Oscar-nominated director Alain Gagnol, known for A Cat in Paris, embarks on a new animated project titled Dog My Cats!. Following the retirement of his collaborator Jean-Loup Felicioli, Gagnol has formed a creative team with illustrator and comic book author Lilas Cognet, who serves as art director. The plot follows siblings Jules and Lola, whose lives change when their grandmother, who can talk to dogs and cats, takes them to search for a missing teenager, revealing a hidden family legacy.
Animation and Design: The Challenge of Blending Styles 🎨
Gagnol and Cognet face the challenge of merging the former's elegant, cinematic linework with the latter's narrative and graphic style, rooted in comics. The production leverages 2D digital animation techniques with a focus on handcrafted textures, seeking a visual contrast between the siblings' real world and the fantasy of animal communication. The team has developed specific rigging for dog and cat movements, ensuring expressiveness without falling into excessive realism. The color palette, according to studio sources, alternates warm tones for family relationships and cool tones for moments of mystery.
When Your Grandma Understands Your Pet Better Than You Do 🐾
Finally, a movie that explains why your cat looks at you with disdain: turns out it has classified information about a missing teenager. The polyglot grandmother of dogs and cats promises to be the sanest character in the show, which says a lot about the rest of the family. While siblings Jules and Lola discover their hidden legacy, one can't help but wonder if the true inheritance will finally be understanding why dogs chase their own tails. Spoiler: probably not.