The headline is borrowed from Petteri Pasanen, producer of the Helsinki-based Anima Vitae studios, who put it forward in his presentation at the Animation Financing Seminar last June. The gist is that compared to live-action films, animation travels between territories much more easily, even naturally. This statement is also supported by statistics:
According to an analysis by Finnanimation, animation makes up 45% of the audiovisual exports of France, even though the sector only contributes 4% to the total of the country’s film production. The exports of course also includes animation used in games etc, but it still is a staggering difference. Even in Hollywood the proceeds from animation are around 15%, while animation makes up only 3% of production.
But what is it that gives animation such international potential?
- First, there’s no language barrier. As animation is always dubbed, there’s no problem with the reception by audiences. The voice vs. actor/character relationship is always similar and lip-syncing is not a problem – unlike live-action.
- Second, there’s no cultural barrier. Whereas you can often tell that a film has been made in Europe or the US or on another continent just by the look, animation has a universal visual language. Besides, the world of most films is a fantasy world after all and the audience is already expecting it.
- There’s no star cult within animation. Yes, the US market often moves according to which celebrity voices are attached to a project. But even there a foreign production has the possibility of attaching a strong, possibly even partially A-list cast for the english version. And it doesn’t raise the budget in the same way as it does with a live-action film.
- Finally, many films are children’s or family films. Even though there are subjects that don’t translate, children are remarkably indifferent of things that would keep adults from embracing a film. This last point naturally applies to both animated and live-action films.
Of course, this ability to travel is a prerequisite for European animation. As most projects are impossible to finance in only one country or territory, coproduction is a must. If animation wouldn’t translate so well, the European animation industry would be seriously underdeveloped.
What does all this mean for a European producer?
- That you even have a shot at making your project.
- That a) if you didn’t have to presell all your international rights to finance the production, and b) you completed a great project and c) you didn’t choose an approach that’s too local, you have a chance of making a decent profit from the international exploitation of your title. Congratulations!
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