Larry Clow

When Disney closed the doors of its Orlando, Florida animation studio in January 2004, many saw it as the death knell for traditional hand-drawn animation. Of the 18 big-studio animated films to be released this year, only a handful will be done in 2D animation and of those, only a couple will even make it into theaters, according to KeyFrame-Online.com. In 2001, the first Oscar for an animated film was given out and the 3D animated Shrek took the prize. Since then, only one 2D animated movie snagged the award, 2002's Spirited Away. But like its hand-drawn predecessor, 3D animation is still expensive and requires copious amounts of computer power and animators. While big-budget 3D animated movies are the most visible step in animation's evolution, they only make up a small portion of the cartoons out there. Some of the most innovative, interesting animation is bein... (more)