Oscar-Nominated ‘A Cat in Paris’ Director Alain Gagnol Assembles A New Team For ‘Dog My Cats!’

Cannes’ Marché du Film turns into animation central this weekend, as producers, filmmakers, and investors alike gather at the well-established and recently expanded Annecy Animation Showcase.

From the sidebar’s strong line-up blending veteran directors, upcoming artists, and techniques ranging from wood stop-motion to Renaissance-infused animation, Dog My Cats! stands another solid French artistic proposal by Oscar-nominated director Alain Gagnol (A Cat in Paris), this time partnering with illustrator and comic book author Lilas Cognet (Bob Denard) as his artistic director.

Dog My Cats! follows siblings Jules and Lola, whose lives are disrupted by their grandmother’s arrival and a mysterious search for a missing teenager. As the grandma takes the two children along on her strange quest, the story unfolds into a discovery of a hidden family legacy. Oh, and Grandma can talk to both cats and dogs.

Ahead of the showcase, Cartoon Brew spoke with the team, already deep in production and making a brief yet remarkable appearance at this year’s event.

A New Trio, Born From A Mutual Love For Animation

Back in 2023, in Annecy, veteran French animator and Gagnol’s longtime collaborator Jean-Loup Felicioli announced his plans to retire. “After Jean-Loup’s decision, I had to find another person to help me bring my stories to animation,” explains Gagnol. “Graphic design is not my strong suit, and I wanted to find someone with a distinct style. What I do love about animation is the craft, the tinkering. In a way, animation is very close to early cinema.”

A history buff and graphic novel lover, Gagnol soon discovered Lilas Cognet’s latest book, Bob Denard, and reached out. He quickly discovered that Cognet shared his vision of animation as both an art and a craft, and the match was made.

“I loved A Cat in Paris,” recalls Cognet, “so I was truly happy when Alain contacted me. In truth, we had already met several times in the corridors of the Émile Cohl school in Paris, as we both teach there, but as two introverts, we hadn’t really talked before.”

For Jérôme Duc-Maugé, who produced Gagnol’s previous film, Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret, working again with this new duo has been a true pleasure.

“In fact, we already started thinking about this project as we were wrapping up Nina. Both Alain and I wanted to explore a more comedic tone with this new film while still telling the story from a child’s point of view.”

Community As A Driving Artistic Force

Blending this starting point with the road movie genre, Gagnol and Duc-Maugé set out to build this new universe, which also marks Lilas Cognet’s animation debut.

“It’s a discovery with every step, and I find it truly enriching,” she adds. “Conceiving animation is very different from building an image, as I have to think in layers instead of drawing the entire illustration at the same time. It’s a very different path to achieving a complete work, but it’s one I enjoy a lot.”

Used to drawing alone, Cognet underlines how good it feels to be part of the artistic community behind an animated feature production. “Sometimes, it’s hard to find motivation alone. But having this team with me has been a great experience so far.”

Short Timeframes, Big Ideas

Diving deeper into the production process, the team detailed their precise workflow, which had to be put in place quite quickly.

Cognet drew around 150 reference drawings on MBM Arches paper using a sable-hair brush, watercolor ink, and black pencil lines. After that, the digital adaptation was handled mainly in Photoshop, TVPaint, and After Effects, with a few 3D elements and 2D-style VFX added.

“With Lilas, every frame is a painting,” adds Duc-Maugé, quoting Gagnol. “She has a knack for lighting, framing, and building an atmosphere between realism and dreamscape ambiance. Our first challenge was to match this level of work in our production values, find the right tools, and bring Lilas’ style to life.”

A Star-Studded French Cast

Recording the voices beforehand gave the characters a strong on-screen presence, the team adds.

“I give great importance to how my characters sound,” says Gagnol, “and it had to be the same with this new project. There are many different soundscapes in the film, as we travel from one place to another and inside the car, and having these great actors on board was also a blessing.”

Josiane Balasko plays the grandmother, while Golshifteh Farahani’s voice perfectly suits the cat character. Versatile and eccentric French singer-songwriter-actor Philippe Katerine brings the dog to life, making for a lovable and witty trio.

“Today, Our Main Challenge Is to Build Awareness”

With only a few weeks remaining in the animation phase, the team has already begun coloring and compositing as they head to Cannes with an open mind.

“The good thing is that we’re already well into production and secured financing a long time ago,” says Duc-Maugé. “That is also thanks to our Belgian partners UMedia and producer Cédric Iland, who will be joining me for the showcase. I feel very lucky to have him on board, and he came in as our first active partner after reading the script. Beyond that, Alain is a renowned filmmaker, Lilas is a great artist, and I’m confident this story will appeal to many.”

Yet for Duc-Maugé, bringing the film to Cannes is not only a great opportunity, it is also a mandatory step in an increasingly competitive market.

“We’re not looking for gap financing, but building awareness very early on about the film is key to bringing it to French and international audiences in the near future. In France, KMBO is already presenting the film to theaters and other circuits. Getting the word out and teasing the film directly to those key players is very important to us today.”

A heartwarming 2D story set for release in 2027, which Cartoon Brew has been tracking since its first appearance at Cartoon Movie 2024, Dog My Cats! is produced by Parmi les lucioles films with Canadian and Belgian partners, with KMBO distributing in France and handling international sales.