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Introduction
Animation is a filmmaking technique by which still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets (cels) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, has continued to exist alongside these other forms.
Animation is contrasted with live-action film, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many moviemakers have produced films that are a hybrid of the two. As CGI increasingly approximates photographic imagery, filmmakers can easily composite 3D animations into their film rather than using practical effects for showy visual effects (VFX). (Full article...)
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"Interactions" is the second episode of the animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book character Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The episode sees Spider-Man confronting the supervillain Electro, whose body was corrupted with electricity after a freak lab accident. "Interactions" was written by Kevin Hopps, who researched all the available comic books he had that featured Electro, and directed by Troy Adomitis. Electro's appearance in the episode draws on his traditional comic book style, though designer Victor Cook emphasized the color green and removed the character's customary star-shaped mask. His voice actor, Crispin Freeman, sought to reflect the character's declining sanity in his vocal style. "Interactions" first aired March 8, 2008, on the Kids WB! block for The CW network, following the first episode. Its 1.4/4 Nielsen rating was higher than that of the pilot, "Survival of the Fittest". The episode received mixed reviews, with IGN commenting that "[w]hile not as strong as the pilot, the episode had some notable moments."
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
- ... that the Pakistani film Shehr e Tabassum was the first animated cyberpunk film to be made by an Urdu development team?
- ... that the Tuca & Bertie episode "The Jelly Lakes" employs a paper-cutout animation that helps to depict abuse in a way that centers the victim's story?
- ... that the stylized animation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was inspired by rough sketches in school notebooks?
- ... that according to an elaborate 1990s joke, Elmo Aardvark was history's first animated cartoon character?
- ... that the live-action comedy series Community had a stop motion animated Christmas special?
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Stephen Hillenburg (1961–2018) was an American cartoonist, animator, and former marine biologist. He is the creator of the Nickelodeon television series SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–), which he has also directed, produced, and written. It has gone on to become one of the longest-running American television series as well as the highest-rated show ever to air on Nickelodeon. Born in Lawton, Oklahoma and raised in Anaheim, California, Hillenburg became fascinated with the ocean as a child and developed an interest in art. He started his professional career in 1984, instructing marine biology, at the Orange County Marine Institute, where he wrote The Intertidal Zone, an informative comic book about tide-pool animals, which he used to educate his students. He was later offered a job on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rocko's Modern Life (1993–1996) after his success with short films The Green Beret and Wormholes (both 1992), which he made while studying animation. Besides his two Emmy Awards and six Annie Awards for SpongeBob SquarePants, Hillenburg has also received other recognition, such as an accolade from Heal the Bay for his efforts on elevating marine life awareness, and the Television Animation Award from the National Cartoonists Society.
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Season Three (Book 3: Fire) of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon, first aired its 21 episodes from September 21, 2007 to July 19, 2008. The season was created by Michael Dante DiMartino (pictured) and Bryan Konietzko and starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Grey DeLisle, and Mark Hamill as character voices. This third and final season focuses on Aang's quest to defeat the tyrannical Fire Lord. In the season's beginning, protagonist Aang and his friends Sokka, Katara, and Toph are traveling through the Fire Nation, conjuring a plan for invading the Fire Nation and looking for a teacher to teach Aang Firebending. Midway through the season, Aang gathers friends he met in previous episodes and leads a failed invasion into the Fire Nation. The final season features twenty-one episodes, one more than the previous two seasons. The season finale consisted of the four episodes airing together as a two-hour television movie. Season Three received a similar positive critical reception to that of the previous seasons. The season, and especially the finale, received much critical acclaim, with praises from sources such as DVD Talk and IGN. Between October 30, 2007 and September 16, 2008, Nickelodeon released four DVD volumes and a "Complete Box Set". Each of the four volume DVDs consisted of one disc and five episodes, with the exception of volume four, which had six episodes, and the boxed set contained all twenty-one episodes on five discs.
More did you know...
- ...that comedy writer Al Jean (pictured), who has been awarded with four Emmy Awards for his work on The Simpsons, graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics?
- ...that The Old Lady and the Pigeons lost the Oscar but won the Genie?
- ...that to watch an early screening of "The Gathering", attendees of the Star Wars Celebration VI had to bring their kids with them?
Anniversaries for June 1
- Films released
- 1924 – Alice's Fishy Story (United States)
- 1948 – Kitty Foiled (United States)
- Television series and specials
- 1997 – Freakazoid!, an American animated television series finishes airing on The WB
- 2017 – El Chapulin Colorado, a Mexican animated television series finishes airing on Canal 5
- Births
- 1940 – René Auberjonois, American actor (d. 2019)
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