History of Hungarian animation

The history of Hungarian animation begins in 1914 and carries through to the modern day. Starting with short promotional cartoons prior to the two World Wars, Hungarian animation underwent a sporadic and halting development during the turbulent war years which were characterized in large part by the emigration of much of the field's top talent. This exodus slowed dramatically during the 1950s when the Hungarian Communist Party took power and the Iron Curtain took shape.

With Communism came nationalization of the Hungarian animation studio—a fact that was to prove a mixed blessing for the nascent industry. While political pressures would strongly dictate the kinds of topics that animation could cover in the early years, state funding meant that even the relatively small postwar nation would be able to prove itself on the international stage.Hankiss, Elemér. A kiválóság szigete. FilmKultúra. 2000.Dizseri, Eszter. Kockáról kockára : a magyar animáció krónikája 1948-1998. Balassi Kiadó. Budapest. 1999. Indeed, subsequent to the 1956 revolution, the softening effects of Goulash Communism helped enable artists to begin to express themselves such that by the late 1970s, Pannónia Film Stúdió would rank among the top 5 major cartoon studios alongside Walt Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Soyuzmultfilm, and Toei.Lendvai, Erzsi. A magyar animációs film (English: "Animated cartoons in Hungary"). FilmKultúra. 1996.

With the end of Communism in 1989, state control of the animation industry dropped away and market forces prompted the rise of numerous independent animation studios. Lacking state funding and receiving mixed international response, Hungarian animation studios today have had to develop financing strategies consisting largely of working as production and development companies performing labor-intensive animation activities such as compositioning and inking for foreign studios. Despite this, Hungarian films continue to be produced every few years.

Overview The history of Hungarian animation extends from its origin in István Kató Kiszly's 1914 cut-out caricatures to the modern time. Although a few boldly experimental films were made in the early years, it would not be until the 1930s that actual animation studios would be formed (under figures like Gyula Macskássy and János Halász) to produce promotional material in the form of newsreels and advertisements. International conflicts during both world wars as well as turbulent political climates in the pre-Iron Curtain period led to the emigration of many of Hungary's animation artists who famously established themselves in places like France, the U.K., and America. During the Communist era, all animation efforts are nationalized first as Magyar Szinkronfilmgyártó Vállalat in 1948 and later as Pannónia Film Stúdió in 1959. State control of animation on the one hand constrained artistic freedom of expression while simultaneously ensuring the survival of the medium.

During the 1950s, the first modern generation of Hungarian animators came to prominence, creating primarily short animations depicting the Hungarian folk tales and legends that would be a politically safe mainstay of Hungarian animation output throughout the Communist era. This generation would be responsible for creating the first colored animation. A second generation of animators would emerge in the 1960s under the less repressive system of Goulash Communism, and sociopolitical sentiment was for the first time gently hinted at as cartoons developed philosophical themes characterized by morbidity and black humor. Foreign animation studios began to reach out to Pannónia Film Stúdió during this period to subcontract some of the more laborious elements of cartoon production such as compositioning and inking. This introduced the concept of cartoon series/serials, and soon a number of Hungarian serials were created introducing the country's first recognizable cartoon character stars. This period also saw the production of the first adult animation. The 1970s saw the rise of a third generation of animators even more intent on commentary on the social conditions in the country. Animations during this period were often marked by a muted subsurface emphasis on anxiety and a claustrophobic fear of persecution while the animation works of older (first and second generation) animators tended to emphasize morality and a development of the grotesque. This third generation would see the emergence of the country's first feature-length films as Pannónia Film Stúdió rose to international renown as one of the top 5 major cartoon studios alongside Walt Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Soyuzmultfilm, and Toei.

The 1980s would prove to be a peak of Hungarian animation efforts. Increasingly bold use of irony and allegory portrayed the Hungarian condition under Communist rule and during this period a number of Hungarian films received high accolades and prestigious awards including Ferenc Rofusz' 1981 Oscar for A Légy ("The Fly").Howard, Doug. Beyond the frames: Will this art survive?. Business Hungary. Vol.15, No.1. American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary. January 2001. The decade would also mark a renaissance in technical experimentation with the exploration of many non-traditional graphic media such as plasticine, sand, coal, textiles, and computer animation. During this period the first feature-length films based on serials were created and proved to be quite popular. In 1989, Communist rule was cast off and with it State control of the animation arts in 1990. Due to free market pressures, a number of independent animation studios sprang up in the wake. The novel issue of commercial financing proved to be a complex one as new studios struggled to make ends meet. A variety of solutions were adopted ranging from the active courting of foreign contract work, to specialization in the labor-intensive traditional hand-animation forms, to employee ownership. In 2002, the new Hungarian government began to take a role in the medium as well with funding from the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage going toward the development of further animations of Hungarian folk tales and legends which since the Communist era have become a source of national pride.

