Cecile Aubry
Description
Cecile Aubry was a French author, screenwriter, and director whose original work served as the foundation for the anime series Meiken Jolie, known in English as Belle and Sebastian. Her career as a creative force in children’s entertainment began after an earlier successful period as a film actress in the late 1940s and 1950s.
Born Anne-José Madeleine Henriette Bénard in Paris on August 3, 1928, Aubry initially trained as a dancer before gaining international fame as an actress. Her debut in the 1949 film Manon brought her critical acclaim and led to a contract with 20th Century Fox, including a role opposite Tyrone Power in The Black Rose. However, she retired from acting around 1960 and transitioned to a second career as a writer and director of children’s literature and television.
Aubry’s most significant contribution to media, and the work most directly connected to anime, is her creation Belle et Sébastien. The story originated as a French live-action television series in 1965, which she wrote and directed. She subsequently adapted the series into a novel of the same name, published in 1966. The narrative follows a young boy named Sébastien and his loyal Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Belle, in the French Alps. Aubry’s son, Mehdi El Glaoui, portrayed Sébastien in the original television production.
The 1981 Japanese anime series Meiken Jolie, co-produced by MK Company, Visual 80, and Toho, is a direct adaptation of Aubry’s original novel and television series. The 52-episode anime remained faithful to the core premise, depicting the adventures of Sebastian and his dog in the French countryside. While the anime used Japanese staff for its production, its source material was unequivocally the work of Cecile Aubry.
Beyond Belle et Sébastien, Aubry created other notable children’s series, most prominently Poly, about a Shetland pony, which also began as a series of books and a French television show in the early 1960s. Recurring elements throughout her work include themes of friendship between children and animals, the beauty and challenge of natural landscapes, and narratives focused on loyalty and perseverance. Her stories often featured a pastoral, adventure-oriented tone that translated effectively to various formats, from live-action to animation.
Cecile Aubry’s significance in the context of anime and manga lies in being an original literary and television creator whose work was adapted by Japanese studios. Her creation provided the foundational story for a notable early 1980s anime series that found an audience in Japan and was subsequently broadcast in many countries around the world. She passed away on July 19, 2010, in Dourdan, France, leaving behind a legacy as a versatile storyteller whose works have been adapted across multiple decades and media.
Born Anne-José Madeleine Henriette Bénard in Paris on August 3, 1928, Aubry initially trained as a dancer before gaining international fame as an actress. Her debut in the 1949 film Manon brought her critical acclaim and led to a contract with 20th Century Fox, including a role opposite Tyrone Power in The Black Rose. However, she retired from acting around 1960 and transitioned to a second career as a writer and director of children’s literature and television.
Aubry’s most significant contribution to media, and the work most directly connected to anime, is her creation Belle et Sébastien. The story originated as a French live-action television series in 1965, which she wrote and directed. She subsequently adapted the series into a novel of the same name, published in 1966. The narrative follows a young boy named Sébastien and his loyal Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Belle, in the French Alps. Aubry’s son, Mehdi El Glaoui, portrayed Sébastien in the original television production.
The 1981 Japanese anime series Meiken Jolie, co-produced by MK Company, Visual 80, and Toho, is a direct adaptation of Aubry’s original novel and television series. The 52-episode anime remained faithful to the core premise, depicting the adventures of Sebastian and his dog in the French countryside. While the anime used Japanese staff for its production, its source material was unequivocally the work of Cecile Aubry.
Beyond Belle et Sébastien, Aubry created other notable children’s series, most prominently Poly, about a Shetland pony, which also began as a series of books and a French television show in the early 1960s. Recurring elements throughout her work include themes of friendship between children and animals, the beauty and challenge of natural landscapes, and narratives focused on loyalty and perseverance. Her stories often featured a pastoral, adventure-oriented tone that translated effectively to various formats, from live-action to animation.
Cecile Aubry’s significance in the context of anime and manga lies in being an original literary and television creator whose work was adapted by Japanese studios. Her creation provided the foundational story for a notable early 1980s anime series that found an audience in Japan and was subsequently broadcast in many countries around the world. She passed away on July 19, 2010, in Dourdan, France, leaving behind a legacy as a versatile storyteller whose works have been adapted across multiple decades and media.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview