‘Up’: The first animated movie to open the Cannes Film Festival
Animation started to flourish in the 1920s, but it wasn’t until the following decade that it became even more developed. Disney released the first full-colour animation in 1932, Flowers and Trees. Disney was responsible for producing some of the most innovative and beloved animated features over the following decades, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937, the company’s first feature-length animation.
However, the first fully computer-animated movie didn’t emerge until 1995, a time when Toy Story was introduced to the world. The tender story of toys that secretly come to life when they’re not being played with was an instant phenomenon, also acting as Pixar’s first release. The company is part of Walt Disney Studios and is responsible for making a large majority of the most popular animated movies ever.
While Studio Ghibli, which was founded in 1985, prefers to stick to hand-drawn animation as much as possible, Pixar has been utilising CGI animation for the past few decades. Some of their most successful releases include Monster’s Inc., Finding Nemo, WALL-E and Inside Out.
The late ‘90s also saw the founding of Dreamworks, with Antz becoming their first release in 1998. That was followed by other popular movies like Chicken Run, Shrek, The Bee Movie and Kung Fu Panda.
However, in 2009, it was Pixar’s Up that became the first ever animated film to open the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Founded in 1946, the festival is one of the most highly-anticipated events in the film industry and some of the movies that have opened it have become highly lauded, such as The 400 Blows, Amarcord and An American in Paris.
Up is easily one of the most popular animated movies of all time, and it went down a treat at Cannes despite being the first of its kind to open up the festival. The movie was also arguably the first movie predominantly aimed at children (although it is loved by adults alike) to kickstart Cannes.
Directed by Pete Docter, who also helmed Monsters Inc and wrote Toy Story, Up won ‘Best Animated Feature’ at the Academy Awards, alongside a string of other accolades. Up follows Carl, a widower, and eight-year-old Russell as they explore South America together, with the latter becoming the first Asian American character in Pixar history.
Although Up didn’t win any prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, it made history at the event nonetheless. It signalled the continuing acceptance of animated features as equal to non-animated work, suggesting that these films can be watched and enjoyed by all ages.
