October 16, 2001
Ub Iwerks — Memories of a Brief
Encounter
The recent publication of Leslie Iwerks and John Kenworthy's The Hand
Behind the Mouse revives memories of my meeting with one of the least known
of the great pioneers of American animation.
October 4, 2001
Fear of Flying and Other Matters
A brief notes on the impact of the events of September 11 on the Week With
the Masters Animation Celebration, MIPCOM and the animation industry, along
with some thoughts on Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Osmosis
Jones.
June 26, 2001
SOS — Atlantis: The Lost Empire
While Disney's latest animated feature seems to likely to be profitable,
it release seems to mark the end of an era for cel animation and the triumph
of 3-D computer animation.
June 8, 2001
Independent (Animated) Movies?
The phenomenal success of Shrek has been a great morale booster to
the American animation community and bodes well for the long-term success of
mainstream animated movies; however, the prognosis for independent features
still remains cloudy.
May 23, 2001
Shrek
DreamWorks' first animated blockbuster, which derives much of its manic passion
from Jeffrey Katzenberg's reaction to Michael Eisner's characterization of him
as a “little midget,” finally justifies the company's original plans
for animation as a major profit center. Also, a note on Flix, a piece of software
which converts live action to the Flash format.
April 30, 2001
The Disney Bombshell
The sudden announcement of large-scale layoffs and wage cuts at Disney Feature
Animation comes as a shock, even after three years of declining employment levels.
Also, a note on labor relations problems over at the parent company of AOL Time
Warner.