Ellipse Preps Yakari 2

Ellipse Animation is heading to Cartoon Movie, where it will present its new feature in development Yakari 2 (w.t.).

This marks the second film inspired by the famous comic book character and his world, created by Derib & Job (5 million copies sold to date). It is co-produced with Belvision in Belgium and written and directed by Xavier Giacometti, as was the previous film.

The film will be made in France, at Ellipse Studio Angoulême, and in Belgium, at DreamWall.

“The very promising success of Yakari, a spectacular journey during the summer of 2020, encouraged us take on a new project, to continue this exciting adventure,” said Caroline Audebert, managing director of Ellipse Animation. “Despite the film being released during the pandemic, the film had 350,000 entries in French cinemas and had a good start in Germany, with over 150,000 entries in just three days, until the theaters had to close. Yakari was the second most exported French animated feature in 2021.”

“Cartoon Movie’s choice to have Yakari 2 among the pitches of the year, and the nomination of the film for the Eurimages Coproduction Development prize, are our first totems. We are very happy that their positive energy is boosting our new feature,” she added.

Giacometti said, “In the first film, we paid tribute to Derib’s style in the comic book. Even though the animation is 3D, the film kept a 2D appearance. For this new film, I wanted a radical change, a new, deeper and more international dimension. We have abandoned the outlines and flat colors for something with more volume, much more texture, and most of the backgrounds will be made in 3D. There will also be the work of a real cinematographer on the depth, the lenses and integration.”