Dave Borthwick and bolexbrothers studios represent the best of Bristol's thriving animation underground. Their productions include the feature-length Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, which is a far cry from the usual version of the Grimm fairy tale.
It takes unique talent, persistence, and lots of creative confidence to be an independent filmmaker in today's animation global market, especially in the feature film arena.
I had a chance to catch up with some of the best for this month's island retreat--Bruno Bozetto (Allegro Non Troppo), Richard Williams (The Thief and the Cobbler [Arabian Knight]), R.O. Blechman (L'Histoire du Soldat) and Bill Plympton (The Tune).
Bruno Bozetto's top 10 picks if stranded on a desert island... "Personally, if I were stranded on a desert island I prefer taking Sharon Stone rather than 10...
Donna La Breque interviews Activision producer Cecilia Barajas about the company's new hybrid animated-and-live action offering, Zork Nemesis--the latest in the ongoing Zork saga.
The long and varied career of Lotte Reiniger, best known for her exquisite Adventures of Prince Achmed, one of the first feature-length animated films ever made, is detailed by William Moritz
Alexandre ("Alosha") Alexeff and Claire Parker (ANight on Bald Mountain [1933], The Nose [1963], Pictures at an Exhibition [1972], etc.), loved to introduce themselves as "the artist and the animator," i.e., he was the one who created the images and she choreographed them.
Last November, Jeffrey Katzenberg asked Jim and Stephanie Graziano to head up production for DreamWorks' new television animation division. While the offer was not surprising, given the Graziano's track record, what was surprising is how readily they accepted...
Over the last few years, Channel 4 has helped put a new face on British animation. Jill McGreal reports how women will lead the broadcaster into series television using the irreverent talents of Candy Guard and Sarah Ann Kennedy.
The Cartoon Network's Linda Simensky offers some personal observations on the ways women make it in today's animation industry.
I heard about the death of Shamus Culhane through a voice mail message from Animation World Editor Harvey Deneroff asking me to write an obituary. Two years had passed since Shamus had told me that he was dying, but somehow I never took this news seriously...
I was strapped tight in the 20 ton silver rocket ship named To InfinityAnd Beyond with countdown within minutes. I reminded myself to "breathe" according to basic manual training. "Body Functions" read high normal. Don't want to get too high, it distorts the mind's reaction time and I'll probably go in my suit...
At 41, the game designer and inventor has been developing interactive video games for the CD-based and coin-operated markets for as long as just about anyone, and his successes are now legend: Among them is Dragon's Lair...
Welcome to our Desert Island; our first in a series and a unique partof our magazine. My monthly quest is to find out how animation (and otherarts) impacts and influences internationally renowned animators, actors,directors, producers, musicians, and so on...
This article is adapted from the keynote address Bill Kroyer gave at the Ojai Animation Conference, in Ojai, California, on July 22, 1995. The Conference, designed as a retreat for the animation industry, was sponsored by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, in association with the Ojai Film Society.
