Adam Beckett’s tragically short career as experimental animator and budding effects master are celebrated in a collection of his restored films.

So you’ve got an idea for a first film... Where do you go from here?

Adam Abraham’s new book smartly tells the story of UPA’s meteoric rise, eventual decline and lasting artistic and creative impact still felt today.

Special Guest: OIAF Animators' Picnic 2011 - Part 2 It's the FFAF Pre-Holiday Holiday Spectacular as Joel and Alan continue to bother more legends of international animation trying to eat, drink, and be wary at the Ottawa International Animation Festival 2011, Part 2.  PLUS, backstage hijinks and hosting recap of the OIAF 2011 Closing Ceremonies.

Part musical, part action, all comedy, A Monster in Paris is a fun, yet convoluted, Disneyesque animated feature.

I thought this film had stunning visual effects. The backgrounds look like watercolor paintings and the scenes of the garden and the assortment of wildflowers in the yard were beautiful. The film could use some improvements though.

It’s baa-ack! The days are getting longer and warmer, but the real sign of spring’s incipient arrival is of the return of the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Fred Patten discusses Studio Ghibli's lush new book detailing the production art of their latest feature film.

If you enjoyed the movie, you will absolutely love this “making of” book. It answers questions that you didn’t know you had, and you'll want to see the movie again with a more knowledgeable eye.

“Cowboy Bebop” as seen through the eyes of guest writer Shawn Edrei.

To get the most out of KidScreen, you need to set up as many meetings as you can ahead of time and on the fly with other delegates and/or companies. In order to have meetings, you need to have something to talk about and that's usually a property you'd like to pitch or an idea of what you'd like to option with which you'd like to partner. The opportunities are there, but dance cards fill up quickly.

Director Gore Verbinski and ILM give us a hefty volume crammed with full-color behind-the-scenes photos, production art and final renders.

There are coffee-table "The Art of …" and "The Making of …" books on just about every new American animated feature. Books about older movies are rarer. Here is one on a 1967 "classic": the stop-motion Mad Monster Party.

It’s been close to 2 decades since I last saw the original Beauty and the Beast, sitting mesmerized right alongside my then 3 year old daughter Becky. Sitting mesmerized right alongside my now 23 year old daughter as we watched this beautiful new version of the film, I can safely say the ends justify the means and the tremendous amount of work to bring this film to 3D has produced a visually stunning experience.

For five days every year the historic town of Fredrikstad, Norway becomes the center of Nordic/Baltic animation. The festival brings in an illustrious roster of names from the international animation community and this year was no exception.

This dark comedy isn't the prettiest looking release, but Sony does bring it to Blu-ray in a quality MPEG-4 AVC 1080p transfer. Dimensionality is the biggest issue with the image often looking soft. This then lowers the depth of field. Colors are natural and balanced well. When more vibrant colors pop up in the palette they do indeed pop. Blacks might not be inky throughout, but they aren't too murky. Digital issues aren't problematic, but crush is its biggest issue. Of course night scenes in low lighting suffer the worst. Some noise and banding occur but nothing too awful. Most of the issues with the picture quality presumably stem back to the source, which was a low-budget indie shot on Super 35. The worst thing you could say about the image would be that it is inconsistent. Some darker scenes can be murky and feature pixelization, but daylight scenes can be crisp and deep.

It was a surprise when Brendan Gleeson was announced as a Golden Globe nominee for his role as a corrupt, drug using, foul mouthed cop. Once you've seen it you'll know why. He owns the role. The best statement said about his character is he's either really stupid or really smart.

Over the years Steven Spielberg has certainly adapted his style to fit the project. The black & white cinematography in SCHINDLER'S LIST added a grim solemnity. The desaturated colors and herky-jerky photography of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN only matched the gritty war sequences. In WAR HORSE, he tackles the first World War with a touch that matches the melodramatic nature of the source book and play. He channels the melodramas of the 1940s and 1950s like John Ford's HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, creating an almost surreal fable.

Based on Stieg Larsson's international bestseller, this film makes this the second time this story has been brought to the screen. The original Swedish version is very fresh in my mind, having made my top 25 list last year, ranking fourth, just behind David Fincher's THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Now we have Fincher's version of the same tale in English.

Have you ever wondered how Santa delivers millions of presents in a single night? The 3D animation film Arthur Christmas (Aardman production for Sony Pictures Animation) reveals exactly how things work in Santa’s mysterious Arctic Headquarters.