The Annecy Animation Showcase 2026 has spotlighted the upcoming project from Oscar-nominated French director Alain Gagnol. His new film, titled Dog My Cats!, was shown in a special session. The film promises to continue the line of traditional animation and sensitive storytelling that characterizes the filmmaker. The presentation has generated excitement within the industry.
A mix of traditional 2D techniques and digital tools 🎨
The production team has detailed a process that combines hand-drawing with an optimized digital pipeline. Backgrounds are painted traditionally and then scanned for composition and color treatment in specialized software. Character animation is done entirely digitally, but maintains a line and fluidity that emulates work on paper. This hybrid approach seeks efficiency without losing artisanal warmth.
Cats that animate more than some studios with supercomputers 😼
It is striking that a project with an apparently simple style and a presumably lean team captures so much attention at a festival full of hyper-technological productions. While some studios boast of render farms that consume the energy of a small town, Gagnol and his team seem to create magic with pencils, a tablet, and a solid idea. Perhaps the secret is not in the teraflops, but in the ability to tell a story that connects. A humble lesson for the industry.