History of Hungarian animation

The history of Hungarian animation begins in 1914 and carries through to the modern day. Starting with short promotional cartoons prior to the two World Wars, Hungarian animation underwent a sporadic and halting development during the turbulent war years which were characterized in large part by the emigration of much of the field's top talent. This exodus slowed dramatically during the 1950s when the Hungarian Communist Party took power and the Iron Curtain took shape.

With Communism came nationalization of the Hungarian animation studio—a fact that was to prove a mixed blessing for the nascent industry. While political pressures would strongly dictate the kinds of topics that animation could cover in the early years, state funding meant that even the relatively small postwar nation would be able to prove itself on the international stage. Indeed, subsequent to the 1956 revolution, the softening effects of Goulash Communism helped enable artists to begin to express themselves such that by the late 1970s, Pannónia Film Stúdió would rank among the top 5 major cartoon studios alongside Walt Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Soyuzmultfilm, and Toei.

With the end of Communism in 1989, state control of the animation industry dropped away and market forces prompted the rise of numerous independent animation studios. Lacking state funding and receiving mixed international response, Hungarian animation studios today have had to develop financing strategies consisting largely of working as production and development companies performing labor-intensive animation activities such as compositioning and inking for foreign studios. Despite this, Hungarian films continue to be produced every few years.

The history of Hungarian animation extends from its origin in István Kató Kiszly's 1914 cut-out caricatures to the modern time. Although a few boldly experimental films were made in the early years, it would not be until the 1930s that actual animation studios would be formed (under figures like Gyula Macskássy and János Halász) to produce promotional material in the form of newsreels and advertisements. International conflicts during both world wars as well as turbulent political climates in the pre-Iron Curtain period led to the emigration of many of Hungary's animation artists who famously established themselves in places like France, the U.K., and America. During the Communist era, all animation efforts are nationalized first as Magyar Szinkronfilmgyártó Vállalat in 1948 and later as Pannónia Film Stúdió in 1959. State control of animation on the one hand constrained artistic freedom of expression while simultaneously ensuring the survival of the medium.

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