Of all the films premiering at Cannes this year, "The Most Precious of Cargoes" is both an anomaly (the first animated feature to compete for the Palme d'Or since "Persepolis" in 2007) and the most likely to become a classic.

If an animated film turns up in the Competition at Cannes, chances are it's not going to be another Bambi - although, if it were made today, the traumatic shooting of Bambi's mother would certainly tickle the selection committee.

The French Oscar winner ('The Artist') premiered his latest, about a Jewish baby abandoned in the woods during World War II, in the main Cannes competition.

The Artist Oscar winner Michel Hazanavicius returned to the Cannes Competition this evening with animated fairy tale feature The Most Precious of Cargoes. The warm applause for the film inside the Grand Théâtre Lumière went on for 10 minutes.

Michel Hazanavicius said that when it came to making his Holocaust feature The Most Precious of Cargoes “the question didn’t even arise” when making it animated. “I would never want to make a live film on this.

In "The Most Precious of Cargoes" (titled "LA PLUS PRÉCIEUSE DES MARCHANDISES" in French), it's initially from a significant remove where the terrifying roar of a train hurtling by says all we need to know.