Is the digital honeymoon over? The 2D, 2.5D, and 3D dimensions have all been milked to the bone and a new dawn has come to an industry which has gone through an intense period of digital growing pains.

The words of Roy Disney, when he lamented the selling of Disney's soul, ring true today, as the collective consciousness of the animation industry wakes up from its bad dream, its temporary insanity of digital madness.

We can slow down a little bit and take stock of the films that we have seen in the last five years. From Howl's Moving Castle to Chicken Little to Flushed Away and even The Triplets of Belleville. What moves us? What doesn't? How can we make great films, that don't have to rely on technology and multi million dollar voice actors?

And where is the gaming industry going? Are violence and sex really the greatest common denominators in that game? Can real storytelling and filmmaking make its way into the fold? If games and films are converging, who will be put at the helm? Businessmen and technologists? Or artists and visionaries with experience and integrity?

Well, let me get back to the positive spin that I started off with. For some reason, I think this is going to be a great year for animation. There is something in the air and it is good. I think that we are going to see a fresh approach that honors the masters of the craft. I believe that the technique will begin to be overshadowed by the content, as slowly we get over the digital honeymoon and into the long-term proposition of making animation a life-long commitment. And like a marriage, we are going to have to be honest with one another and collaborate and stick together, if we are going to make something worthwhile.

In his 30-year animation career, Joseph Gilland has worked with studios as diverse as Walt Disney Feature Animation and the National Film Board of Canada. He has worked on all styles of animation, experimental films, television series, commercials, theatrical feature films, stop motion, title sequences, live-action films and documentaries. He is writing a passionate book about the art of animation.