Authors

Anita Deak¹;  ¹ Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania

Discussion

My research offers an analysis of the environmental messages and nature representations in feature-length Hungarian animation films produced by Pannónia Studio during the 1970s and 1980s. The focus falls on Attila Dargay’s four animated films (Mattie the Goos-boy (Lúdas Matyi, 1977), The Little Fox (Vuk, 1981), The Treasure of Swamp Castle (Szaffi, 1984) and Captain of the Forest (Az erdő kapitánya, 1988)) which convey the highest number of environmental messages within the studio's repertoire. My research methods involve various qualitative techniques, with a significant focus on ecocriticism studies. Ecocriticism is a relatively new, but rapidly emerging field of cultural studies, that first began to surface in literary studies and analysed the relationship between literature and the environment from an interdisciplinary point of view, and has since expanded to encompass other cultural products such as film, music, and visual arts. The current research is mainly interested in its side branch, ecocinema, and more specifically its use in animated films for children and families, as their social impact was stronger.
The selected time frame holds great significance, not only in Pannónia Studio's history but also in the Hungarian environmental movement, as the years between 1971 and the early 1990s marked the inception of modern-day environmental activism and the "unfolding phase" of nature conservation in Hungary. 

Keywords: environmentalism, Hungarian animation film, ecocriticism, Pannónia Studio