Another distinguished and mesmerising animation from celebrated filmmaker Jean-François Laguionie (The Painting, NZIFF12), with co-direction by Xavier Picard, The Prince’s Voyage is a unique and astute tale of friendship, tolerance and revelation.
Laguionie and co-director Xavier Picard… have created a very special, thought-provoking adventure that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2020
The Prince's Voyage 2019
Le voyage du prince
After an aging monkey prince washes up injured in an unfamiliar land, he is rescued by Tom, the sharp and inquisitive chimp-kid of two scientists, who have their own interest in the curious newcomer. As the intrepid boy and the wise royal embark on a series of brilliant escapades, their capacity for mutual respect and understanding begins to break down the borders between their worlds.
With cross-generational connection and acceptance of difference at its thoughtful heart, this beautifully hand-drawn philosophical fable will also delight film buffs with its nods to cinema history, from The Planet of the Apes, to Tarzan, to King Kong and Alexander Nevsky. — Nic Marshall
“Jean-François Laguionie is a world-renowned master of French animation whose major works are all characterised by an air or style that is difficult to pinpoint – at some moments they strongly resemble fairy tales, at others they’re more like science-fiction epics; invariably, though, at the core of it all, there’s a mythology whose realisation has earned him many fans. He gives us something extremely rare: adult animations that children and youngsters can thoroughly enjoy as well.” — International Film Festival Rotterdam
About the Filmmakers
Jean-François Laguionie is a renowned French film director and producer of animation. He is a protégé of legendary animator Paul Grimault, who produced his first work, The Lady and the Cellist (1965). In 1978 he won the Short Film Palme d’Or for Rowing Across the Atlantic. Selected filmography: Louise by the Shore (2016), The Painting (2011), Gwen, The Book of Sand (1985).
Xavier Picard is a French animation director. His credits include Moomins on the Riviera (2014), Littlest Pet Shop (1995) and the series King Arthur and the Knights of Justice. The Prince’s Voyage is his first collaboration with Jean-François Laguionie.