Pre-animation history 1709 - Professor István Simándi of Sárospatak assembled and used his own projector (a variant of the magic lantern) for educational purposes. With this machine Simándi aimed to bring about the same animation effect as transparencies do today.Bartók, István. Kőszeghy, Péter, ed. Magyar Művelődéströrténeti Lexikon LX.. "Laterna Magica". Balassi Kiado. Pp.121-122. 2011. 1889 - Hungarian-born Adolph Cukor (better known as Adolph Zukor) emigrates to the United States where he becomes invested in cinema in 1903. By 1912, Cukor established Famous Players Film Company which in turn became Famous Players–Lasky and eventually Paramount Pictures. As president of Paramount, Zukor produced numerous Color Classics cartoons during the 1930s.James, Ryan. Frommer's Budapest And The Best Of Hungary: Volume 759 of Frommer's Complete. John Wiley & Sons. 2010. Dawson, Bryan. Nobel Prize Winners & Famous Hungarians. American Hungarian Federation. 2006. 1899 - Hungarian-born Margit Winkler (better known as Margaret J. Winkler) emigrates to the United States where in 1918 she becomes the first female film producer, playing an essential role in the production of Out of the Inkwell, and the early history of Felix the Cat, Krazy Kat and Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series with the help of her husband Charles Mintz.Orosz, Márton. Vissza a szülőföldre! / Back to the Homeland! . 10th Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál (KAFF) 2011. Orosz, Anna Ida and Orosz, Márton. Vissza a szülőföldre! - V. rész - Magyarok Amerikában . FilmKultura. 2011.

Early animation efforts The earliest period of Hungarian animation was marked by experimentation and the development of the first animation studio headed by pioneers, Gyula Macskássy and János Halász.Beckerman, Howard. Animation: the whole story. Allworth Press. 1 September 2003. Animations were primarily promotional in nature although throughout the 1930s more and more complex narrative structures were developed. Between 1932 and 1945, 150 promotional cartoons are produced including Családi kávépótló ("Family Coffee Substitute"), Estétől reggelig ("Evening to Morning"), A láthatatlan vendég ("Invisible Visitor"), Zeusz inkognitóban ("Zeus in Cognito"), Vidám suszterinas ("The hilarious shoemaker's boy"), Szerencsés flottás ("Lucky Jim"), and Izzó szerelem ("Glowing Love")Koltai, Ágnes. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmszemle. Filmvilág Krónika. August 1985. During the lead-up to World War II and the turbulent war years, Hungary saw an exodus of artists and filmmakers, particularly among the Hungarian Jewish population. Seeking to continue their art in less politically fraught climates, several Hungarian cartoonists began to establish studios abroad.

1914 - István Kató Kiszly, creator of weekly news bulletins, creates Hungary's first animated film—an animated cut-out cartoon entitled Zrib Ödön.Cunningham, John. Hungarian cinema: from coffee house to multiplex. Wallflower Press. 2004. For the next few years he creates several more cut-out cartoons including János Vitez (1916) and the caricatures of Marcell Vértes made in 1918 for the evening news bulletin entitled "Evening"Wright, Jean Ann. Animation writing and development: from script development to pitch. Focal Press. 31 December 2004. He would go on to animate Rómeó és Júlia ("Romeo and Juliet") in 1921, and Bogárorféum ("The Music Hall of Insects") in 1932.Napochka, Haruko. Magyar Rajfilm Történet A Dióhéjban (English: "Animation History In Hungary "). Napochka. 26 February 2011. 1914 - Painter, Móric Gábor contracts to make and produces a short animation which is lost during World War I. 1920s - Hungarian Dadaist, György Gerö creates a series of experimental animations including a short film depicting a blooming cactus. He would avoid political prison during the 1940s by committing himself to an asylum as a neurotic. Here, all traces of him were lost.Checefsky, Bruce. Béla. Seesaw Pictures. 2011. 1920 - Bohemian-born Austro-Hungarian, Berthold Bartosch emigrates to Berlin where he worked with Lotte Reininger on silhouette animation techniques before moving to Paris in 1930 to create L'Idée. 1922 - Hungarian-born Gyula Engel (anglicized as Jules Engel) emigrates to Chicago. He would move to Los Angeles in 1937 to work with Margit Winkler, eventually settling in Hollywood in the late 1930s working for Disney on Fantasia and Bambi and later founding UPA.Subotnick, Steven. Animation in the Home Digital Studio: Creation to Distribution. Focal Press. 6 January 2003. 1922 - Andor Weininger creates the earliest surviving animated film storyboard script made by a Hungarian. 1924 - Hungarian-born stop-motion animator, István Rajk (Gallicized as Étienne Raïk) settles in Paris.Orosz, Anna Ida and Orosz, Márton. Vissza a szülőföldre! - IV. rész - Magyarok Franciaországban . FilmKultura. 2011. 1928 - Graphic artist, Gyula Macskássy meets János Halász at Műhely, a Bauhaus art studio run by Sándor Bortnyik. Here, short experimental animations are produced under Bortnyik's direction including a piece drawn by Halász depicting a chicken walking in front of an egg—originally intended to become part of the chicken csárdás scene in Bortnyik's unreleased Királyfi és a Hattyútündér ("The Prince and the Swan Fairy").Orosz, Anna Ida and Orosz, Márton. Vissza a szülőföldre! - I. rész - Halász János - John Halas . FilmKultura. 2011. Only a few fragments of Bortnyk's films remain today. 1929 - Painter, Róbert Berény joins Endre Gál's special effects atelier, Pantofilm, to produce limited animations including Az okos kandúr ("The Clever Tomcat"), and Sabol rovarirtó ("Sabol Insect Repellent").