The program also includes Chris Boyce & Robert M. Charde's On The Moon, Karl Staven's Piano Dog Visits The Underworld, Carolyn & Andy London's really funny Subway Salvation, PES' Pee-Nut, Nina Paley's The Sitayana, Chris Hinton/Acme Filmworks' Nibbles, Steffen Vala's Willis Sillim's Tall Tale, Karen Aqua & Joanna Priestley, Andaluz and about 15 or 20 other independent, student and commercial works.

The fun begins at 1:30 PM, Saturday, March 5th in the Advanced Technology Center's theater (room 120) on the De Anza campus. Arrive early. A flea market will be going on in the parking lot closest to the Technology Center. Park on the street or in the Flint Center Garage for $2.

VICKI AINSLEY TELLS US THERE IS A GROWING FILM COMMUNITY IN THE SANTA CRUZ AREA AND A NEW GROUP BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER There is a group of media professionals and aficionados (animators welcomed) known as Cinemar, that meets the second Friday of each month at the Digital Media Factory. The Factory is a new full service production facility and digital distribution center in a former Wrigley Plant in the Westside area of Santa Cruz. The meetings include time for networking. For more information visit www.scfilm.org and www.digitalmediafactory.net

ASIFA-SF PRESENTS "MY DINNER WITH BILL" An unusually fine party honoring Bill Plympton. Tuesday March 1, 7:30 PM. He is coming direct to S.F. from the Oscar ceremony. Nancy Phelps will once again amaze us with her abilities as a caterer (Please bring a beverage to share.). Nik Phelps and friends will provide live music and we might just have somebody performing mind baffling magic tricks as the night wears on. Find out if Bill and his date actually arrived at the ceremony by an unusual mode of transportation (watch for him on TV). Find out what it was like to sit for what must have seemed like hours - waiting to find out if you will be called to the stage. Come find out about Bill's wild time with famous movie stars and other tales of Oscar festivities. At Carl's Fine Films. 42 Decatur, off Bryant between 7^th and 8^th Streets, SF.

"THE INCREDIBLES" WILL BE RELEASED ON DVD MARCH 15 WITH LOTS OF EXTRAS The two-disc collector's edition includes the film in both wide-screen and full-screen formats. The extras include Bud Luckey's short Boundin', a new short Jack-Jack Attack (the Parr's baby discovers previously unknown super powers while he's alone with a babysitter), audio commentaries with director Brad Bird, producer John Walker and several animators, deleted scenes including an alternate 20-minute opening (more commentary by Brad Bird), bloopers, outtakes, a making-of short and more.

There will also be something included called Mr. Incredible and Pals, a "lost" cartoon produced in retrostyle Synchro-Vox that features hand-drawn characters with actor's live-action lips. (Sounds like another Clutch Cargo parody.)

STEVE JOBS CONFIRMS PIXAR WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH "LITTLE NEMO" OR "MONSTERS INC." SEQUELS Those are strictly Disney productions. He also said in January that they are waiting to see who the next ceo of Disney will be before picking their next distribution partner. As for their annual report, the company made $141.7 million on a gross income of $273.5 million in 2004. In 2003 they made $124.8 million on a $262.5 million gross.

Jim Morris has joined the Pixar staff after previously announcing he was looking for work in Los Angeles. He was president of Lucas Digital for 11 years and before that he spent 13 years as the general manager of ILM.

PATRICIA AMLIN SENDS HER BEST WISHES TO ALL OF US She said, "A million thanks for the best party a retiring animator could have! Because of the tsunami I didn't go to India." In January she went back to her house in Colorado.

OUR FEBRUARY OPEN SCREENING WAS AN IMPRESSIVE PROGRAM OF WORKS BY PROFESSIONALS "What an evening!" We had a really appreciative standing room only crowd and the event lasted until well after 10 PM when the guard decided it was time to turn on the alarm and go home.

There really was a lot of exceptional work to see starting with Hope by Catherine Margarine/Luna Media, a message promoting world peace. It is based on the writings of Willy Whitefeather, a native American. Some of the animation looks like lines carved in rocks come to life (petroglyphs). It is a timeless message that needs to be seen by our world leaders.

Another showstopper was Hide and Seek by Charlie Canfield. It is a charming work for kids of all ages set to the "Minute Waltz." For a really delightful 90 seconds visit http://www.charliecanfield.com/chopin/hideandseek.mov

Lippy showed Cro Marmot, a new work made for a Happy Tree Friends DVD (Mondo Media). It is a delightful retro-looking rubber hose film that took the audience by surprise. It pays homage to both the early black and white sound cartoons and the Fleischer tabletop animation that was introduced in the mid-1930s.

For laughter Lev provided the funniest moments. He showed several Mere Tales of Existence vignettes that are being run by Comedy Central. His raps about being horny, smoking pot, being worried and other topics are a throwback to chalk talks where an artist tells a story while drawing a picture. His simple approach to entertainment is quite effective and a welcomed contrast to flashy 3D computer animation. In a SF Chronicle last November he told the reporter it cost him about $15 to make each episode.

