Animated Short Takes
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Ottawa International Animation Festival 50th Anniversary
About the 50th Ottawa Animation Festival from Mercedes Milligan at Animation Magazine:
To celebrate its 50th anniversary in September, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), North America’s largest animation festival, has unveiled its official 2026 poster, created by acclaimed Canadian cartoonist and designer Seth.
“For our 50th, I wanted to find an artist who truly reflects a Canadian sensibility and aesthetic,” said OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson.
Read about the OIAF’s 50th and see the full Seth poster at the above link.
AMC Refuses to Run A.I. Award-Winning Animated Short
James Hibbard at The Hollywood Reporter alerts us to AMC Theaters refusing to run an A.I. created film:
When will AI movies start showing up in theaters nationwide?
It was supposed to be next month.
But when word leaked online that an AI short film contest winner was going to start screening before feature presentations in AMC Theatres, the cinema chain decided not to run the content.
The issue began earlier this week with the inaugural Frame Forward AI Animated Film Festival announcing Igor Alferov’s short film Thanksgiving Day had won the contest. The prize package for included Thanksgiving Day getting a national two-week run in theaters nationwide. When word of this began hitting social media, however, some were dismayed by the prospect of exhibitors embracing AI content, with many singling out AMC Theatres for criticism.
It’s not yet clear if other theatrical chains will screen the short instead.
The Cartoon Brew Award For Excellence In Animation
Jaime Lang of Cartoon Brew shares news of them teaming with ASIFA-East to present a new award:
When we first partnered with ASIFA-East [Association Internationale du Film d’Animation – East] as the festival’s media partner, we knew we wanted to do more than put our name on a program. We wanted to create something tangible that reflects how deeply we believe in the artists, filmmakers, and storytellers who make this community what it is.
We’re thrilled to be attached to this award, thrilled to celebrate the filmmakers who earn it, and grateful to ASIFA-East for welcoming us so fully into the festival. We can’t wait to see who wins the very first Cartoon Brew Award for Excellence in Animation.
This year’s 56th edition of the annual ASIFA-East Animation Festival continues its legacy as one of the longest-running showcases of animated short films…
Three Trailblazing Women Animators Have Passed Away
Animation Magazine notes the recent deaths of three women animators.
Jane Shattuck Takamoto Baer died suddenly Monday morning (Feb. 16) at age 91. The Canadian-born artist began her career in the mid 1950s at Walt Disney Animation, working alongside Marc Davis to design Aurora for Sleeping Beauty and later with Milt Kahl to create Medusa for The Rescuers. She co-founded The Baer Animation Company with her first husband, Dale Baer, and collaborated with Disney on Who Framed Roger Rabbit (redesigning Bennie the Cab and supervising the Toon Town sequences) and Beauty and the Beast...
Enid Denbo Wizig died February 12, just a month shy of her 103rd birthday. Beginning her animation career soon after graduating Fairfax High School in Hollywood, Enid was not only a pioneer for women in the industry, but also strove to achieve her dreams in a challenging era despite losing her hearing at a very early age. Her first job was in the ink & paint department at the Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons), where her talents soon elevated her to inbetweening and then as an assistant animator, training under Bill Melendez and Art Babbitt to replace the male artists leaving to serve in World War II, working on early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies and later assisting Chuck Jones…
Marie Poe passed away unexpectedly on December 31, 2025, at age 78, survived by her loving husband of 34 years, author Richard Poe. She was a stalwart figure in the New York animation scene, having begun her career as a studio administrator for Oscar winner Faith Hubley in the 1980s. She became an influential producer of the 1990s, helping bring Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-head and feature film Beavis and Butt-head Do America, KaBlam!, the “Troubles the Cat” segments on Sesame Workshop’s Big Bag and the Nicktoons short Jerk Chicken and Fish Out of Water to screens…
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