I think the same goes for its hand-drawn technique, which like your wondrous Ernest and Celestine enhances the experience, especially the comedy.īenjamin Renner: In France, I think we’re continuing to make strong, important animation in the 2d tradition, but this is also because of budget. So we decided to take a more natural approach, which may be more pleasant for them to experience. So you don’t necessarily have to target kids in those ways if the jokes are good, kids will like it, and so will everyone else.īenjamin Renner: Plus, parents can get annoyed by those cartoon voices. Patrick Imbert: We also made the choice to use realistic voices, rather than the cartoonish voices we’re used to hearing, and the kids really liked it. It’s relieving to see that in some way we succeeded. But I was surprised to find that even very young children were enjoying it, so when we decided to adapt the graphic novel into animation, we kept that intention to appeal to all ages.

When I finished the graphic novel, I was afraid children wouldn’t like it, because its comedy was intended for adults. It wasn’t necessarily a strategy, but it was our intention to be earnest. There’s something for everyone…īenjamin Renner: Thank you, because that is exactly what we were going for. Directors Patrick Imbert (l) and Benjamin Renner.īig Bad Fox has cross-demographic appeal. Maybe you can’t do such things in cinema. A show like The Amazing World of Gumball is really amazing, but it’s on tv. Patrick Imbert: I think it’s sometimes different with television. I wanted Big Bad Fox to be a lighthearted comedy, so that’s how we approached the tone of the film. Animated films have to make money, so they usually have to be strong epics with multiple characters. marketplace.īenjamin Renner: I guess it’s somewhat difficult these days.

Its patient gags stand apart from most animated features in the U.S.

I was raised on those cartoons and their comedy, so in a way I wanted to pay respect. Cartoon Brew spoke by phone with Renner and Imbert (who also served as animation director for the bleaker April and the Extraordinary World) about the Annie-nominated Big Bad Fox, the industry of animation in America and France, their utopian new studio (courtesy of super-producer Didier Brunner), and more.Ĭartoon Brew: You’ve said Big Bad Fox is inspired by the animation of Tex Avery and other Looney Tunes greats.īenjamin Renner: I’ve always been influenced by and connected to the cartoons that I loved as a kid, including Looney Tunes, Silly Symphonies, and work like that.

The Big Bad Fox by Benjamin Renner