David Chai of Thunderbean Animation also provided some welcomed laughs with his nicely animated More Stuff We Don't Know Anything About. He showed several ads in this series made for a law firm.

The evening contained lots of other exciting works including Alex Woo's amazing Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher (winner of the 2004 Student Academy Award), breathtaking special effects from Tippett Studios (Hell Boy, Starship Troopers 1 & 2, funny cg animals for Blockbuster ads, etc.) and a superb collection

Rex Steele by Alex Woo of ads by Wild Brain.

There were also some fascinating works that may not win prizes at Annecy or Hiroshima, but illustrate how independent animators make a livings working freelance on commercial work. Kevin Coffey's Cartoonland showed an in-house corporate communication project done for Nextel. The animation was simple but effective as the narrator explained the virtues of their latest phone system.

Paul Nass showed several examples of his work that appears nightly in the gambling halls of Reno and Vegas. He designs animation that is a visual reward when a customer wins something on an electronic slot machine.

Composer/musician Nik Phelps brought two projects that have completely different sounding soundtracks. For a Canadian producer he is creating fast paced tracks that appear to be based on Eastern European folk music. They are quite catchy and should help keep the kids glued to their TV sets. For a Russian animator who created a short honoring the KROK Film Festival his music is modern and whimsical. Later in the evening Reflection by Patricia Satjawatcharaphong was shown and it features an exceptional classical soundtrack by Nik Phelps that features violin solos.

Carl's Fine Films brought a DVD full of new work including a highly polished Hershey's Kisses Caramel ad. Unfortunately the rest of their reel could not be shown, the commercials haven't aired yet on TV, but are said to be quite impressive.

Derek Flood/Sharktacos presented his new short Emelia. It stars a somewhat sinister young lady who might be related to the boys in Tim Burton's Vincent or in Paul Berry's The Sandman. The short looks great and Derek has mastered the Goth look and feeling. Unfortunately the theater's sound system badly distorted the girl's voice track so I need to see it again to know how it works as a total film experience. I can say that the ending wasn't what I was expecting. I assume the film will win several major prizes at animation festivals.

There were several other fine reels presented that showed off the talents and skills of Barrettt Fox, Ethan Clarke, Jeanne Applegate, Alex Orzulak, Patrick O'Hearn and other artists. Once again ASIFA-SF would like to thank everybody who brought work and helped to make this a truly memorable evening.

TAMI S. TSARK REVIEWS A WORK OF ART THAT COMBINES ANIMATION AND DANCE If you missed Chris Lanier & Kristin Heavey's performances "Zoetrope" and "InBetweener," at the Dance Mission "Women on the Way Festival" Saturday 1/29/05, you missed a rare treat indeed. This husband and wife team's collaboration is a true work of art. "InBetweeners," in particular, was breathtaking.

Combining animation and dance in a way I've never

seen before, Kristin and Chris unite dance and animation as both were intended. In these dynamic and exciting pieces, animation (moving objects in space and time) is projected onto the screen and onto moving sheets that are carried by the dancers (moving bodies in space and time). The dancers interact WITH the animation creating a compelling new work in its own right.

I've seen other performances where dancers move about in front of the animation and simply dance to the music, but I've never seen an effort such as this. A new narrative is created in "InBetweener" when the choreography itself is a dynamic expression. The animation synchronizes and complements with the dancers' movements. The work was so exciting that I had to return to view it a second time. If it ever comes back to town, it's a "must see. "

DAN LEE, A PIXAR ANIMATOR AND SKETCH ARTIST, LOST HIS BATTLE WITH LUNG CANCER He was 35 and had never smoked. He was born and raised in Canada and was a graduate of Sheridan College in Ontario. He joined Pixar in 1996 and is credited with designing several of the characters in Finding Nemo (Nemo, several

of his friends and the barracuda), Monsters, Inc. (Waternoose) and A Bug's Life (Rosie, Princess Atta, Dot, Hopper and Tuck and Roll). Donations in Dan's memory will be gratefully received by Alta Bates Summit Foundation, 2450 Ashby Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705. Please indicate 'In Memory of Dan Lee' on your donation.

Several animators wanted to share fond memories of Dan. Tom Rubalcava said, "Dan Lee and I met at Colossal Pictures when he arrived in 1994. We worked well together. He was always eager to start and quite dedicated on any project he was assigned to at the studio. Quite a talent too. He was at ease creatively. Ideas and designs came to him quickly and his animation skills were at such a professional level at this early stage in his career. He was soft-spoken and always personable, making it easy to become friends and not just work mates. His dry humor and sarcasm was always fun, and he was easy to poke fun with, as he never took himself too seriously. Unfortunately, after finding out he was diagnosed with lung cancer, I was only able to visit with him once. I regret that I couldn't spend more time with him during his illness. He'll be sorely missed in the professional community, but mostly in all the friendships he's made over the very short years."

