Animated Films Make Their Marks Across Cannes Lineups as the Croisette-to-Annecy Connection Strengthens

Toons boom across the Croisette this year, with colorful features opening Critics’ Week, closing Directors’ Fortnight, and appearing across nearly every section — further cementing Cannes’ status as a premier launchpad for animated cinema.

Cannes’ position now feels secure, though its rise has been unusually fast. Earlier breakouts like “My Life as a Zucchini” (2016) “Mirai” (2018) and” I Lost My Body” (2019) ushered sophisticated international fare into awards conversations, even as programers were slower to seize on those gains. As recently as 2023, two local producers unions authored an open letter criticizing Cannes for not programing a single animated title in its main selections.

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“We needed visibility and recognition,” says Miyu Prods. founder Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, who chaired the French independent producers union at the time. “I’m not saying that letter changed everything, but there was definitely a moment when the French industry united around the idea that animation needed to be more present at Cannes.”

The response was swift, reinforced by market momentum. The following year, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” landed in competition, while “Flow” emerged from Un Certain Regard to become a global breakout, drawing 8.2 million admissions worldwide and winning the Oscar, setting a new benchmark for European animation. Those successes helped open the floodgates for 10 animated titles premiering this year.

Six of those films will play in competition at Annecy — among them “We Are Aliens,” “In Waves” and “Viva Carmen” — reflecting a closer alignment between the two festivals that has strengthened the wider ecosystem.

“Annecy anchors you within the animation world,” Raynal explains. “But it doesn’t really place you in the wider industry. Cannes is different. Returning there regularly gives you broader legitimacy with companies, key talent and financiers. That reach is something else entirely.”

Together, Cannes and Annecy now function as a reinforcing pipeline for producers like Raynal, where festival prestige leads to larger co-productions, broader financing opportunities, and greater international visibility — all feeding back into further festival success. “We Are Aliens,” for instance, is one of Miyu’s two Franco-Japanese co-productions this year, while the company’s previous title, “A New Dawn,” recently premiered in competition at Berlin.

“We’re no longer in the old logic of ‘let’s reserve one family slot for kids,’” says Charades co-founder Yohann Comte, who handled sales on “I Lost My Body” and “Flow.” “We’re seeing a much broader wave of ambitious adult animation, and festivals are far more open to it than before.”

Comte says visibility is reshaping the market. “These films are still hard to finance, but when titles like ‘Flow’ break through, distributors and sales agents pay attention. More buyers come in, minimum guarantees go up, and financiers become more willing to back ambitious projects. Sales agents spend more upfront, but that’s very good news for producers.”

This year, Charades is handling “In Waves” and “Tangles,” two projects with English-language casts and literary pedigree. Where Cannes once helped push European and Japanese animation into the U.S. awards circuit, prestige animation now targets the Croisette directly.

“Cannes is now a place people look for animation,” says one senior awards strategist. “Playing there opens doors, lowers resistance, and gets people to watch, support, and program it. Just saying ‘Cannes’ immediately changes the conversation.”

So those with projects in the pipeline can take comfort in one insider’s broader ambition.

“I am fundamentally opposed to a token animation slot,” says Directors’ Fortnight head Julien Rejl, who selected three titles from around 30 submissions — a record for the sidebar. “If one day we receive ten ambitious, compelling animated features, then we select all 10. Cannes is a festival of filmmakers and authors, whatever the format.”