This unique survey of the career of Michael Dudok de Wit discusses all of his works and offers a glimpse into his private life. The biography of this European master of 2D animation, born in the Netherlands and based in London, is the first complete overview of the well-defined and canonic opus of this humble genius. Visually and thematically, Dudok de Wit’s poetic and singular style of animation differs from the rest of contemporary independent animation production. This book reveals what still challenges and thrills Dudok de Wit in the art of animation and why he persistently continues to believe in the beauty of hand-drawn animation.
Key Features
- The complete animation production of Michael Dudok de Wit, never-before reviewed in one volume
- An all-embracing approach regarding this auteur, unavailable elsewhere in one place (his biography, his peculiar method of work, his extracurricular activities)
- An ad hoc glossary of animation written by Michael Dudok de Wit and a critical reception of his body of work with a wide contribution of his colleagues and collaborators
- Filmography and bibliography
Author
Andrijana Ružić graduated in History and Criticism of Art at the Universita degli Studi in Milan, Italy, where she fell in love with the medium of animation. She specialised in the History of Animated Film under Giannalberto Bendazzi’s mentorship. For the past six years, she has curated the section dedicated to animated films at the International Comics Festival in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a member of the Selection Board of Animafest Scanner, the symposium for Contemporary Animation Studies at the World Festival of Animated Film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. She writes about animation and art for the Belgrade weekly magazine Vreme.
Chapter 1 Biographical Notes 1
Chapter 2 Animating Commercials for Advertising Agencies 15
Chapter 3 The Monk and the Fish (1994) – The Rise above Dualism 25
Chapter 4 Father and Daughter (2002) – Biography of Longing 43
Chapter 5 The Aroma of Tea (2006) – A Blissful Experience 75
Chapter 6 Coronation of a Dream The Making of The Red Turtle – Michael Dudok de Wit's 10 Year-Long “Exciting Challenge”, set by Studio Ghibli and Completed in Europe 83
Chapter 7 Epilogue by Yuri Norstein 117
Biography
Andrijana Ružić graduated in History and Criticism of Art at the Università degli Studi in Milan, Italy. She specialized in History of animated film under professor Giannalberto Bendazzi. The subject of her thesis was the opus of John and Faith Hubley. In the last six years she is a curator of the program dedicated to animated film on the International Comics Festival in Belgrade. She lives in Milan, Italy where she continues to publish and write studies, articles and essays about animated films of independent authors.
