FrenchFrench animators are enjoying global success, most recently with the blockbuster comedy "Despicable Me 2", US studio Universal's most profitable film ever, reports the Times of Oman. Made not in Hollywood but in Paris's 15th arrondissement by the Illumination Mac Guff studio, the 3D computer-animated movie with stars Steve Carrell and Miranda Cosgrove has taken nearly $700 million at the box office on a budget of $76 million since its release in June. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke said in July that the feature was "going to end up being the single most profitable film in the 100 year history of Universal Studios". The success of the film has highlighted the strength of the French animation industry which has been steadily growing since the 1980s. Other studios and US directors are also calling on the know-how of French animators with "The Smurfs 2", part of which was made by Plug Effects, as well as other firms such as Cube or Buf. Illumination Mac Guff was formed in 2011 when the animation department of French visual effects company Mac Guff was acquired by Universal subsidiary Illumination Entertainment. Olivier-Rene Veillon, president of the Ile-de-France Film Commission, said the studio's latest film "perfectly illustrates the ability of French studios to make original and innovative content for the world market". The success of this "made-in-France" animation goes back to the 1980s.
Read more of this AFP report published by the Times of Oman.
