The Animation Guild, Local 839 IATSE (formerly Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists) has signed a contract with Spaff Animation for work on Disney's upcoming theatrical release JUNGLE BOOK 2, as well as the direct-to-video release LION KING 1 1/2. Long-time animation vet Dave Spafford, who was a lead animator on WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, THE SECRET OF NIMH, OLIVER AND COMPANY, THE FOX AND THE HOUND and many others, runs Spaff Animation, which has provided animation for a wide variety of projects for the past 15 years. "Spaff Animation will be doing work on high-visibility Disney projects that have previously gone to Asia and Australia," said Animation Guild president Kevin Koch. "Dave is proving that Los Angeles artists can compete in cost and quality with Disney's foreign-based animation work. We'll work closely with him on these projects and, in the bigger picture, we'll continue to do everything we can to help reverse runaway production."