Billy Burger wrote, "I worked with him for two weeks at Colossal Pictures 12 years ago. I'll always remember the wonderful drawing of a rhino that he did for Nickelodeon. It was really sort of a brush with greatness."

Carter Tomassi was at a memorial gathering for Dan. His three older sisters were there, One commented, "His passing made the front page of the Ottawa newspaper. How many animators rate that treatment?" She also said they used to torture him.

Carter reports, "Andy Stanton said he recognized the little brother syndrome as soon as he and Dan met. That was one reason they got along so well. In fact, that seems like a key reason everyone got along with Dan. He was so easy-going and never pushy about his talents."

"Andy also talked about how Dan designed Nemo to be as adorable as possible, just one step from making you vomit, in Andy's words."

TOM GIBBONS HAS PREMIERED A NEW WORK AT SLAMDANCE Mary Ann Skweres, a writer for awn.com said, "Still I Remain (A Fish Out of Water) - The Trouble With Recurring Relationships Some relationships are like a fish slipping through your hands. And even if you don't like fish, sometimes you end up with fish again anyway. This surreal short-short explores those slippery relationships."

"A primitive Down Shooter table on saw horses, no electricity, no water, some paper cutouts and a dead trout wired for animation are part of what it took to create this 1:47 mini epic." Gibbons created the amazing award winning Hunger Artist and works at Tippett.

Left to right: Don Hertzfeldt, Bill Plymptom, Mike Judd

DON'T MISS "THE ANIMATION SHOW" OPENING LOCALLY MARCH 4 at the Lumiere in San Francisco, Act 1 and 2 in Berkeley and the Rafael Center. This is a show for adults who love animation as a great art form and who want more than cheap laughs. After having seen several lowbrow juvenile animation shows in recent years, this show is a welcomed treat. It is a daring animation program due to the variety of unusual art styles and the intellectual content of several of the works. Even the program's director, Don Hertzfeldt, dares to challenge our minds with a beautiful looking study called The Meaning of Life. Georges Schwizgebel's The Man With No Shadow is a visually stunning series of animated paintings that shows us what happens when a man trades his shadow to a magician for the riches of the world. Pan With Us by David Russo imagines the ancient woodland god Pan exploring our modern world (it is set to a poem by Robert Frost).

For sheer excitement there is Rock Fish from Blur Studios and Ward 13 by Peter Cornwell from Australia. For humor there is Fireworks by PES and Sarah Phelps, Guard Dog by Bill Plympton (which looks great in 35mm on a big screen) and The F.E.D.S. by Jen Drummond (the same questionable talking heads technique used in Waking Life). Then there are films that are visual enigmas including the impressive Fallen Art from Poland and the very satisfying When The Day Breaks by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis (although I still don't understand it after seeing it 20 times).

This is a great show if you want a glimpse of excellent animation for sophisticated adults. This isn't a show for young kids or people who crave sick and twisted stuff. For maximum enjoyment, don't miss seeing it in 35mm projected on a big screen.

www.animationshow.com

AT OUR ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING LAURA TULLOSS REPORTED WE SPENT $384 MORE THAN WE TOOK IN and hopefully by raising annual dues $3 we will break even at the end of our next fiscal year. Our beginning income was $4,076 (2/1/04) and our end balance was $3692. Our number of members remains about the same (174 on 1/31/05 and 175 on 1/31/04). We normally gain 40 to 50 new members during the year and lose a similar number who do not renew. 22% of our expenses went for newsletter postage, 21% went for printing, 21% for receptions/parties for visiting animators and the rest went for venue rentals, office, website, Internet, bank and Pay Pal fees. Karl Cohen was once again elected president of our chapter. He talked about upcoming programs and a reel of our members' work that will be shown in India by ASIFA later this year.

JOHN ATKINSON DID BROADCAST GRAPHICS FOR "THE PLOT TO KILL NIXON" He worked on a version of this story for the History Channel. The 90-minute show centers on an obscure incident from 1974 in which an out-of-work tire salesman hatched a plan to hijack an airliner and crash it into the White House. A theatrical version, Assassination of Richard Nixon starring Sean Penn is based on the same incident. John, "Did all of the visual effects and graphic treatments."

A tour of his website includes a behind the scenes look at computer generated models he has created for past TV productions. John has been with Indigo Films in San Rafael since 2001 doing cool stuff. He has created sea monsters for America's Loch Ness Monster and impressive looking war ships for The True Story of PT-109. His credits include several other shows as varied as America's Active Volcanoes to America's Favorite Haunted Places. The shows are for the Discovery and Arts and Entertainment networks. For more information about John's work visit www.atkinsonproductions.comin an intense search for meaning during the past several months. When I saw him about two weeks before he passed away, I had a sense that he had found it somehow, that there was a sense of deep peacefulness within the storm of physical difficulty. Dan's unique, generous and kind spirit will be remembered by many."

