There were also some grey areas this summer as well...Rumors say Dinosaur's box office draw wasn't as big as expected, and Pokemon's popularity appears to be fading fast...this, I am sure some will argue is a good thing! While adults may be puzzled at Pokemon's hold over children one thing is sure: subconsciously it is expanding their horizons about the styles of animation they will accept on the big screen and that can only be good. Fantasia/2000 opened the IMAX arena to animation in a stunning debut that has already seen the signing of DreamWorks' much-anticipated Shrek for similar treatment. That's one I will be in line to see on the first day! While this is a positive, Fantasia/2000's performance on regular theatrical screens was quite lackluster. It seems that the large screen format is indeed carving a unique niche for itself and will become a bigger player in time.

With unemployment in Los Angeles running high, it can at times feel like the sky is falling in, but over all I'd say this summer was more positive than negative. It was the mixed bag of an evolving industry. We still have barriers to overcome. As Amid Amidi points out in his article, "Indie Animated Features: Are They Possible?" distribution remains a huge problem for feature films not being produced by the majors, and we still face people believing that this summer shows an animation saturation of the market. (A favorite pet peeve of mine, I wonder, why they never say this of live-action?) Is the public telling us that there are too many animated features saturating the market? No, we are just learning that because animation is no longer a special event with only one or two releases a year, we must now play with the big live-action boys on their own terms. (Television primetime animation is also learning this tough lesson.) When the studios set up their animation entities they asked for this, and now, to properly compete and succeed, animation films, and their backing studios, are going to have to make sure they have all their ducks in a row — from story, through marketing and distribution. We have to inspire the average movie-goer to plunk down their money on a movie going experience that happens to be animated vs., the latest live-action fare and that my friends, is proving to be a heck of a challenge.

Until Next Time,
Heather