Animation Obsessive

Welcome! Glad you could join us for a new issue: a wrap-up of our first half of 2026. Back in February, the Animation Obsessive newsletter reached its five-year anniversary. Running a publication for so long (with 73,000-plus readers signed up now) is never something we take for granted. We’ve been thinking a lot about how to keep things fresh and continue to push ourselves. It’s guided the work. And we’re very lucky.

Welcome! It’s a new Sunday issue of the Animation Obsessive newsletter, and here’s the plan: The Annecy Festival happened this past week. If you keep up with the news in animation, it was hard to miss. It’s the biggest event in the animation world, and it gets bigger each year. It’s held in France, in the Alps, right near the lovely Lake Annecy. And, at the 2026 edition, there were 19,100 accredited attendees (a high) from 118 countries. Annecy is a film festival that doubles as a venue for business.

Artwork for Abel’s Island (1988) Welcome! This is another Thursday issue of the Animation Obsessive newsletter — all about the environment that Michael Sporn created. His work isn’t discussed enough. We’ve covered some of his gems from the ‘80s and ‘90s (Abel’s Island, Champagne, Doctor De Soto), but he was prolific, and there are more. “Sporn’s numerous sensitive adaptations of classic children’s books,” noted one historian, “are themselves classics of animation.”1 He wasn’t a megahit-maker.

A still from Geri’s Game (1997) Welcome! We’re back with another Sunday edition of the Animation Obsessive newsletter. This is the plan: 1. The early development of Pixar’s human characters. 2. Animation newsbits. 3. The last word. A note before we start. Last week, we premiered the Congolese short Machini (2019) online, and the response was wonderful. Unfortunately, some readers ran into technical problems with the embedded video, so we’re sharing a fresh link (watch here) that should work for everyone.

A still from Archangel Gabriel and Mistress Goose (1964) Welcome! Hope you’re doing well. It’s a new Thursday edition of the Animation Obsessive newsletter, and our topic this time is stop motion. We had a piece about New York indie animation in the works for today, but our area was hit with a power outage that’s forced us to delay. The good news: there’s a backup, and it’s something we were already looking forward to sharing.

A still from Machini (2019) Welcome! This is a new Sunday issue of the Animation Obsessive newsletter — one that’s been in the works for most of 2026. Here’s the slate: 1. A release of Machini. 2. Animation newsbits. 3. The last word. Now, let’s go! Around five years ago, at a festival, a certain film wowed us. The freshness and ingenuity of it were almost startling. Since then, we’ve waited for a wide release online — to give everyone a chance to see what was achieved here. The wide release never came.

A still from The White Snake Enchantress (1958) Welcome! It’s another Thursday edition of the Animation Obsessive newsletter, and this one is about Yasuji Mori (1925–1992).

A still from Panda! Go, Panda! – The Rainy-Day Circus (1973) Welcome! This is another Sunday edition of the Animation Obsessive newsletter, and here’s the slate: 1. On the art of pacing. 2. Animation newsbits. 3. The last word. With that, let’s go! During the ‘80s and early ‘90s, Jeffrey Katzenberg had immense creative pull at Disney. He was behind The Little Mermaid’s over-the-top ending, for example. “Die Hard had been a box-office hit,” recalled director John Musker.

A still from Atlantis (2001) Welcome! Hope you’re doing well. This is another edition of the Animation Obsessive newsletter — and it’s a little bit different. In the first year of our publication, we released a personal essay from our lead writer, John. Its topic was Fantastic Animation Festival (1977), and the format was a one-off. We haven’t used it again. Today, though, we’re bringing a second one.

Plus: news. A behind-the-scenes shot from I Am Frankelda Welcome! It’s a new Sunday edition of the Animation Obsessive newsletter. Here’s the slate: 1. Thinking about the “flaws” of stop motion. 2. Animation newsbits. 3. The last word. Now, let’s go! This week, there was good news in the animation world. Netflix put up the trailer for I Am Frankelda, due on the platform next month. And, on social media, a lot of people responded.