NIK PHELPS' MUSIC IS USED IN "A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CRAIGSLIST" the music titled "I (heart symbol) My Cat." was originally composed for a Nina Paley film.

LOCAL SCREENINGS (top)

NATIONAL NEWS (top)

A TWO-NIGHT TRIBUTE TO ANIMATOR GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY IN LA March 18 - 19 at the American Cinematheque. The Russian-born, CALArts educated director has an impressive list of credits including Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls and Star Wars: Clone Wars. He is presently developing an animated/live-action Astro Boy feature. www.americancinematheque.com

GANG OF SEVEN (G7) ANIMATION HAS PRODUCED WORK ON A FEATURE AND A TV SERIES The company formed last year by former Disney artists completed a number of animated sequences for New Line's feature Son of the Mask. It stars Jamie Kennedy as animator Tim Avery and is a sequel to The Mask.

G7 produced traditional and flash animated sequences plus the CG cartoon that Jamie Kennedy's character is creating in the film. For the film within the film, G7 utilized an innovative approach to working with Toon Shader. "The effect, for this sequence, combines the traditional look of 2D with the three dimensional dynamics of CGI animation to provide a unique, updated appearance to the screen image. We made a CGI cartoon that looks like a short theatrical cartoon from the 1940s - in 3D," says animation supervisor Rich Arons.

Animation supervisor Tom Sito says, "Following our approach of bringing the right people for the right job, we used Eric Goldberg as animator for one sequence." Goldberg is well known for his work as the supervising animator on the Genie in Aladdin and the director of Pocahontas.

In addition, G7 Animation has just finished work on two projects for BKN International, "Legend of the Dragon" and "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - The Lost Scimitar of Arabia." "Legend of the Dragon" is a twenty six episode action/adventure series slated for a release in fall 2005. G7 contributed all pre-production including design work, layouts and storyboards for the series. They are currently in the final stages of editing the episodes.

For Ali Baba G7 provided development and pre-production and character design. The show is being produced as a direct to DVD movie. G7 is headed by Tom Tataranowicz, Rich Arons, Tom Sito, Dennis Venizelos, Mark Zoeller and David Armstrong.

HAVE YOU DISCOVERED SCRAPPYLAND? It is a tribute to the delightful 1930's star Scrappy. The cartoon series was produced by Charles Mintz for Columbia. The site includes a long article and excellent filmography by Paul Etchevery who is one of the organizers of the Psychotronic Film Festival at Foothill College. www.scrappyland.com

VISIT US AT ASIFA-SF.ORG

SEE AN ONLINE EXHIBIT OF THE WORK OF 25 NOTED ILLUSTRATORS AND CARTOONISTS WHEN THEY WERE KIDS AND HOW THEY DRAW NOW It was organized by the Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art in New York (MoCCA). "Now/Then" was curated by illustrator/webmaster Robert Zimmerman. Zach Trenholm, caricaturist, says, "It's well-done, fun & worth the visit." http://www.moccany.org/nowthen/

ANIMATORS IN NY CELEBRATED VALENTINE'S DAY WITH 2 BIG SHOWS OF THEIR WORK At the BAM Rose Cinemas in Brooklyn they showed an Animation Block Valentine Intro by Bobby Houlihan, Odd Todd Valentine Special by Odd Todd, Self Help by Marcelo Goreman, Sketch by Daisy Church, Handshake by Pat Smith, Easy from Fin Film, Unicornimation by Chris Mullins, George and Ted by Ian Jones-Quartey, Return I Will To Old Brazil by Alex Budovsky, Tuesday Kissing by Melissa MacAlpin, Reunited by Zoya Baker, Lovers Supplant by Norma Toraya, Super Mouse Valentine Special by Scott Dodson, Love Me, Love Me, Love Me by Marina Gioti, Willis Sillim's Tall Tale by Steffen Vala, In The Loins of Spring by the Avid Cyclist Crew, The Fan And The Flower by Bill Plympton, When Bump Met Grind by Big Machine Design, Wax Emporium by Casey Safron, Hearts by Stieg Retlin, The Firm by Jayce White, First Kiss by Jim Mortensen, Goodnight Norma, Goodnight Milton by John Schnall, Love by Don Duga, Animation Block Credits by 380 Crew and Love Birds by Dan Forgione.

At Frank's Lounge in Brooklyn they showed Anijam, Irra Verbitsky's Intro to Animation, What I Want by Candy Kugel, Daughter of Eve by Christen M. Smith, Duality by Benny Lo, Dark Obsessions by Sybil Cubilette, Oil and Vinegar by Mike Blum, Particle Valentine by Christine Victoria Dunn, Love Story by Signe Baumane, The Proposal by Arlington Cruz, Fan by Lori Samsel, Woman by Irra Verbitsky, Bikini by Lasse Persson, Float (Electric Star Girl) by Joel Trussell, Heart Attack by Joshua Jularbal, Magnetism by Nye Warburton, and Partying Alien Robots from Pluto by Aaron Wertheimer and Josh Sternberg.

http://www.animationblock.com

HEAD OF ANIMATION TOOLWORKS ALSO MAKES FINE WINES Howard Mozeico, who manufactures the Animation Lunchbox, has just introduced a line of wines. Et Fille wines start at $26 a bottle. www.etfillewines.com

CHEL WHITE'S BENT STUDIO in Portland created the Saturday Night Live parody "Santa and the States" in 2 weeks. In this 5-minute short Santa decides not to deliver any presents to red states.

