Whizzing, exploding, hopping, and bonging across our screens, animated cartoons have grabbed us from childhood and beyond. This is potentially the greatest of art forms, combining nearly all the others into one. Graphic arts, literature, storytelling, humor, satire, drama, acting, music, song, ballet, poetry, can all be combined in this virtually limitless method of expression.

Budget and time limitations are the usual suspects, but there is more or less to it than that. There is the persistent perception by most producers that the audience is composed of mindless morons who will accept anything that moves and yabba-dabba-doos, however crudely.