Marcell Jankovics
Marcell Jankovics (21 October 1941 – 29 May 2021) was a Hungarian graphic artist, film director, animator and author. He is best known for the animated films Johnny Corncob (1973; the first animated feature of his native country) and Son of the White Mare (1981; cited as one of the best animated films ever made).
Marcell Jankovics

Vadas Róbert (Vadaro) · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Marcell Jankovics
- Born
- 21 October 1941
- Birthplace
- Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary
- Died
- 29 May 2021
- Place of death
- Budapest, Hungary
- Awards
- Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts (2009) Marcell Jankovics (21 October 1941 – 29 May 2021) was a Hungarian graphic artist, film director, animator and author.
- Nationality
- Hungary
- Occupation
- screenwriter · animator · director · artist
- Fields
- animated film · visual arts
- Education
- Benedictine High School of Pannonhalma
- Honours
- Kossuth Prize · Béla Balázs Award · Kölcsey commemorative plaquette · Winsor McCay Award · Commander with Star of the Order of Merit of Hungary · Commander Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic
- Languages
- Hungarian
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Marcell Jankovics studied at Benedictine High School of Pannonhalma. The recorded working language is Hungarian. The field of work recorded is animated film and visual arts. Employment is recorded with Pannonia Film Studio. Positions recorded include chairperson. Distinctions recorded are Kossuth Prize, Béla Balázs Award, Kölcsey commemorative plaquette and Winsor McCay Award.

Marcell Jankovics, Hungarian graphic artist, cartoon director. Juin 2010.
Vadas Róbert (Vadaro)
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Marcell Jankovics • Born — 21 October 1941 • Birthplace — Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary • Died — 29 May 2021 • Place of death — Budapest, Hungary • Notable Works — Johnny Corncob, Son of the White Mare, The Tragedy of Man • Awards — Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts (2009) Marcell Jankovics (21 October 1941 – 29 May 2021) was a Hungarian graphic artist, film director, animator and author. He is best known for the animated films Johnny Corncob (1973; the first animated feature of his native country) and Son of the White Mare (1981; cited as one of the best animated films ever made).
Life and career
Life and career
Jankovics was born on 21 October 1941 in Budapest, Hungary. From 1955 he attended the Pannonhalma Benedictine Secondary School. He started working at Pannónia in 1960. In 1973, he wrote and directed Hungary's first ever animated feature film, Johnny Corncob, based on the 1845 narrative poem John the Valiant by Sándor Petőfi. His fourth feature film The Tragedy of Man was in production from 1988 until its release in 2011. He died on 29 May 2021.
Filmography
Filmography
His filmography includes: • Johnny Corncob (János vitéz) (1973) • Sisyphus (1974) • The Struggle (Küzdők) (1977) • Son of the White Mare (Fehérlófia) (1981) • A Székely asszony és az ördög ("The Transylvanian Woman and the Devil") (1985) - Winner of the 1st KAFF Prize for Best Series. • Hol volt, hol nem volt ("A Hungarian Fairy Tale") (1987) • Tangram (1988) - Winner of the KAFF Award for Best Animation. • Magyar népmesék ("Hungarian Folk Tales") (1988-1996) - Jankovics was awarded the KAFF Prize for Best Film Series together with Zsuzsanna Kricskovics for their work on the episode entitled "Mindent járó malmocska" ("Mill Film"). He would go on to win the KAFF Prize for Best TV Series with Mária Horvát in 1996 for their work on the episode entitled "A pityke és a kökény" ("The Han and the Wild Plum") • Jankula (1993) - Winner of the KAFF Award for the Category of Cultural History • Ének a Csodaszarvasról ("Song of the Miraculous Hind") (2002) - Winner of the KAFF-Sponsored Award of the National Radio and Television Commission. • Az ember tragédiája ("The Tragedy of Man") (2011) - Jankovics was awarded the KAFF Prize for Best Visual Language for the sequence entitled "Egy jottányit sem!" ("Not an iota!") from Az ember tragédiája VII. szín ("The Tragedy of Man Part 7), and the Jury's Special Mention at the 8th Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials for this work. • Toldi (2022)
Accolades and legacy
He received his Oscar nomination for the 1974 animated short film Sisyphus. That film was used for a GMC Yukon Hybrid ad during the 2008 Super Bowl based on an agreement between the Hungarian film studio Pannónia and GM. He also received a Palme d'Or for the short film The Struggle at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. He has been presented multiple awards at the Kecskemét Animation Film Festival since 1985. In 2009, he was presented with the Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts. In 2021, he received the posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival. Son of the White Mare was placed #49 on the Olympiad of Animation in 1984. Animation historian Charles Solomon listed The White Mare's Son as one of the best animated films of the 1980s.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Marcell Jankovics, revision 1361532460 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.BEYOND THE YELLOW SUBMARINE: MARCELL JANKOVICS' PSYCHEDELIC ANIMATIONS. MUBI.
- 2.Celebrating the Great Cartoon Director Marcell Jankovics' Birthday. HungarianConservative.com.
- 3.Milligan, Mercedes. Hungarian Animation Legend Marcell Jankovics Dies Age 79. Animation Magazine. 2021-06-01.
- 4.Varga, Denes. OBITUARY: Hungarian Animation Director Marcell Jankovics - FilmNewEurope.com. www.filmneweurope.com.
- 5.de Wit, Alex Dudok. Marcell Jankovics, Giant Of Hungarian Animation, Dies At 79. 2021-05-31.
- 6.Leitner, Attila. Animation film director Marcell Jankovics dies at 79. The Budapest Times. 2021-05-30.
- 7.Oscars. Short Film Winners: 1976 Oscars. 2014-04-23.
- 8.The 48th Academy Awards 1976. www.oscars.org. 2014-10-04.
- 9.Festival Central. IMDb.
- 10.Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts 2009.
- 11.Awards CineFest. Cinefest Miskolc.
- 12.The Olympiad of Animation: An Interview With Fini Littlejohn. www.awn.com.
- 13.Parks, Corrie Francis. In Memoriam: Marcell Jankovics. ASIFA. 2021-06-02.
- 14.MOVIES OF THE '80s : ANIMATION : MICE DREAMS. Los Angeles Times. 1986-07-27.
- 15.Culhane, John. Marcell Jankovics. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2011.
- 16.Spectacle. FEHÉRLÓFIA (SON OF THE WHITE MARE). 2017-01-22.
- 17.1.Kecskeméti Animációs Filmszemle . Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 1985.
- 18.kaff1988. www.kaff.hu.
- 19.4. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál 1. Nemzetközi Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál . Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 1996.
- 20.3. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál . Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 1993.
- 21.KAFF 2002 - Díjak (English: "KAFF 2002 - Award "). Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 2002.
- 22.KAFF 2007 Díjak (English: "KAFF 2007 Awards "). Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 2007.
- 23.11. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál 8. Európai Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál . Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 2013.
References
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 27 August 2026.
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