WILL VINTON'S NEWEST COMPANY IS FREEWILL ENTERTAINMENT He is developing a series for Fox.

AN EVOCATIVE LOOK AT A "SILLY DREAMER" by Litz Plummer, Diva I was fortunate enough to be in Minneapolis, MN on Thursday, February 10th 2005 at the first of the five screenings of Dream On Silly Dreamer, a documentary of the recent history and demise of the hand-drawn sector of the Disney animation department from director Dan Lund and producer Tony West. Yes, that's right, the day before the annual Disney shareholders' meeting in Minneapolis. The aforementioned shareholders were the primary invitees, but the screening was open to the public. So there I was, surrounded by shareholders, standing in line to get into the screening, where I asked a shareholder to hold my cloak while I put my hat and gloves away. Yes, the Diva has no shame. Soon enough, though, everyone got seated and the film started.

The opening credits are in Disney-style fonts. That was not lost on the audience, nor was the opening sequence that was deftly narrated in a storybook style. In this animated section, we are introduced to our hero, "Our Little Dreamer." Through his sketchbook, which "accidentally" goes too far into the future, we see the new Sorcerer's Apprentice `Magic Hat' Animation Building in Burbank, CA get stormed upon by a nasty thundercloud. Our Little Dreamer burst into tears. The pages are then turned back to a much earlier time and a much happier Little Dreamer. We see Our Little Dreamer joyfully drawing when his mother enters the picture to tell him "No one will pay you to sit around and draw all day!" to which Our Little Dreamer replies "Disney will! Disney will!" and he runs around in ecstatic circles.

Interviews with former Disney animators, in-betweeners, finishers, story writers, special effects animators and more soon begin and are skillfully woven in between the charming and informative animated segments, filling in history, points of view, and memories both good and bad of the artists who once worked for Disney.

Dream On Silly Dreamer presents a brief tour of the history of the Disney animation department from the skills taught to Our Little Dreamer by the "Nine Old Men," the banishment of the animation department from their building at Disney Studios to a bunch of portable temporary trailers and then the phenomenon of The Lion King,

The the fantastic success of The Lion King brought raises, incredible bonus checks, lawyers, agents, Oscar parties, a brand new building (which, by the way, the animators found inhospitable and cold), and the intense pressure to recreate that phenomenon over and over.

Dream On chronicles the rise of mismanagement. Particularly poignant are the interviews regarding the disastrous process of taking story writing away from the story writers and reassigning those story writing duties to accountants and managers. Among these mismanagement issues was the cheapening of the studio product through the proliferation of poorly produced sequels, which takes us to March 25th, 2002 when the axe came down and the entire traditional hand-drawn animation staff was sent packing.

When the interviewed animators speak of the days surrounding the demise of the traditional animation department, the shock and disbelief are still clearly evident. Stark images of matching disassembled animation tables piled on top of each other are as fresh to me as I write this as they were in the theater.

It would have been easy to blame the computer animation department for the demise of the traditional animation department, since the computer animators were the only ones to survive the layoffs, but Mr. Lund very respectfully avoids that pitfall. He tries very hard to present a more inclusive picture of where the blame truly lays, which, as with most things, is never on just one person or group.

The interviews were clear and concise and edited in such a way as to give as well-rounded a picture of the experience of working in the Disney animation studio. Well-placed archival footage of early "home" videos of the studios underscore the nostalgia for what once was.

Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, this film manages to convey hope right alongside a deep feeling of loss. It is my sincere wish that the shareholders in the audience not only felt that loss more personally now that Mr. Lund has "put a face" on the artists who have given so much to the world of animation, but that they may actually do something about it. It may be in little ways, but I am well aware that a shareholder's opinion has more weight than mine in the corporation that is Disney.

Mr. Lund was on hand at the screenings and I spoke to him briefly afterward to congratulate him. He hopes to have a screening in the Bay Area later on this year. You may check out more on this detailed and intense documentary at www.dreamonsillydreamer.com

GENE DEITCH DISCUSSES THE TECHNOLOGY USED TO MAKE "POLAR EXPRESS" "A point that needs to be made is that actors with electronic contacts on their faces and bodies are a definite threat to animators. You know as well as I that if producers can find a way to make something cheaper, faster, and easier, and be able to call it animation, they will jump on it. If allowed to compete in festivals as animated productions, they will in fact be depriving real animators their fair chance."

