Folimage
Corporate brand
UnclaimedFolimage is a French animation studio producing short films, television programming, specials, and feature-length animated films.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Folimage is a French animation production studio founded in 1981 by animator and filmmaker Jacques-Rémy Girerd. Based in Bourg-lès-Valence in the Drôme region, the studio has developed a broad body of work spanning theatrical animated features, short films, television specials, and animated series. Its catalogue includes both creator-led projects and productions made with international artistic collaborators, reflecting the studio's position within France's auteur-oriented animation sector. The company became known for combining distinctive visual styles with accessible storytelling for children and families. Its short-film work includes productions such as The Elephant and the Whale, The Little Circus and Other Tales, Amerlock, The Wall, The Monk and the Fish, At the Ends of the Earth, and Tragic Story with Happy Ending. Several of these projects were directed by filmmakers who later became recognized figures in international animation, including Michaël Dudok de Wit, Konstantin Bronzit, and Regina Pessoa. This short-form activity helped establish Folimage as a production environment for independent animation and festival-oriented work. Folimage also built a substantial television business. Its credits include television specials such as Charlie's Christmas, Spud and the Vegetable Garden, Leon in Wintertime, and Molly in Springtime, together with series including Ariol, Hilltop Hospital, My Little Planet, Tidbits for Toddlers, The Joy of Life, and My Donkey. These projects show the studio's ability to work across different formats, episode lengths, audiences, and broadcast requirements. Ariol, based on the character created by Emmanuel Guibert and Marc Boutavant, was broadcast on the French channel TF1 during the 2009–2010 period. The studio's feature-film activity includes Raining Cats and Frogs, Mia and the Migoo, A Cat in Paris, Aunt Hilda!, and Phantom Boy. Mia and the Migoo received the European Film Award for Best European Animated Feature Film in 2009. A Cat in Paris, directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2012. These titles strengthened Folimage's international profile and demonstrated its capacity to produce films combining hand-crafted animation aesthetics, family themes, social concerns, and visually inventive storytelling. In 1999, Folimage established La Poudrière, an animation school in Valence. The school expanded the studio's role beyond production into professional training and helped reinforce Valence as a location for animation education and creative development. In 2009, Folimage and La Poudrière moved to La Cartoucherie, a former munitions factory in Bourg-lès-Valence that had been converted into a cultural and creative site. The move brought production and training activities into the same animation-focused environment. Folimage's public identity is therefore associated with independent French animation, creator-driven development, family entertainment, television production, film-festival circulation, and professional education. Detailed current ownership, management, financial information, and an official corporate website were not established in the supplied reference material.
History
Folimage was founded in 1981 in France by Jacques-Rémy Girerd. From its early years, the studio concentrated on animated short films, a format that allowed directors to develop highly individual visual languages and themes. Its early credits included The Elephant and the Whale, The Little Circus and Other Tales, Amerlock, Farewell Musical, The Wall, and the Extraordinary Story of Madame Veuve Kecskemet. During the 1990s, Folimage continued to produce short-form animation, including A Pleasant Day, The Monk and the Fish, The Shelter, Winged Words, The Great Migration, and At the Ends of the Earth. The studio's short-film catalogue connected it with a range of French and international animation directors. The Monk and the Fish was directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit, while At the Ends of the Earth was directed by Konstantin Bronzit. Regina Pessoa's Tragic Story with Happy Ending, released in 2005, further illustrated Folimage's interest in visually distinctive, festival-oriented animation. This body of work helped establish the company as a producer of independent animation rather than solely as a supplier of conventional television cartoons. Folimage broadened its format range through television specials and series. Charlie's Christmas was released as a medium-length television special in 1998, followed by productions such as Spud and the Vegetable Garden, Leon in Wintertime, and Molly in Springtime. The studio's television credits also include Hilltop Hospital, My Little Planet, Tidbits for Toddlers, The Joy of Life, My Donkey, and Ariol. Ariol comprised 78 episodes and was broadcast on TF1 during 2009 and 2010. These projects placed Folimage within the French and European children's television production ecosystem while preserving the studio's emphasis on animation-led storytelling. In 1999, Folimage founded La Poudrière, an animation school located in Valence. The institution became an important extension of the company's creative and professional mission, providing training in animation and helping sustain a local production community. In 2009, Folimage and La Poudrière moved to La Cartoucherie in Bourg-lès-Valence. The site, formerly a munitions factory, was repurposed as a cultural and creative complex and became associated with animation production and education in the region. Folimage entered feature-film production with Raining Cats and Frogs, directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd and released in 2003. The studio followed it with Mia and the Migoo in 2008, also directed by Girerd. Mia and the Migoo received the 2009 European Film Award for Best European Animated Feature Film. A Cat in Paris, directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, was released in France in December 2010 and later received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film in 2012. Folimage subsequently produced Aunt Hilda!, directed by Girerd and released in 2014, and Phantom Boy, directed by Gagnol and Felicioli and released in 2015. Across these decades, Folimage developed a recognizable role in French animation: it combined short-film experimentation, television production, family-oriented feature films, and education. Its films reached audiences outside France through festival exposure, awards recognition, and international distribution. The supplied reference material does not establish detailed information about current ownership, current executives, financial results, or the studio's present production slate.
