Les escargots

René Laloux, a master of French animation, was born in Paris in 1929 and studied painting at an art school. After graduation, he worked in advertising and began experimenting with animation as an intern. He passed away on March 14, 2004. A giant in the field who won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973, he once worked as a caretaker in a psychiatric hospital, and his works are filled with an "Amélie-like whimsicality." He excelled at portraying surreal and fantastical stories. With his feature-length sci-fi animation *La Planète Sauvage* (Fantastic Planet), he established a unique style—his art resembles sketch illustrations, and the entire film is presented in a cut-out animation style. The character movements contrast with traditional character animation, and the content differs from American Disney children's animations. His important works include the animated shorts *Les Temps Morts* (Dead Times), *Les Escargots* (The Snails), *La Planète Sauvage* (Fantastic Planet), *Les Maîtres du Temps* (Time Masters), *Gandahar* (Light Years), and *Comment Wang-Fô fut sauvé* (How Wang-Fo Was Saved).