(Status: In Development)

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Bergeronnette is a 2D-animated film project targeting a family audience, and the feature-length debut of Lucrèce Andreae, known for the multi-award-winning Grandpa Walrus (2017). The film project was selected and pitched at Cartoon Movie 2025, gathering significant attention. The synopsis leaves us curious on how the story will unfold, with an appealing visual style in the trailer presented at the event.

We interviewed Lucrèce Andreae on the story behind the film project Bergeronnette.

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Interview with Lucrèce Andreae

Hideki Nagaishi (HN): Could you please let us know the key points of Bergeronnette that you aim to appeal to the prospective global audience, such as the messages and experiences that you want to deliver to the audience through the film?

Lucrèce Andreae: Bergeronnette tells the story of a young boy who struggles to live up to the traditional role of a shepherd, a path strictly defined by his father. But deep in the forest, he finds refuge with an outcast healer who welcomes and values his gentle and sensitive nature. It’s a coming-of-age story about a child breaking free from rigid expectations to assert his need to be himself. His journey will change the dynamic of the whole family, whose members may all ultimately have been suffering from the weight of tradition, into an ode to freedom and respect for individuality.

HN: How did this film project start?

Lucrèce Andreae: The project began a few years ago when I was pregnant, and felt a deep desire to write a film for my own child. As a child, I was deeply inspired and amazed by the classics, so choosing to create a feature film felt like a natural step. It has always been my dream to direct a full-length movie! I want to tell a story filled with adventure, magic, quirky and endearing characters, blending the timeless elements of fairy tales with a message that speaks to the complex issues of today. My challenge is to address this wish for open-mindedness to a whole younger generation.

HN: What do you think is the biggest creative challenge for you in this film project?

Lucrèce Andreae: One of my first creative challenges is finding a cinematic language suited to a feature-length format. Until now, I’ve only made short films, so I’m exploring how to use framing and pacing to deeply convey what the character is experiencing—how to avoid losing the audience’s attention, and instead guide them through moments of excitement, sorrow, and everything in between. I’m searching for ways to create poetry and emotional depth through drawing, sound, and time, rather than relying directly on dialogue.

Another exciting challenge is that my main character can communicate with birds by mimicking their song. Therefore, crafting a realistic and immersive soundscape—blending actual bird recordings, whistles, and expert vocal imitations—is something I’m really excited about!

HN: Where did the initial idea of the film’s story come from? And what are you taking care in the most during the film’s story development?

Lucrèce Andreae: A few years ago, I was struck by the growing number of female characters in film and on television—girls who were strong-willed, determined, ambitious, some of whom claiming the same rights and opportunities as men. But I realized that simply celebrating emancipated women wasn’t enough to move towards true equality. We also need to show more male characters who are gentle, vulnerable, affectionate, and sensitive.

That’s what inspired me to create this young boy who feels far more at ease in traditionally ‘feminine’ fields, like caregiving. Throughout the writing process, Patricia Valeix and I were especially mindful of the gender stereotypes that we were converying. We didn’t want our hero to be the only free and complex character while all the others remained depreciated clichés. Every character was carefully thought out, with the goal of bringing nuance and depth—especially around the theme of gender roles.

HN: Could you please let us know the key points of the character and environment design of this film? And how and why are you collaborating with Pierre Zenzius and Justine Thibault for the visual design work for the film?

Lucrèce Andreae: For the character design, I was aiming for a fresh, free style of drawing, with few lines to achieve a certain lightness, and a cartoonish touch to make them funny. Our inspirations came from Japanese animated series from the 1980s, like Heidi and Crayon Shin-chan, as well as from British illustrators such as Quentin Blake and James Stevenson.

For the backgrounds, Pierre developed a style that feels naive, expressive, and painterly, using gouache. Then Justine brought her own sensitivity to the colours and lighting. Her work is recognizable by her palette—very believable and grounded in reality, yet with a pop interpretation that gives her paintings a fresh, contemporary feel.

HN: Each of your works, including animation, comics and illustrations, has a different visual design and style. What do you think is most important in designing the best fitting visuals for each project?

Lucrèce Andreae: I don’t overthink it. I make intuitive choices, guided by what inspires me in the moment and by what I find beautiful!

HN: Is there anything you are able to share with us at this point about the music for the film?

Lucrèce Andreae: Pablo Pico will be the film’s music composer. I gave him an extensive list of different musical inspirations for Bergeronnette—traditional peasant polyphonies from southern France, musicians who compose using only bird songs, lullabies… I’d like the music to be relatively modest, light, and slightly retro. There will be at least four songs in the film!