"Motion Capture is that entirely new category you are looking to identify,* What ever value or interest it has, it is something different than action created frame-by-frame. Motion capture may approach a kind of virtual reality, but how can it ever capture the flexibility, exaggeration, style, and fantastic imagination of frame-by-frame animation?"

* In an earlier note to Gene who lives in Prague, I said motion capture isn't really animation, but we don't have a universally accepted word for it so the public calls it animation. I pointed out that in the films made using the Vox System moving human lips were superimposed over non-moving cartoon images (Clutch Cargo and Space Angel). There was no frame-by-frame drawn animation, yet the public called it animation. We need to develop a better vocabulary that separates and describes different technologies instead of lumping them all together as animation.

IS POLAR EXPRESS AN ANIMATED FILM? The following is a letter sent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by Gene Deitch, Academy member 1860

I've been reading in various film journals, and in the popular media that the film POLAR EXPRESS is being referred to as an "animated film" and is vying for an Oscar in the Animation Feature category. This greatly concerns me, as a threat to the integrity of our art and craft, which has a heritage of over a hundred years of frame-by-frame animation. We've seen plenty of technological change in our craft, from the praxinoscope, flip-books, paper and cel animation, CGI computer animation, Flash, etc., but they all adhere to the same basic principle, the illusion of motion gained from viewing a rapid sequence of still images created individually.

Whatever the merits or demerits of POLAR EXPRESS as a film, I don't believe that Motion Capture, the primary technology used to create its imagery, is basically any different than a live action film, that is action created in real time. It is not consistent with a true definition of cinematic animation. I would say the same applies to a string marionette film, such as TEAM AMERICA, which is also not true cinema animation.

Many years ago the late British animation leader John Halas invited me to construct a technical definition of cinema animation that would cover all known present or future technologies. I accepted the challenge, avoiding such technology-specific terms such as "frames" or "film," but attempting to get down to the very basics of cinematic animation, in whatever technology employed.

I would like to have the Academy consider this basic definition, in order to ensure clarity in the Feature Animation category. POLAR EXPRESS, it seems to me, opens up the possibility of an entirely new category, which may possibly develop; Motion Capture, as a way of creating a special kind of virtual reality. Whether it's a good thing, or a blind alley, is another subject for discussion, but what is clear to me is that it is NOT animation in its traditional and technical meaning.

Here is my own personal attempt to define what animation basically is, technically. I have included this definition in my online AWN book, How To Succeed in Animation. It has been posted for a few years, and so far, no one has challenged it. This is it: "CINEMATIC ANIMATION: The recording of individually created phases of imagined action in such a way as to achieve the illusion of motion when shown at a constant, predetermined rate, exceeding that of human persistence of vision."

I believe that this definition concisely states what animation is, no matter what technology, "2D" or "3D," and that any film employing real-time movement not be considered as "cinema animation."

INDIAN ANIMATION INDUSTRY HAS A SEVERE LABOR SHORTAGE The studios are training people as quickly as possible, but as one friend who worked in India put it, "At times it seems there's a bigger team of sales and marketing people than there are artists to do the work." Schools and studios have started classes in animation, but they are not close to meeting the demands of the industry. As a result one major production company is opening a studio in China and a game company in India has opened a studio in China with over 150 employees. That move could be the beginning of the end of India's industry as Chinese wages are even lower than what Indian companies pay artists.

Are you old enough to remember when all TV animation was done in NY and Los Angeles? Then it moved to Mexico starting with Rocky and Bullwinkle. Then it moved to Taiwan and Australia. Then it moved toÉTV animation has a long history of hiring labor at the lowest possible price.

THE WE ARE FAMILY FOUNDATION THREATENS THE AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION WITH A LAWSUIT and the American Family Association (AFA) refuses to admit they made a mistake. I assume you are aware that the AFA has claimed SpongeBob, Barney and other stars appear in a pro-homosexual video. They insist the We Are Family Foundation, which runs www.wearefamilyfoundation.org should be called WAFF which isn't their name and they do not use those initials in their web address. But there are gay sites at www.waf.org and www.waff.com. I'm sure the American Automobile Association's initials AAA, which are similar to other groups including AA, confuse some people. But in this case the AFA is deliberately trying to confuse their followers and the public into thinking a group teaching tolerance is also running the gay websites. The AFA's leader in a letter dated Jan. 24 (posted on the AFA website) calls the group he is attacking WAFF several times (5) and he uses their correct name only once. It looks to me that an intolerant minister (the Rev. Wildmon) is trying to milk his obvious error for all it is worth. He no doubt is making money (donations from his followers) by attacking PBS, groups that teach tolerance and a lot of other nice people. I certainly hope Wildmon's attack on SpongeBob and friends doesn't lead to the growth of hate crimes. It did in Germany. KC

PBS' ANIMATED BUNNY WAS ATTACKED BY BUSH'S NEW HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PBS's Postcards Form Buster features an animated rabbit that visits a variety of families around our country showing our nation's cultural diversity and introducing interesting occupations to the show's young viewers. Nobody

objected to a visit to a Jewish Orthodox family in New York, a Muslim family in Chicago, Mormons in Utah or a Pentecostal family in North Carolina, but Margaret Spelling, Bush's new head of the Department of Education, was upset that tax dollars were spent promoting a same sex relationship when they visited a family with two mothers running a dairy farm in Vermont.

