Portal:Animation

The French Democracy is a short 2005 French political film made by Alex Chan (pictured) using computer animation from Lionhead Studios' 2005 business simulation game The Movies. The plot centers on three Moroccan men who turn to rioting after facing different forms of discrimination. Chan, a French native of Chinese descent, created the film to convey his view that racism caused the riots of the 2005 civil unrest in France. Although Chan was restricted by shortcomings and technical limitations in The Movies, he finished the film after four days of production. The film was uploaded to The Movies Online, Lionhead's website for user-created videos, on 22 November 2005 and was soon covered by American and French press. Although real-time-rendered, three-dimensional computer animation (machinima) had been used in earlier political films, The French Democracy attained an unprecedented level of mainstream attention for political machinima. While acknowledging the film's flaws, such as the grammatically poor English subtitles, commentators praised its clear political message and compared it to films such as La Haine and Do the Right Thing. The French Democracy inspired other politically conscious machinima works and fueled discussion about the art form's potential for political expression. Some raised concerns that video game companies would use their copyrights to control the content of derivative machinima films.

• ... that the interactive cartoon Cat Burglar takes about 15 minutes to watch, but features 90 minutes of animation?
• ... that Paul Dini was a writer for both the animated television series Batman: The Animated Series and the video game series Batman: Arkham?
• ... that the French animated film The Summit of the Gods is based on a Japanese manga series?
• ... that Encanto's Isabela Madrigal was animated to be aware that she is "always on stage"?
• ... that the creators of the cartoon Jade Armor filmed live-action martial arts stunts to visualize the show's animated action sequences?
• ... that the live-action comedy series Community had a stop motion animated Christmas special?

Phil Hartman (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American actor, comedian, writer and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family later immigrated to the United States. He attended California State University, Northridge, graduating with a degree in graphic arts and going on to design several album covers. He joined The Groundlings in 1975 and there helped Paul Reubens to develop his character Pee-wee Herman, co-wrote the screenplay for the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse. Hartman became well-known in the late 1980s when he joined the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He won fame for his impressions, particularly of President Bill Clinton, and stayed on the show for eight seasons. Called "the Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, Hartman won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. In 1995, after scrapping plans for his own variety show, he starred as Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. He also had frequent roles on The Simpsons, and appeared in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers. He was shot dead by his wife Brynn while he slept in his Encino, California home in 1998. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes.

The cast members of Family Guy, an American animated sitcom that features five main voice actors, and numerous regular cast and recurring guest stars. The principal voice cast consists of show creator Seth MacFarlane (pictured), Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis (who replaced Lacey Chabert after the first season) and Mike Henry. Recurring voice actors include Patrick Warburton, Adam West, John G. Brennan, Nicole Sullivan and Jennifer Tilly, and repeat guest stars include Phyllis Diller, Charles Durning, Rush Limbaugh, and Phil LaMarr. Many cast members provide voices for multiple characters. The voice actors, in portraying the various character personalities on the show, draw inspiration from celebrities and pop culture. Family Guy characters have been played by more than one actor, after members of the show left the series or had conflicting obligations. Kunis was nominated for an Annie Award for voicing Meg Griffin in the season 5 episode "Barely Legal" and MacFarlane has also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production, though no other cast member has won an award for their work on the series.

• ...that according to a BBC Radio 2 poll, "The Gruffalo", which was adapted into a film in 2009, is the UK's favourite bedtime story?
• ...that the work of "animation God" Bill Littlejohn includes Tom and Jerry, A Charlie Brown Christmas and an Oscar-winning short with Dizzie Gillespie debating the possibility of nuclear war?
• ...that Spongiforma squarepantsii is a sponge-like bolete (pictured) that lives in Malaysia?

Films released

• 1936 – Let's Get Movin' (United States)
• 1937 – Porky's Badtime Story (United States)
• 1942 – Donald's Gold Mine (United States)
• 1942 – Terror on the Midway (United States)
• 1948 – Haredevil Hare (United States)
• 1953 – Baby Wants a Battle (United States)
• 1954 – Bewitched Bunny (United States)
• 1965 – Corn on the Cop (United States)
• 1985 – The Black Cauldron (Walt Disney Pictures, United States)

Television series and specials

• 2006 – Minoriteam, an American animated television series finishes airing on Adult Swim
• 2008 – Pucca, a South Korean animated series finishes airing on MBC
• 2017 – Camp Lakebottom ends airing on Teletoon