Well, after numerous delays and a couple false starts I’m finally launching my blog all about the animation.  Much has changed since I was a kid when animation was “just for children”.  Growing up as a lover of sci-fi, fantasy and action/adventure entertainment, I often wondered why animation was so limited in scope.  Of course I knew why it was, but won’t it be great if animation expanded to cover many more genres.  It was not until college that I discovered that it could.  Anime (Japanese animation) and other foreign animation had expanded beyond children’s fare for years.  Its influence and the maturity of the media have finally lead to animation diversification in America.  Just look at the last two decades of television shows and movies and compare it to the previous fifty years or so.

So what is this blog going to be about?  One man’s experiences with and fondness for the art of animation.  I will document and review some classic stuff (70s and 80s) that many of us grew up with.  Nostalgia is still in, right?  But I won’t limit it to the “when I was a kid” trip down memory lane. It is also interesting to look at the growth in animation as I grew older.  I will look at television shows and movies (90s and 00s) from a slightly older perspective as many of us in our 20s, 30s and beyond do now.  I probably won’t spend much time on current shows and movies aimed at kids.  They just don’t interest The Animated Man.  I will drop news items of interest to animation watchers.  And I will throw in the occasional rant and editorial post.

I will cover Western and foreign animation, especially anime, equally.  This is something I’ve noticed that many animation sites and blogs do not do.  More than likely these bloggers have a strong preference for one or the other.  That’s fine.  And even better, it presents an open niche for this blog.  I like both.  I’ve enjoyed both for many years.  And I like both for different reasons.  The recent convergence of the two art and storytelling styles is interesting.  But that’s a post for another day . . .

I’m open to various art styles as well.  I have my preferences but I’m not as rigid as some are.  I will cover everything from the latest, shiniest CGI film to older animation from the 70s to stop motion fare to flash animated shorts.  I’m much more of a story guy than a visual perfectionist.

Not much more to say for this first post.  I’ll reveal a little more about myself as the blog grows.  I’m planning on a regular schedule of posts so come back often and add this site to your RSS feeds.  Enjoy.