According to Peter Hartlaub, a SF Chronicle reporter who has seen the "Sugartime!" episode, "less than 30 seconds is spent discussing the gender makeup of the two same sex families included in the show. The longest exchange is between Buster and an 11 year old girl named Emma, who lives with her mother, Karen, and partner Gillian. `So Gillian's your mom too?' Buster asks the girl, who answers, `She's my step-mom.' `Boy that's a lot of mom's' Buster quips."

Are you shocked? About 99% of the show is about running a farm that produces maple sugar and dairy products. But because the episode upset Spelling, PBS decided to pull it from national distribution before it aired.

Salon.com reported that Peggy Charren, a children's programming advocate who is on the board of trustees of WGBH, the PBS station that produced the series said, "I expected there to be a discussion about lesbian families. There was nothing. I watched the tape twice and then called over to 'GBH and said, 'Are you sure this is what all the fuss is about?' The amount of information about lesbian families in the program is zero. I learned more about cows -- that all cows are female -- than I did about lesbians."

WGBH has announced that they will provide prints to stations wishing to preview it. Stations can decide for themselves if they want to air it. So far the show will or has run on at least 24 stations. By the time you read this other stations in the network may have decided to show it. The show aired locally on KQED on February 2 and it will air March 23 in Boston.

Spelling requested that PBS and/or WGBH remove any reference to government funding of the episode if it is shown and that the network refund the government's portion of the episode's production costs (about $125,000). Instead of returning the money, WGBH will produce a replacement show acceptable to Spelling.

In the last 5 years the Department of Education has provided PBS about $100 million in funding, so it is understandable that the PBS network wanting to continue receiving funds from the government chose to honor Spelling's request not to distribute it. They could have fought to show it or a censored version of the show.

ANIMATED "CRAZY FROG" WITH EXPOSED MALE GENITALS IS APPROVED BY BRITISH CENSORS FOR SHOWING ON THEIR TV What gets censored on TV is different abroad. Despite over 60 complaints by irate parents in England the Advertising Standard Authority has ruled, "No sexual or inappropriate references were made" in commercials starring a frog that promotes a cell phone company. They did state the ads should not be shown "in or around children's programs."

Some people claim the frog offensive due to the noises the computer-generated character makes in TV commercials. The ad is posted on the web and it really is annoying. A group protesting the obnoxious frog has been formed, calling itself the Crazy Frog Removal Society. Their tongue-in-cheek website "demands compensation for days of endless mental trauma from the horrid advert." They also call for, "The public execution of the creator of the crazy frog."

HOW FACTS MUTATE - HOW ACCURATE IS THE HUMAN MEMORY AND THE INFORMATION WE READ ABOUT ANIMATION'S PAST? Most of us have played a game as kids where a secret or story is whispered around a circle and the last telling of it may be quite different than the original version. A few weeks ago a friend sent me a note that he had written the editor of the New York Times concerning a poorly researched story they ran. In his letter he included, "Mr. Leland did mention `objections to Betty Boop's garter.' The garter was the least of her problems. Max Fleischer, the creator of Betty Boop, received death threats from the Klu Klux Klan. The Klan objected to Betty appearing with Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and other black performers, in her cartoonsÉ"

I wrote him that I was unaware of the death threats story and asked where it came from. He was sure he read it somewhere. I ran an Internet check and found there was a story similar to his. It said the KKK had warned the studio about using black jazz stars. I sent that to my friend and he thought he might have embellished his version with the phrase "death threats," I guess for dramatic value.

Still not satisfied that the story was true, I decided to ask a few scholars if they were aware of this story. Mark Langer, who teaches at Carleton in Ottawa, had never heard it. He has interviewed several former Fleischer employees and has read lots of historical documents about the studio including the studio's FBI records. He assumes that a hate crime would have been reported to the police or FBI. He concluded the story was probably a false urban legend.

I also contacted Jerry Beck who was unaware of the legend. I also asked him if he could contact another obvious authority, Leslie Carbaga. When Leslie was living in the Bay Area and going to high school in the early 1970s, he wrote The Fleischer Story published by Nostalgia Press in 1976. It is an impressive, well-researched book about the studio's history. He wrote back, "Lou Fleischer told me the story personally and all I know was what I put in my book."

