American animation's decent. There is no escaping it. Animation in America is becoming less interesting to both animators and audiances. This all started back in 1984 when a studio called Sunbow got an idea. Instead of waisting their time trying to find willing animators in the states, they could just have another country do it for them. They would send over storyboards and character designs and the country would make the animation for it. Which country you ask? Korea. Even worse, Sunbow only had one goal for cartoons: To sell toys. Therefore, their three shows called Transformers, G.I. Joe and My Little Pony were aimed at children when who would buy toys, thus making it unappealing to an adult. While was happy that Transformers The Movie beat Disney in the box office, I am still a little bit flustered at idea of not really doing any animation. The Simpsons is a good example. Here was a show that could be comedically funny and not have to worry about the animation. It became a hit. Still, there were a few flaws that many people might have overlooked in this process of animation. First off, the director and the American staff don't actually meet with the animators in Korea. This causes a gap in communication for both sides. However, since The Simpsons did so well, Fox Entertainment was not afraid to try it again. A few of those shows were didn't end up to well, but King of the Hill became another great acheivement for Fox. Many other stations in America tried this concept as well, yet all of them failed to actually make a dent in animation history. That's not to say that animation in America isn't doing poorly. Cartoon Network has set up their own studio that actually does all their own artwork. Samurai Jack was the best example of what Cartoon Network could do with their American-based animation studio. Even though many of these shows were made in America, they are still pretty poor quality. Even such popular shows from the company Williams Street are pretty basic. However, there is one animation company that hasn't learned anything from all this. That company is Disney. In 2002, Disney had two animated titles. One was the imported Japanese hit, Spirited Away. The other was another re-told adventure from Disney called Treasure Planet. Spirited Away got a limited release in a few theaters and Treasure Planet gained all the money from the advertising department. However, Treasure Planet ultimately failed Disney and Spirited Away gain more money. Therefore, by not analyzing the animation and how it appeals to the audiance, Disney has the lost more many in 2002 than they have in years. The message is clear. Animation in America is rising up from the ashes of the 1990's, but they still have a long way to go.