New energy and optimism
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Dutch animation feature breakthrough
(Summary of the article by Leo Bankersen in Filmjaarboek 2019/2020)
The world of Dutch animation is full of energy and optimism. When looking back from the near future, 2019 can probably be recognized as the breakthrough year for the Dutch animated feature. A key event in 2019 was Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux, with its focus on The Netherlands and Submarine-producer Bruno Felix selected as 'producer of the year'. A new phrase is used these days: 'Dutch animation industry'.
Other examples of this new impetus are the 2019 premières of the animated feature Heinz aimed at an adult audience, Floor Adams' much-awarded medium length Mind My Mind, the Dutch contribution to Buñuel en el laberinto de las tortugas, and last but not least the Amazon Prime-series Undone directed by Hisko Hulsing with Submarine stepping in as animation studio.
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When Piet Kroon, after having built a career in the United States, returned to The Netherlands to direct Heinz he was pleasantly surprised to find a country with a lot of new young animation talent and the Filmfund actively supporting animation features.
Long tradition
All this did not come completely by surprise. The Oscar for best short animation was already awarded three times to a Dutch title: Het zandkasteel (Co Hoedeman, 1977), Anna & Bella (Børge Ring, 1984), and Father and Daughter (Michael Dudok de Wit, 2000).
There is a long tradition of creativity in animated shorts, mostly done by artists working independently or in a small team. The last decade showed a cautious approach to the animated feature, with six titles aimed at children and families, plus the animadoc Last Hijack (Femke Wolting, Tommy Pallotta, 2014). Burny Bos, the renowned producer of children's movies, mentions: "The Netherlands has always been a country with enthusiastic animators making prizewinning shorts, but it wasn't an industry. Only recently something like that is coming up. Between now and three years I expect us to catch up."
Two examples that can be expected soon are Coppelia, in which dancers of the National Ballet act together with animated figures, and Ari Folman's new Where is Anne Frank, with Submarine as minority co-producer. Right now there are plans for about twenty new animated features in different stages of preparation. Mostly family films, but the animation feature aiming at an adult audience can be a next step.
Ton Crone, director of Animation producers in the Netherlands ApN, notices a strong professionalization of the upcoming industry, now about thirty producers and studios engaged in a broad range of animation applications: from commercials to feature films, artistic work, and visual effects. As stimulating factors, Crone mentions the digitization and the structural support of the Filmfund for animated features and series.
Notable trends coming with these developments are the cross-over of talent between animation and feature films, plus strong international cooperation. International coproductions are stimulated by a new Production Incentive of the Filmfund, hopefully to be continued after 2020.