Paul Grimault

Paul Grimault (French: [ɡʁimo]; 23 March 1905 – 29 March 1994) was a French animator and filmmaker. He was known for creating traditionally animated films that were delicate in style, satirical, and lyrical. His most important work is The King and the Mockingbird (Le Roi et l'Oiseau), which ultimately took over 30 years to produce. He began it as La Bergère et le Ramoneur (The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep) in 1948, and it was highly anticipated, but Grimault's partner André Sarrut showed the film unfinished in 1952, against Grimault's wishes. This caused a rift between partners and a stop in production. In 1967, Grimault got possession of the film and subsequently was able to complete it in 1980 under a new title, Le Roi et l'oiseau, incorporating some footage from the original and re-hiring the original animators, together with some new, younger ones. There are many names for it in English that have been used in various releases, including: The King and the Bird (literal), The King and the Mockingbird, The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird and The King and Mr. Bird (1980). He also collected his best shorts in a retrospective compilation movie, La table tournante (1988), which is included in the deluxe edition of Le Roi et l'oiseau. For a detailed bibliography, see this reference.