Happy Birthday John Lasseter!

55 years ago today, the course of animation and of film history would begin to be changed forever, as today marks the 55th anniversary of the birth of the genius that is John Lasseter.

Lasseter, an avid Disney fan his entire life, was determined to be an animator, and when his dream job at Disney didn't go exactly as planned, he decided to control his own future. John would hook up with Computer Science graduate, Ed Catmull, and begin the first incarnation of Pixar. Starting off directing short films such as Luxo Jr. and Tin Toy, Lasseter would soon go on to pioneer and direct Toy Story, the first computer animated feature film in history. From here on in, Pixar blossomed and its films grew and grew in critical and box office success, and a very large portion of this is due to the work, imagination and genius of John Lasseter.

So, today, let us pay thanks to the Walt Disney of our generation: Happy Birthday John Lasseter!

Hey Now, You're Still an All Star!

As of Wendesday of this week (18/05/11), arguably one of the best animated films of all time and certainly one of the best DreamWorks' films, Shrek, is 10 years old. First released in North America on May 18, 2001, the film was the beginning of the signature DreamWorks franchise, spawning 3 sequels and with a spin-off (Puss in Boots) coming out later this year and grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide across all of the films. The original Shrek, now 10 years old, won the very first Best Animated Feature Academy Award, beating out even Pixar's fantastic Monsters, Inc.

Whilst DreamWorks have not always consistently provided such entertainment or depth; Shrek was a fantastic film and, even ten years on, retains its brilliance.