Michel Ocelot (born 27 October 1943 in Villefranche-sur-Mer) is a French animation director, animator, writer, designer, storyboard artist and former president of the International Animated Film Association.
He is best known for his 1998 debut feature Kirikou and the Sorceress, though his earlier short film and television works had already won Césars and British Academy Film Awards (among others), and he specializes in Fairy Tales drawing inspiration from all continents. He spent a part of his childhood in West Africa, hence said inspirations.
While he's a household name (he's a strong contender for the most famous French animation director one can name for the past three decades) in continental Europe and in Japan (Isao Takahata admired him and had Studio Ghibli distribute his films there), he's had a harder time to become known in the English-speaking world (mostly due to reactions to the National Geographic Nudity in Kirikou and All-CGI Cartoon dominating the animation landscape).
Works he's directed include:
Animated Feature Films:- Kirikou series:
- Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)
- Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005)
- Kirikou and the Men and Women (2012)
- Princes and Princesses
- Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest (2006)
- Tales of the Night (2011)
- Ivan Tsarevich and the Changing Princess (2016)
- Dilili in Paris (2018)
- The Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess (2022)
Animated Series:
- The Adventures of Gédéon (1976)
- The Insensitive Princess (1986)
- Ciné Si (1989, re-relased as a Compilation Movie, Princes and Princesses)
- Dragons and Princesses (2010)
Others:
- "Earth Intruders" by Björk (music video, 2007)
