Animated Cartoons Flourish On Film And Television, Reports Author Jeff Lenburg

After more than a century - major world wars, economic recessions, studio layoffs, new social styles and trends, technological advancements and rapid changes in everyday culture and public tastes - animated cartoons are still going strong and, like fine wine, have gotten better with age.

One huge reason for animation's remarkable resiliency: Animation has grown up.

"The industry's success is due largely to the fact animators keep producing films and programs that are fresh, topical and widely appealing," says animation historian Jeff Lenburg, author of the new book, "The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, Third Edition" (Facts on File, $24.95). The 800-page tome authoritatively covers the complete history of every animated cartoon - more than 3,100 in all - from 1897 to the present.

Over the last decade, animation has grown by leaps and bounds. Since 2001, animated features have grossed more than $4.6 billion, combined, in North America alone, with 15 blockbuster films each topping more than $100 million in revenue. Meanwhile, more than 60 television and cable networks, including premium pay movie channels and their offspring, have aired animated programming in the U.S.

Cable giants Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon likewise have expanded their reach around the globe on sister channels in foreign markets and on multiple platforms, including on the Web.

Anime has become another huge sensation on American television, from "Pokemon" to "Sailor Moon," and more adult fare like "Cowboy Bebop" and "InuYasha," while popular pre-school programs - "Bob the Builder," "Dora the Explorer" and others - have re-energized daytime children's programming. Old favorites, from "Felix the Cat" to "Mister Magoo," have also found new life in high-definition on VOOM's Animania HD.

"Interest in animation has never been greater," adds Lenburg, who has written six other books on animation and has chronicled its history for nearly 30 years.

Cartoons surely have changed from their crude pen-and-ink beginnings at the turn of the 20th century to the recent explosion of computer animation and new dawn of original blockbuster movies and Nielsen Top 20-rated cable network shows of today.

"What has changed the most is the content and culture of cartoons," Lenburg says. "Today's animation is more cutting edge, more risque, more over the top, and more strangely surreal."

Computer animation has virtually surpassed the traditional ink-and-draw technique as the method of choice in producing full-length animated features and some television programs. Studios such as Pixar Animation have set the standard by which success is measured, plus new box-office records and new all-time highs- and movies that have consecutively opened number one - from "Toy Story" (1995) to "Wall-E" (2008). Heavy competition has come from rivals DreamWorks' Animation and 20th Century Fox's Blue Sky Studios which have produced several smash-hit cartoon features of their own.

"Whether it is the current surge of interest in anime, the continued success of Cartoon Network and others, or the steady flow of animated movies being produced, animation continues to play an important role in our popular culture," Lenburg says.
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   Ms. Erin Shea
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