- 2015
Phantom Boy
[1]Folimage releases Phantom Boy, directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli.
- 2014
Aunt Hilda!
[1]Folimage releases the feature film Aunt Hilda!, directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd.
- 2012
Academy Award nomination
[1]A Cat in Paris receives an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.
- 2010
A Cat in Paris
[1]A Cat in Paris is released in French cinemas.
- 2009
Move to La Cartoucherie
[1]Folimage and La Poudrière relocate to La Cartoucherie in Bourg-lès-Valence.
- 2008
Mia and the Migoo
[1]Folimage releases Jacques-Rémy Girerd's animated feature Mia and the Migoo.
- 2003
First listed feature film
[1]Raining Cats and Frogs, directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd, is released.
- 1999
La Poudrière is founded
[1]Folimage establishes an animation school in Valence.
- 1994
The Monk and the Fish
[1]Folimage produces Michaël Dudok de Wit's short film The Monk and the Fish.
- 1986
Early short-film production
[1]The studio releases The Elephant and the Whale and The Little Circus and Other Tales.
Products and positioning
French independent animation studio focused on auteur-led short films, family-oriented television content, and internationally distributed animated features, with an additional role in animation education through La Poudrière.
Animated short films · 1986
Short films
Folimage's short-film catalogue includes creator-led and artistically experimental works such as The Elephant and the Whale, The Little Circus and Other Tales, The Wall, The Monk and the Fish, At the Ends of the Earth, and Tragic Story with Happy Ending. These productions span multiple animation approaches and have involved directors from France and other countries.
Animated television specials · 1998
Television specials
Folimage has produced medium-length animated television programmes, including Charlie's Christmas, Spud and the Vegetable Garden, Leon in Wintertime, and Molly in Springtime. The specials are generally family-oriented and demonstrate the studio's ability to develop contained stories for broadcast scheduling.
Animated television series · 1998
Television series
The studio's television-series credits include Hilltop Hospital, My Little Planet, Tidbits for Toddlers, The Joy of Life, My Donkey, and Ariol. Ariol comprised 78 episodes and was broadcast on TF1 in the 2009–2010 period, illustrating Folimage's work in serialized children's animation.
Animated feature film · 2003
Raining Cats and Frogs
Raining Cats and Frogs, also known by its French title La Prophétie des grenouilles, is a feature-length animated film directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd. It is one of Folimage's early listed theatrical features and reflects the studio's interest in combining family storytelling with ecological and social themes.
Animated feature film · 2008
Mia and the Migoo
Mia and the Migoo is a feature-length animated film directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd. Released in 2008, it received the European Film Award for Best European Animated Feature Film in 2009 and became one of Folimage's most internationally recognized productions.
Animated feature film · 2010
A Cat in Paris
A Cat in Paris, or Une vie de chat, was directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli. The film reached French cinemas in December 2010 and later received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film in 2012, giving Folimage significant international awards visibility.
Animated feature film · 2014
Aunt Hilda!
Aunt Hilda!, or Tante Hilda!, is a feature-length animated film directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd. It forms part of Folimage's environmentally and socially conscious family-film output.
Animated feature film · 2015
Phantom Boy
Phantom Boy is an animated feature directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli. Released in 2015, it continued the studio's collaboration with the filmmakers associated with A Cat in Paris.
Animation education · 1999
La Poudrière
La Poudrière is an animation school founded by Folimage in Valence in 1999. It extends the studio's activities into professional training and contributes to the development of an animation production and education community in the Drôme region.
Brand decisions
2009
Relocation to La CartoucherieStrategyBackground
Folimage and La Poudrière required a shared base for production and educational activity.
Action taken
Both organizations moved to La Cartoucherie, a former munitions factory in Bourg-lès-Valence that had been converted into a creative site.
Aftermath
The move consolidated Folimage and La Poudrière within a regional animation and cultural complex.
1999
Expansion into animation educationStrategyBackground
Folimage had established itself as an animation producer and expanded its institutional role by creating an animation school in Valence.
Action taken
The company founded La Poudrière, an animation school intended to provide professional training.
Aftermath
La Poudrière became a continuing part of the animation ecosystem associated with Folimage and Valence.
Sources1 sources
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