Sylvain Chomet's New Film - The Illusionist

Sylvain Chomet is set to complete his follow-up film since 2003's Triplets of Bellville.  Scotland Herald has the details, as well as the first images from the film.  Bellville was a favorite movie of mine and I was lucky enough to watch it at the Lagoon Theatre in Minneapolis.  Unfortunately, I was stuck in a crowd of humorless hipster snobs who were offended at my laughter.  Whatever.  Chomet's movies are a celebration of life.  You can't help but laugh.

The Herald proclaims that The Illusionist could become a classic of Scottish cinema:

The Illusionist tells the story of an old-fashioned entertainer in Scotland who struggles to find his place in the world as the public deserts his act in favour of rock ’n’ roll. Marginalised, his life changes when he meets a young fan.

The film, animated in old-style 2D, was made primarily in Edinburgh at ­Chomet’s Django Films studios above a pub on George Street, with further work done by ink.digital in Dundee and in Paris.

The film’s production team spent £8 million directly in Scotland. ­Scottish Screen, the national film agency, has confirmed that this makes The ­Illusionist the biggest-ever spend on a film here. The Illusionist’s overall budget was “significantly north of £10 million”, according to the film’s producer, Bob Last.

The film industry expected The Illusionist to be unveiled at several festivals last year. It was rumoured to appear at Cannes, then Venice, and it almost made it to Toronto. Last week, however, it was confirmed that the film would finally show in Berlin, which runs from February 11-20.

Mr Last said: “When you technically push the boundaries of any given medium, there are unexpected obstacles that have resulted in delays to the movie. We’re very pleased we’ve completed it without compromising our production.”

An animation movie set in Scotland?  I guess this means I'll have to arrive at the cinema in the MacInnes team colors.  But I'm not wearing ths kilt.