Chomet mixes three dimensional and hand - drawn animation to tell a heart warming story, they have no real dialogue so relies on body movements and exaggeration. "Chomet's wonderful artwork and lively characters and worlds make for an incredible viewing experience. It's not easy to create a film with no dialogue-not to mention an animated film... His characters' actions speak louder than words ever could..." (WordPress, 2011) Chomet's film return to the familiar technique of a silent movie but the performance is not forced, it is left to play out between the interaction of the characters. The Illusionist shares the bond between the small girl and the old entertainer which could have been received out of context but Chomet has created a real bond and understanding of the characters. "The Illusionist amounts to a quiet act of defiance with its hand-drawn tale of an ageing, outmoded music-hall entertainer. The Illusionist is sweet and sad and shackled to the past." (Brooks, 2010) The evindence siginifies how the story's back log makes the Illusionist inviting but also sad when the viewer realises the truth with the ending scene and the photograph but Chomet's intention is not to disturb the audience but draw them into the world of rich colour and warm characters.
Figure 1, (2010) The Illusionist still 1
Figure 2, (2011), The Illusionist still 2
Chomet's other examples also express the mix of styles, for example The Triplets of Belleville which allowed him to become introduced to a much wider audience but the story is not in the same league as The Illusionist. "A gorgeous mix of hand drawn animation, CGI, and video, Sylvain Chomet's wild adventure is a beautifully rendered odyssey that delights with humour and flair, even if it doesn't make a lick of sense in terms of intent." (Leo, 2004) Chomet created a great mix of 2D and 3D that allowed the worlds to feel life-like and experimented with this style across all his animations but it wasn't until the illusionist that this technique and the narrative came together as a full performance.
Figure 3, (2003), The Triplets of Belleville
Figure 4, (2011), The Old Lady and the Pigeons
Illustrations
Figure 1, (2010) The Illusionist still 1,@ http://www.awardsdaily.com/2010/03/sylvain-chomet%E2%80%99s-the-illusionist/, Accessed on: 22nd March 2010
Figure 2, (2011), The Illusionist still 2, @ http://www.daemonsmovies.com/2010/04/20/lillusionniste-the-illusionist-29-movie-photos/, Accessed on: 2007
Figure 3, (2003), The Triplets of Belleville, @ http://www.awn.com/articles/people/sylvain-chomet-s-ithe-triplets-bellevillei, Accessed on: 20th November 2003
Figure 4, (2011), The Old Lady and the Pigeons, @ http://www.atpfestival.com/events/illbeyourmirrorjapan/view/filmsinfo.php, Accessed on: 16th February 2011
Bibliography
Brooks Xan, (2010), The Guardian, @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jun/16/the-illusionist-sylvain-chomet-review, Accessed on:17th June 2010
Leo Vince, (2004), The Triplets of Belleville (2003), @ http://www.qwipster.net/triplets.htm, Accessed on: 2004
WordPress reviewer, (2011), All Film Reviews - The Illusionist, @ http://allfilmreviews.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/the-illusionist-sylvain-chomet2010/, Accessed on: 3rd March 2011
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