But what was in the book? The book has no index so I reread the chapters on the studio's early sound cartoons. No story about a hate threat there. I kept on reading. Finally, after the studio had moved to Miami in the late `30s, I saw the words Ku Klux Klan (p. 120 of the original edition). The paragraph reads, "The staff had encountered some southern racial prejudice in Florida. When Cab Calloway dropped in to visit Lou Fleischer at his home in Miami a note was slipped under the door that read, `Don't have any more niggers in your house" - signed `The Ku Klux Klan.' Lou had a black maid at the time, but that was considered all right."

I assume my friend's version of what happened is based on a retelling of Carbaga's account. He may have read Carbaga's book years ago, or another text that referred to The Fleischer Story. In any case there was an implied threat, but it was a note given to Lou, not Max. The date and location had changed since Carbaga wrote his book. Most importantly the Klan went from objecting to Cab Calloway visiting a white friend in his home, to Betty's cartoons from 1932 - '33 including the music of Calloway, Don Redmond, Louis Armstrong and others black musicians. As I thought about this story longer I wondered how much of what I or anyone else knows about animations past is information that has changed over the years. KC

DVDS AND BOOKS (top)

FESTIVALS/COMPETITIONS (top)

A STORYBOARD COMPETITION FOR A FILM ABOUT PEACE Announcing the 10th International Helen Victoria Haynes World Peace Storyboard & Animation Scholorship Competition. Submit a storyboard for a Public Service Announcement on "How to Achieve World Peace." The winning entrant produces an animation of their idea. The competition is open to under-graduate animation students and awards a total cash prize of $1,500 for the winning entry. Deadline for entries is April 1, 2005. For competion rules and entry form go to our web site at www.hvh-worldpeace.org.

BRAINWASH deadline is May 1, $20 to enter shorts under $20 minutes. This is a funky homegrown event that loves animation and show almost every entry. Last year David Howell's Gargoyle won 3rd prize. Event will be shown outdoors July 8 & 9 in West Oakland. Brainwash, PO Box 23302, Oakland CA 94623-0302

WINNERS OF THE 2004 ASIFA-EAST ANNUAL COMPETITION PLUS 7 OF THE 10 ANIMATED SHORTS CONSIDERED FOR OSCAR NOMINATIONS THIS YEAR!

AT DE ANZA ON SATURDAY, MARCH 5 AT 1:30 PM

Free, in the Advanced Technology Center's theater (room 120), everybody welcome

The program includes the amazing 2004 Student Oscar winner Rex Steele, Nazi Smasher by Alex Woo and 7 of the 10 animated shorts that were considered for Oscar nominations. They include Birthday Boy by Sejong Park (Korea/Australia, Best in Show at SIGGRAPH 2004), Ward 13 by Peter Cornwell (Australia, stop-motion), Guard Dog by Bill Plympton, It's the Cat by Mark Kausler, Ryan by Chris Landreth (Canada) and Gopher Broke and In the Rough from Blur Studios.

The program also includes Chris Boyce & Robert M. Charde's On The Moon, Karl Staven's Piano Dog Visits The Underworld, Carolyn & Andy London's really funny Subway Salvation, PES' Pee-Nut, Nina Paley's The Sitayana, Chris Hinton/Acme Filmworks' Nibbles, Steffen Vala's Willis Sillim's Tall Tale, Karen Aqua & Joanna Priestley's Andaluz and about 15 or 20 other independent, student and professional works.

The fun begins at 1:30 PM, Saturday, March 5th in the Advanced Technology Center's theater (room 120) on the De Anza campus. Arrive early. A flea market will be going on in the parking lot closest to the Technology Center. Park on the street (free) or in the Flint Center Garage on campus, where the fee is reduced to $2 after 1 PM.

De Anza is located at 21250 Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, directly adjacent to Route 85. From San Francisco, take 280 south to 85 south and exit 85 immediately at Stevens Creek Blvd. Turn left back over the freeway, then turn right into the campus at the Flint Center garage (or find street parking). From the garage, head east to the Advanced Technology Center , enter by the front doors and the theatre is room 120 on the lowest level. (FYI, A campus map is posted on the De Anza College web site at http://www.deanza.edu/map/.)

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ASIFA-SF PRESENTS

"MY DINNER WITH BILL"

AN UNUSUALLY FINE PARTY HONORING BILL PLYMPTON

TUESDAY MARCH 1, 7:30 PM AT CARL'S FINE FILMS

Bill is coming direct to S.F. from the Oscar ceremony. Nancy Phelps will once again amaze us with her abilities as a caterer. Nik Phelps and friends will provide live music. There just might be somebody performing mind baffling magic tricks as the night wears on.

Find out if Bill and his date actually arrived at the Academy Award Ceremony by an unusual mode of transportation (watch for him on TV).

Find out what it was like to sit for what must have seemed like hours - waiting to find out if you will be called to the stage.

Come find out about Bill's wild time with famous movie stars and other tales of the Oscar festivities.

At Carl's Fine Films, 42 Decatur in SF (off Bryant between 7^th and 8^th Streets)

Catering by Nancy Phelp's Botany Bay (you can help out by bringing an alcoholic beverage to share)

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