http://slyoyster.com

It’s hard to believe that French animator/writer/director Sylvain Chomet hasn’t released a feature film since 2003’s The Triplets of Bellville. Sure he’s done some commercial work and the short above for Paris, je T’aime in the interim, but there’s nothing quite like the exquisite blend of hand-drawn animation and music from Chomet.

At the time of Triplet’ss release it was something of an eye opener.  The world was gorging itself on Pixar, Pixar knock-offs and the monkey-brained dreck from Dreamworks Animaiton. 

Which is why Triplets was something of an eye opener.  It harkened back to a time when animation was an artform, when it was magical, when it aspired to be more than just cut and paste hack jobs. 

It looks as though Chomet will release a film titled The Illusionist, which is currently in post-production, for the 2009 festival circuit with a potential general release in early 2010. 

According to IonCinema, The Illusionist is a $20 million affair and is based on an unproduced screenplay by the late Jacques Tati.   The lowdown for the film is that it’s about “a dying breed of stage entertainer whose thunder is being stolen by emerging rock stars. Forced to accept increasingly obscure assignments in fringe theaters, garden parties and bars, he meets a young fan who changes his life forever.”

Sounds wonderful.  Magical even.