a journey that would last almost six years, including three years of full production. To address these issues, Besson turned to Buf Compagnie, France's leading visual effects facility. Buffin worked on the project for almost six years. The question of how to create these environments became the key issue, with the team testing multiple approaches over a period of two years.ĭirector Luc Besson's quest to create the characters via CG animation and combine them with photoreal environments brought him to Pierre Buffin (right) and his Buf Compagnie. The filmmakers' plan was to create the characters via CG animation, and combine them with photoreal environments. The Invisibles were real beings living in a real garden, not fantasy creatures in a fantasy world. Besson didn't want to go from a real setting with real actors to a stylized environment à la A Bug's Life. Since the movie also featured live-action sequences, the world of the Invisibles had to look like it was part of our world. The former had been a key element of the design team on The Fifth Element, and later became the lead conceptual artist for Arthur and the Invisibles. Influential graphic album artists Patrice and Celine Garcia brought the project to Besson. 12, 2007 in the U.S.) tells how 10-year old Arthur gets magically transported to the tiny world of the Invisibles, half-inch tall creatures who live in his grandmother's garden. Arthur and the Invisibles (which opens Jan. The latest entry in the genre is directed by France's most popular filmmaker, Luc Besson, an artist better known for his live-action movies ( The Professional, The Fifth Element) than for his interest in animation. Michel Ocelot, director of Kirikou and the Sorceress, released a new colorful, enchanting tale called Azur and Asmar, while Christian Volckman broke new ground with his stylish black & white Renaissance. The year 2006 was definitely a great one for feature animation in France. All images courtesy of The Weinstein Co./Europa Corp. Arthur and the Invisibles joined the ranks of Azur and Asmar and the groundbreaking Renaissance. Arthur and the Invisibles was written and directed by Luc Besson and is based on the best selling children's book, Arthur and the Minimoys.The year 2006 was a banner one for feature animation in France. The film stars Mia Farrow and Freddie Highmore, featuring the voices of Anthony Anderson, Jason Bateman, David Bowie, Nate Corddry, Rob Corddry, Robert DeNiro, Emilio Estevez, Jimmy Fallon,Harvey Keitel, Madonna, Chazz Palminteri and Snoop Dogg. Using a dazzling new combination of live-action and ground-breaking CGI technology, Arthur and the Invisibles is the story about the true meaning of courage and the endless power of imagination. It seems like an impossible task, but as he discovers along the way, sometimes the smallest heroes can make the biggest difference. But once in the magical land, Arthur must join swords with a beautiful princess and a reckless army of defenders to save the land from the evil wizard. Arthur learns that he must follow his grandfather’s ancient clues to a vast treasure – and unlock the passageway to a spectacular new world filled with mysterious little people, so tiny they are considered invisible, and enlist their help. From the creative mind of talented filmmaker Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element), comes a larger-than-life, family adventure about a boy who, after his grandfather disappears, sets out to save his family home from emerging real estate developers.
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