Portal:Animation

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Introduction
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby pictures are created or manipulated and then played in sequence to create the illusion of moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are either traditional animations or computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, is also prominent alongside these other forms, albeit to a lesser degree.
Animation is contrasted with live action, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many filmmakers have produced films that are a hybrid of the two. As CGI increasingly approximates photographic imagery, filmmakers can relatively easily composite 3D animated visual effects (VFX) into their film, rather than using practical effects. (Full article...)
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Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated family film, the first Disney/Pixar film to be made, as well as the first feature film in history to be made entirely with CGI. Directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, the film was co-produced by Ralph Guggenheim and Bonnie Arnold and was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Lasseter, Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow, and featured music by Randy Newman. Toy Story follows a group of toys who come to life whenever humans are not present, focusing on Woody, a pull-string cowboy doll (Hanks), and Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut action figure (Allen). The top-grossing film on its opening weekend, Toy Story went on to earn over $191 million in the United States and Canada during its initial theatrical release and took in more than $361 million worldwide. View-Master released a 3 reel set in 3D in 1995 prior to release of 3D films. The film was so successful it prompted a sequel released in 1999, Toy Story 2. Eleven years later, on June 18, 2010, an additional film, Toy Story 3, was also released. Both sequels were instant hits and garnered critical acclaim similar to the first.
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Did you know (auto-generated) -

- ... that the live-action comedy series Community had a stop motion animated Christmas special?
- ... that Nobody is the highest-grossing 2D Chinese animated film?
- ... that an anime programming block that originally aired on the American television channel TechTV was the inspiration for the co-founder of a Japanese animation studio?
- ... that the Plutonium Finishing Plant, which processed more than 66 metric tons of plutonium between 1949 and 1989, was demolished between 2016 and 2021?
- ... that the first lady of the Ivory Coast created an animated kids' show in 1989?
- ... that Princess Mononoke was the most expensively animated, most expensively promoted, and highest-grossing Japanese film of its time?
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Selected biography
Al Jean (born January 9, 1961) is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss. It was first broadcast on ABC in January 1994 and was well-received by critics, but did not catch on with viewers and only lasted for two seasons. In 1994, Jean and Reiss signed a three-year deal with The Walt Disney Company to produce other television shows for ABC and the duo created and executive produced Teen Angel, which was canceled in its first season. Jean returned full-time to The Simpsons during the tenth season (1998). He became show runner once again with the start of the thirteenth season in 2001, this time without Reiss, and has held that position since then. Jean was also one of the writers and producers that worked on The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film based on the series that was released in 2007.
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The episodes of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward (pictured) for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of Finn (voiced by Jeremy Shada), a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio), a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo. Along the way, they interact with the show's other main characters: Princess Bubblegum (voiced by Hynden Walch), the Ice King (voiced by Tom Kenny), and Marceline the Vampire Queen (voiced by Olivia Olson). The show originally began in 2008 with a pilot for Random! Cartoons on Nicktoons Network. The pilot quickly became a cult hit on YouTube. After Nickelodeon declined to turn the short into a full-fledged show, Cartoon Network purchased the rights, and Adventure Time launched as a series on April 5, 2010. Adventure Time is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and Frederator Studios. The series is rated TV-PG. Several compilation DVDs have been released. Ever since its debut, Adventure Time has been a ratings success for Cartoon Network. As of March 2012, the show is viewed by approximately 2 to 3 million viewers per week. The show has received positive reviews from critics and has developed a strong following among teenagers and adults, many of whom are attracted due to the series' animation, stories, and characters.
More did you know...
- ...that the first Filipino full-length animated film, Adarna, was created by Gerry Garcia in the late 1990s?
- ...that American voice actors "kept slipping into a Jamaican accent" when voicing Malaysian characters in Kampung Boy?
- ...that Bruce Timm, the producer of the animated film adaptation Batman: Year One, said that adapting the comic story arc was straightforward since the original story was already cinematic?
Anniversaries for July 29
- Films released
- 1922 - Little Red Riding Hood (United States)
- 1930 - The Shindig (United States)
- 1933 - Old King Cole (United States)
- 1933 - Bosko's Mechanical Man (United States)
- 1938 - The Fox Hunt (1938 film) (United States)
- 1939 - Snowman's Land (United States)
- 1957 - To Catch A Woodpecker (United States)
- 1961 - Compressed Hare (United States)
- 1967 - Speedy Ghost to Town (United States)
- Television series and specials
- 2011 - ThunderCats, an American animated television series begins airing on Cartoon Network
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