Paul Grimault

Paul Grimault

Born: March 23, 1905
Died: March 29, 1994
in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France
Paul Grimault (23 March 1905 – 29 March 1994) was one of the most important French animators. He made many traditionally animated films that were delicate in style, satirical, and lyrical in nature.

His most important work is Le Roi et l'oiseau, which ultimately took over 30 years to produce. He began it as La Bergère et le Ramoneur (The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep) in 1948 and it was highly anticipated, but Grimault's partner André Sarrut showed the film unfinished in 1952, against Grimault's wishes. This caused a rift between partners and a stop in production. In 1967, Grimault got possession of the film and subsequently was able to complete it in 1980 under a new title, Le Roi et l'oiseau, incorporating some footage from the original and re-hiring the original animators, together with some new, younger ones. There are many names for it in English that have been used in various releases, including: The King and the Bird (literal), The King and the Mockingbird, The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird and The King and Mr. Bird (1980).

He also collected his best shorts in a retrospective compilation movie, La table tournante (1988), which is included in the deluxe edition of Le Roi et l'oiseau.

In 1936 Grimault founded, with André Sarrut, Les Gémeaux, which was the second significant French animation venture, following the work of Émile Cohl, which had closed years earlier. During World War II, Americans films being unavailable, its films found a captive audience. The studio produced a number of shorts, then closed its doors in 1952 following the expense of making La Bergère et le Ramoneur, which was the first feature-length French animated movie.

Grimault was part of the agitprop group Groupe Octobre. At this group he met Jacques Prévert, with whom he went on to collaborate on several animated films, most notably Le roi et l'oiseau.

Source: Article "Paul Grimault" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Paul Grimault...

S'il n'en reste qu'un, nous serons ces deux-là
Title: S'il n'en reste qu'un, nous serons ces deux-là
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 15, 2013
Type: Movie
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Cinéastes de notre temps : Jean Vigo
Title: Cinéastes de notre temps : Jean Vigo
Character: Self
Released: October 8, 2012
Type: Movie
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Drôle d'oiseau
Title: Drôle d'oiseau
Character: Self
Released: November 25, 2003
Type: Movie
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Paul Grimault, image par image
Title: Paul Grimault, image par image
Character: Himself
Released: November 25, 2003
Type: Movie
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Turning Table
Title: Turning Table
Character: Himself, The Jester
Released: December 21, 1988
Type: Movie
On a winter night, the author of "The King and the Mockingbird" is visited by the cartoon characters he created in his studio. Along with a little clown, he screens a selection of his favorite shorts
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Coup de Torchon
Title: Coup de Torchon
Character: Le condamné à mort (dans le film publicitaire "Galeries Barbès")
Released: November 4, 1981
Type: Movie
A pathetic police chief, humiliated by everyone around him, suddenly wants a clean slate in life, and resorts to drastic means to achieve it.
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Title: Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Character: Self
Released: January 12, 1975
Type: TV
A talk show presented by Michel Drucker
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Le Pèlerinage
Title: Le Pèlerinage
Released: January 1, 1962
Type: Movie
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Paris mange son pain
Title: Paris mange son pain
Released: February 19, 1958
Type: Movie
This short documents the important role played by bread in the daily life of the city of Paris.
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The Lower Depths
Title: The Lower Depths
Character: Uncredited
Released: December 11, 1936
Type: Movie
Inhabitants of a flophouse struggle to survive under the harsh treatment imposed by the landlord, Kostyleva. One resident, young thief Wasska Pepel, ends his affair with the landlord's wife, Vassilissa, and takes up with her sister, Natacha. Pepel also befriends the baron, a former nobleman fallen on hard times, but Pepel's attempts at happiness are complicated when he's accused of murder by a spiteful Vassilissa.
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The Crime of Monsieur Lange
Title: The Crime of Monsieur Lange
Character: Typesetter (uncredited)
Released: January 24, 1936
Type: Movie
A man and a woman arrive in a cafe-hotel near the Belgian frontier. The customers recognize the man from the police's description: his name is Amedee Lange, and he murdered somebody in Paris. Lange was an employee in a printing works. His boss was a real bastard, swindling every one, seducing female workers... One day he fled to avoid facing his creditors, and the workers set up a cooperative to go on working. What then made Lange a killer?
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The Free Trade Hotel
Title: The Free Trade Hotel
Released: November 10, 1934
Type: Movie
There's never a dull moment at the Hôtel du Libre Echange. Deceptions, hitches and other misunderstandings make a few people mingle whereas, for their own sake, they should not. An example among others: an expert who has come to the hotel for professional reasons had better not meet his wife, who is there to cheat on him with his best friend.
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L'Atalante
Title: L'Atalante
Character: Le chaland qui passe (uncredited)
Released: April 24, 1934
Type: Movie
Capricious small-town girl Juliette and barge captain Jean marry after a whirlwind courtship, and she comes to live aboard his boat, L'Atalante. As they make their way down the Seine, Jean grows weary of Juliette's flirtations with his all-male crew, and Juliette longs to escape the monotony of the boat and experience the excitement of a big city. When she steals away to Paris by herself, her husband begins to think their marriage was a mistake.
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Le Colisée
Title: Le Colisée
Character: The Barrel Organ Player
Released: January 1, 1933
Type: Movie
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Levitan: That Night
Title: Levitan: That Night
Character: Henri II
Released: December 31, 1932
Type: Movie
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The Seance is Over
Title: The Seance is Over
Character: Himself
Released: December 31, 1931
Type: Movie