Michaël Dudok de Wit

Dudok de Wit at the 2016 Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Michael Dudok de Wit (July 15th, 1953, Abcoude) is a Dutch animator, director and illustrator based in London.

Biography

After his high school education in the Netherlands, Dudok de Wit attended the Geneva School of Fine Arts. In 1978, he graduated from the West Surrey College of Art (now the University for the Creative Arts) with his first film The Interview. After working for a year in Barcelona, he settled in London where he directs and animates award-winning commercials for television and cinema. In 1992, he created the short film Tom Sweep, followed by The Monk and the Fish (1994), which was made in France with the studio Folimage. This film was nominated for an Oscar and has won numerous prizes including a César Award for Best Short Film and the Cartoon d'or. Michael also writes and illustrates children's picture books and teaches animation at art colleges in England and abroad.

Works

His most well-known film Father and Daughter (2000) won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, the Grand Prix at Annecy, and dozens of other major awards. His most recent short film is "The Aroma of Tea" (2006), drawn entirely with tea.

All of his films since Tom Sweep feature Michael's trademark brush stroke drawing and his use of ink and watercolour, very much inspired by Chinese and Japanese art.

His films: The Monk and the Fish and Father and Daughter were included in the Animation Show of Shows.

The Red Turtle, released in 2016, is his first feature length work.

Filmography

Animation

• "The Interview" (1978)
• "Tom Sweep" (1992), 3 minutes
• "The Monk and the Fish" (Le Moine et le poisson) (1994), 6 minutes
• "Father and Daughter" (2000), 8:30 minutes
• "The Aroma of Tea" (2006), 3:20 minutes
• "The Red Turtle" (2016), feature length

Commercials 1985-2002

• "Actifed Germ" The Welcome Foundation, Cough Medicine
• "Heinz Egg" Heinz Salad Cream
• "The Long Sleep" Mcallan Malt Whiskey
• "VW Sunrise" Volkswagen
• "Pink Foot" Owen's Corning Roof Insulation
• "Smart Illusions" Nestlé Smarties
• "Noah" The Irish Lottery"
• "AT&T" five TV commercials
• "A Life" United Airlines
• and many others

Film and Television Specials Animation Contributions

• The Canterbury Tales/The Knight's Tale (Television Series, Pizazz/S4C, UK)
• The Lion, the Watch and The Wardrobe (TV Feature, US, UK and Spain) 1980
• Heavy Metal (Film featuring the animation of Gerald Potterton, Canada, US & UK) 1980
• Mickey's Audition (Mickey Mouse Special, Disney, US) 1989
• Prince Cinders (Television special, UK) 1991
• Beauty and the Beast (Storyboarding, Disney Feature, US) 1992
• T.R.A.N.S.I.T. (Short film directed by Piet Kroon, UK and NL) 1997
• Charlie's Christmas (Television Special, Folimage, France) 1998
• Fantasia Continued (Disney Feature) 2000
• Raining Cats and Frogs (Folimage) 2003

Illustrations in books

• "Snakes and Ladders" (card game, 1991)
• "The History of Geneva" (Editions Chenoises, Geneva 1991)
• "Oscar & Hoo" (Harper Collins 2001) ISBN 3-7941-5022-8 (translated in various languages)
• "Oscar and Hoo Forever"(Harper Collins 2003) ISBN 0-00-714008-8 (translated in various languages)
• "Vader en dochter" (Leopold, NL, 2001) ISBN 90-258-3494-9 (translated in various languages)
• "Vier bevertjes in de nacht" (Leopold, NL, 2004) ISBN 90-74336-90-6 (translated in various languages)
• "Vier bevertjes en een kastanje" (Leopold, NL, 2007) ISBN 978-90-258-5030-2 (translated in various languages)

References

• Olivier Cotte (2007) Secrets of Oscar-winning animation: Behind the scenes of 13 classic short animations. (Making of '"Father and Daughter") Focal Press. ISBN 978-0-240-52070-4

External links

• Official Web site
• Michaël Dudok de Wit at the Internet Movie Database
• Michaël Dudok de Wit at USA representative Acme Filmworks
• Cartoon d'or