HÀ NỘI — People's Artist Ngô Mạnh Lân, screenwriter and animator of many famous animated works such as The Tale of Saint Gióng and Diary of a cricket passed away on Wednesday at the age of 87.

People's Artist Ngô Mạnh Lân who has made great contributions to building and developing Việt Nam Animation Studio — Photo thethaovanhoa.vn

His grandson Đinh Tuấn Vũ, a young director known across the country, announced the news on his Facebook account, which reads: "My grandfather passed away peacefully and gently. That is the only consolation in this great pain".

Referring to People's Artist Ngô Mạnh Lân, people recall many animated works that have accompanied the childhoods of many generations of Vietnamese people such as: Diary of a Cricket, The Tale of Saint Gióng, Trê Cóc, The Talking Starling, Warm Clothes and Thạch Sanh.

Poster of the animated movie "The Tale of Saint Gióng". Photo courtesy of Việt Nam Animation Studio

Ngô Mạnh Lân was born in 1934 in Thanh Oai, Thanh Trì, Hà Nội.

He attended the first course of the Việt Nam School of Fine Arts in the Việt Bắc war zone led by painter Tô Ngọc Vân.

For years, he served in the army, participated in the Điện Biên Phủ campaign and made many resistance sketches with his own style.

In 1956, he was sent to study at the Department of Animation Director at the State University of Cinema of the Soviet Union. Returning to Việt Nam in 1962, he worked at the Việt Nam Doll Animation Studio (now the Việt Nam Animation Studio).

He used to hold the position of Director of Việt Nam Animation Studio, participated in research and teaching for many generations of students.

Director Ngô Mạnh Lân graduated with an Associate Doctor of Arts degree in 1984 from the Soviet Union. He was awarded the title of Associate Professor and the title of People's Artist in 1997.

In 2007, he received the State Prize for his works: Kitten, The tale of Saint Gióng, The talking starling, Warm clothes and Trê Cóc.

He is one of the Vietnamese film artists appearing in the Encyclopedia of Soviet Cinema.

Ngô Mạnh Lân won three Golden Lotus Awards, four Silver Lotus Awards, many Certificates of Merit from the Jury at Vietnamese Film Festivals and a number of international awards such as Silver Pelican at the International Animation Film Festival in Mamaia (Romania) in 1966 for the film Kitten and Golden Dove at the Leipzig International Film Festival (1970) for the film The Tale of Saint Gióng. — VNS