Rotoscope by Max Fleischer, patent drawing from 1914.

This is a guest post by Olivia Lennox.

Animation has come a long way since the days of the first cartoon motion pictures in the early 1900s. It’s come so far in fact that it’s difficult to believe it started as a few hand-drawn images on a page. Compare and flick book to the trailer for Pixar’s upcoming movie Brave and you’ll get the idea. But here we are, in a world where computer generated imaging has quite literally taken over the world of animated film: when was the last time Disney released a ’2D’ movie in their original style? It’s been some time indeed.

This is a guest post by Sophia Anderson.

So much of what we love during Christmas-time is based in nostalgia and tradition; fond memories of decorating the tree, taking a nighttime drive to see Christmas lights, and, of course, cuddling around the TV with yummy treats and a warm fire to watch a Christmas movie. December is here, so tis’ the season to break out all of the holiday movies! Here are ten of our favorite animated Christmas movies and TV specials, old and new.

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

There is a reason why people wait every year in anticipation of the annual TV airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s hard to go wrong with the Peanuts gang, but the Christmas special might be the best of all their holiday offerings. Every scene is memorable, from the group decorating the tree that Charlie Brown brings home to Linus’s speech on the true meaning of Christmas. The soundtrack that goes along with the movie – featuring both original songs by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, as well as covers of older Christmas songs – stands apart from the movie as being one of the greatest Christmas albums of all time.

Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced that 10 animated short films will advance in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards® Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2011. The winner will be announced on Sunday, February 26, 2012. Forty-four pictures had originally qualified in the category.

To get this top 10 karaoke songs list I went to Amazon UK and searched for MP3 “Animated movie karaoke”. The list was then sorted by popularity, which I presume means by current sales. These are the songs the kids are singing in their bedrooms or maybe these songs are being selected down the pub on karaoke night. I have compiled the list into an Amazon sampler so that you can listen to extracts.

To get this top 10 list I went to Amazon UK and searched for MP3 “Animated movie soundtrack”. The list was then sorted by popularity, which I presume means by current sales. I have compiled the list into an Amazon sampler so that you can listen to extracts. Many of the songs were from the album Animania – Music from Animated Movies 1 & 2 but where possible I have selected the original soundtrack song for the sampler below.

iPad screenshot of PixStop in action

Made for ages 10 and up, this iPad Animation app is available FREE for fun or education, whether you’re an animation novice or fan. It is available now on iTunes.

Animal Farm.

This is a guest post by Lori Hutchison.

In the history of animated film, relatively few films have been released for adults (with the exception of the anime industry in Japan). Here are ten ground-breaking films that feature mature adult themes and prove that animation can be just as moving as it was when we were young.