At CUB you make many animations for children. In your opinion, what makes a children’s film good?

The key to success is a puppy… Joke aside, I prefer family films, because they are not only addressed to a certain age group, but the parents can also find something they like about them. This way watching a film is a shared experience, not just an instrument to keep the child busy and quiet.

How about contemporary Hungarian animation? What are children interested in?

I observed that the number of children’s series has increased recently, I think that is wonderful. We should perhaps work a bit on accelerating the production process, so that the series is finished promptly – but all in all I see a developing and versatile animation scene in Hungary. According to my experiences, children are equally enthusiastic about watching Hungarian films as they are about animations from other countries. It is enough if you compare the online viewers’ statistics of some Hungarian series with those of foreign films. However, from the latter ones there are more available, and you can find a lot of merchandising products related to them, so it is easier for a child to fall for them. In the marketing area we have a lot to catch up with, but I am definitely optimistic.

What kind of animations did you like as a child?

I was delighted by The Disney afternoon programmes, especially “TaleSpin” and the “Gummi Bears”. From the Hungarian series, I liked “Next One, Please!”, “Trombi and the Fire Imp”, and “Frakk”. I also enjoyed the Czechoslovakian animation “Bob & Bobek”, and later, as they became accessible, the series of Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, such as “Dexter’s Laboratory”, “Hey Arnold!” and “Aaahh!!! Real Monsters”.

Now you work more as a producer, who doesn’t only consider it important to support young artists, but also to contribute to the visibility of Hungarian animation.

That’s right, in Hungary many studios have opened in the last years, and there is a boom of animation contents being created here. The role of Hungarian animations in the region is crucial, but it is definitely less organized than in the neighbouring countries. With some fellow producers, we decided to found an association of animated film producers, which could maybe help this chaotic situation. Luckily, it seems that others have also felt the lack of professional representation, so there is a demand for what we do. Such an association would be able to enter the bigger producer’s network of Central and Eastern Europe, which is now forming up, and it can open a lot of amazing opportunities for the Hungarian filmmakers.

What are the elements you “assess” the children’s films in the competition?

I usually evaluate films according to three criteria: story, visual aspect, and message.

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