A Tribute to Olivier Jean-Marie, Xilam Studio

Olivier Jean-Marie passed away on May 13 at the age of 60.

Jean-Marie was well-known in the world of French animation through his work with Xilam studio. Not only did he direct more than 300 episodes of Xilam's "Oggy and the Cockroaches" series, but "New Adventures of Lucky Luke," which attracted as many as four million viewers every Sunday evening on France 3.

He also helmed two feature films: "Go West, a Lucky Luke Adventure" and "Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie." In addition, he directed the second season of "Space Goofs," having overseen the animation of the first. He also created and directed "Zig and Sharko" and contributed to the conception of "The Daltons," "Welcome to the Ronks" and the "Mr. Magoo" series. Jean-Marie also penned several hundred episodes of the above-mentioned series.

This list of accomplishments offers a glimpse into Jean-Marie's role that defines Xilam's studio, to which he remained faithful until his retirement in 2018. Since 1996, he laid the foundations of this creative approach, which the studio has utilized and continuously enriched for 25 years; a comedic grammar passed on to several generations of directors and animators. So when Disney with "Chip & Dale," followed by DreamWorks with "Mr. Magoo," came to ask Xilam to revive their classic characters, it was to Jean-Marie's know-how and creative energy that the studio owed this honor.

Director, writer, animator, designer and editor, Jean-Marie was committed to mastering every task to perfect his art and then passed on his learnings to the next generation.

"Olivier was an animation master, a mentor and a friend," says Marc du Pontavice, chief executive officer and executive producer, Xilam. "His talent and vision have inspired so many artists, who will carry on his legacy. He will also live on through the characters he created, beloved by generations of kids who grew up with them."

Jean-Marie is survived by his wife Agnes and his daughters Ianka and Julie.

Those who would like to leave a testimonial about Jean-Marie, please submit at the following link: http://bit.ly/LivreDorOlivierJeanMarie.