Paris's Cinematheque francaise honors animator Paul Grimault in new Melies Museum

The Cinematheque francaise in Paris has dedicated space in its newly reopened Melies Museum to the work of animator Paul Grimault, whose 1980 film "The King and the Mockingbird" ("Le Roi et l'Oiseau") is widely regarded as a landmark of French animated cinema.

Following the venue's renovation, the museum is displaying around ten pieces connected to the making of the film, offering visitors a look at material tied to its production, according to reports on the reopening.

"The King and the Mockingbird" has long held an influential place in the history of French and international animation, and its inclusion in the Melies Museum situates Grimault's work alongside the broader history of French cinema that the museum is dedicated to preserving.

The museum takes its name from Georges Melies, the pioneering French filmmaker known for early cinematic special effects, and the renovated space is intended to showcase a range of artefacts connected to the history of French film-making, of which Grimault's contribution to animation forms a part.

Grimault, who died in 1994, worked on "The King and the Mockingbird" over a period of decades, with the film undergoing a long and complicated production history before its completion and release in 1980.

The exhibition offers a rare public display of items connected to the film's production, giving audiences insight into the artistic and technical processes behind one of French animation's most celebrated works.

Details on the specific items on display, including sketches, cels or other production material, were not fully enumerated in initial reports on the museum's reopening.