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Introduction

The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these six frames.

Animation is a method in which figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most animations are made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Computer animation can be very detailed 3D animation, while 2D computer animation (which may have the look of traditional animation) can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth, or faster real-time renderings. Other common animation methods apply a stop motion technique to two- and three-dimensional objects like paper cutouts, puppets, or clay figures.

An animated cartoon is an animated film, usually a short film aimed at children and featuring an exaggerated visual style. The style takes inspiration from comic strips, often featuring anthropomorphic animals, superheroes, or the adventures of child protagonists. Especially with animals that form a natural predator/prey relationship (e.g. cats and mice, coyotes and birds) the action often centers around violent pratfalls such as falls, collisions and explosions that would be lethal in real life.

Commonly, animators achieved the effect by a rapid succession of images that minimally differ from each other. The illusion—as in motion pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon and beta movement, but the exact causes are still uncertain. Analog mechanical animation media that rely on the rapid display of sequential images include the phénakisticope, zoetrope, flip book, praxinoscope, and film. Television and video are popular electronic animation media that originally were analog and now operate digitally. For display on computers, technology such as the animated GIF and Flash animation were developed. (Full article...)

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The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, produced by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Scully, and Richard Sakai, and written by Scully, Jean, Brooks, Groening, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, Ian Maxtone-Graham, and Matt Selman. It stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille and Pamela Hayden and features Albert Brooks in a prominent guest role, as well as Tom Hanks and Green Day in smaller ones. After previous attempts to create a film version of The Simpsons had failed because of script length and lack of staff, production began in 2001. The script was re-written one hundred times continuing after animation had begun. This meant that "two films' worth" of finished material was cut, including cameos from Isla Fisher, Minnie Driver, Erin Brockovich, and Kelsey Grammer. The film premiered in Springfield, Vermont, which won the right to hold it through a Fox competition. The film was a box office success, and received positive reception from film critics, though some felt the film was too short.

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Cartoon

Credit: John Leech

The word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time. The original meaning was in fine art of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, where it referred to a preparatory drawing for a piece of art, such as a painting or tapestry.

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Yes, we worry about what the critics say. Yes, we worry about what the opening box office is going to be. Yes, we worry about what the final box office is going to be. But really, the whole point why we do what we do is to entertain our audiences. The greatest joy I get as a filmmaker is to slip into an audience for one of our movies anonymously, and watch people watch our film. Because people are 100 percent honest when they're watching a movie. And to see the joy on people's faces, to see people really get into our films...to me is the greatest reward I could possibly get. — John Lasseter, reflecting on the impact of the film, Toy Story

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Maggie Roswell (born November 14, 1952) is an American film and television actress and voice artist from Los Angeles, California. Roswell made her acting break-through in the 1980s with appearances in films such as Midnight Madness (1980), Lost in America (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986), and guest appearances on television shows such as Remington Steele, Masquerade, and Happy Days. She appeared frequently in the sketch comedy The Tim Conway Show from 1980 to 1981, and did voice acting for a few animated films and television shows. Roswell also performed in some theater plays, including one in 1988 directed by Julia Sweeney. Together they established the Roswell 'n' Rayle Company, creating and voicing advertisements for companies. Because of her move to Denver, Roswell had to travel to Los Angeles twice a week to tape The Simpsons. This ultimately led to her requesting a pay raise in 1999; however, Fox refused to offer her the amount she wanted so she quit the show. Roswell returned to The Simpsons in 2002 after reaching a deal to record her lines from her Denver home.

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The first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon, aired 20 episodes from February 21 to December 2, 2005. The series was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Mako, Dante Basco, and Jason Isaacs as the main character voices. The season revolves around the protagonist, Aang, and his friends Katara and Sokka and their journey to the North Pole to find a Waterbending master to teach Aang and Katara. Fire Lord Ozai, the current Fire Lord of the Fire Nation, is waging a seemingly endless war against the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, and the already vanquished Air Nomads. Along the way, Aang and his friends are chased by various pursuers, including Prince Zuko, a banished Fire Nation prince, and Admiral Zhao, a key member of the Fire Navy. Each episode of Season One attracted more than a million viewers on its first airing. Season One won "Best TV Series" and "Best Animated Television Series" in the boys 9–14-year old demographic at the 2005 Pulcinella Awards, which gives awards for excellence in animation.

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Did you know...

...that Cliff Friend co-wrote "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", the theme tune of the Looney Tunes cartoon series?
...that Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle, the two-hour finale for Avatar: The Last Airbender, was the most-watched cable television broadcast in the week of its transmission?
...that Paul McCartney's condition for guest starring in The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" was that Lisa, who becomes a vegetarian in the episode, remain one for the rest of the series?