France can compete with the Hollywood studios in terms of animation savoir-faire, but not in terms of box-office figures. France is a small country, and the Americans are the masters of the world - for cinema, it's true.

Fairy tales have a hidden power, and their appeal never ends. They're the best way to get messages across.

The film industry needs to find a way to bring audiences to movie theaters. It's more of a technical trick than a revolution.

I'm a sorcerer because I start with nothing, and then, eventually, there is something. And I touch you, I move you, I make you laugh or cry, and you believe in what's happening on the screen, although I always show it's invented.

The quality and success of Disney was actually bad for us animators because everyone on the planet thought that animation was only for kids and only in a certain domain. The big film festivals never thought much about animated films.

If I need something, I just draw it, have a few friends make it move, and it exists. I enjoy this strange power. I try to be a good sorcerer, though.

One gets used to success very quickly. The surprise was how deep and enduringly I was touching people, in such different places and throughout generations.