Michael Dudok de Wit – A Life in Animation – available in the US

Mon, Nov 16 - Wed, Mar 31  2021

Just published: Michael Dudok de Wit – A Life in Animation

It is Oscar season, which is the perfect time to feature a newly released book about Dutch Oscar winning animator Michael Dudok de Wit, written by Andrijana Ružić and published by Routledge.

A survey of the career of Michael Dudok de Wit

This unique survey of the career of Michael Dudok de Wit discusses all of his works and offers a glimpse into his private life. The biography of this European master of 2D animation, born in the Netherlands and based in London, is the first complete overview of the well-defined and canonic opus of this humble genius. Visually and thematically, Dudok de Wit’s poetic and singular style of animation differs from the rest of contemporary independent animation production. This book reveals what still challenges and thrills Dudok de Wit in the art of animation and why he persistently continues to believe in the beauty of hand-drawn animation.

Key Features

The complete animation production of Michael Dudok de Wit, never-before reviewed in one volume
An all-embracing approach regarding this auteur, unavailable elsewhere in one place (his biography, his peculiar method of work, his extracurricular activities)
An ad hoc glossary of animation written by Michael Dudok de Wit and a critical reception of his body of work with a wide contribution of his colleagues and collaborators
Filmography and bibliography
Order the book here.

Author Andrijana Ružić

Andrijana Ružić graduated in History and Criticism of Art at the Universita degli Studi in Milan, Italy, where she fell in love with the medium of animation. She specialised in the History of Animated Film under Giannalberto Bendazzi’s mentorship. For the past six years, she has curated the section dedicated to animated films at the International Comics Festival in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a member of the Selection Board of Animafest Scanner, the symposium for Contemporary Animation Studies at the World Festival of Animated Film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. She writes about animation and art for the Belgrade weekly magazine Vreme.

A review of the book appeared on Animation World Network.

In her book, Andrijana Ruzic does more than just give us the facts about Michael Dudok De Wit’s life and his films. She spent time with him in his London studio and engaged in numerous email conversations with him to give the reader an opportunity to learn what still challenges and thrills him. Michael also talks about why Japanese art and haikus have had such an influence on his life as well as his animation.

By Nancy Denney-Phelps | Tuesday, November 17, 2020