'Twas a big week here at Aniboom--a very big week.

On Tuesday, we announced the Marvel Wildcards for Aniboom's Marvel Motion Comics Competition, one awesome Hulk entry by Guicho Nuñez and a dazzling Nova piece by Arnaud Faire.  Next week, we'll announce our $10,000 Grand Prize Winner Motion Comic, which will then grace the ions and electrodes of Marvel.com.

Our featured Youtube animations showed off the Five Finalists in our Fox Holiday Animation Challenge.  We also gave you exclusive interviews with our FOX Finalists, on this here very same blog.

And, as all this was going on, we celebrated The Simpsons' 20th Anniversary in style.  So, without further Apu, let's give y'all Simpsons addicts one more priceless clip, before I sleep the weekend away, so that I may return to you rested and ready to impart only the greatest Aniboom news there is!

What has most defined the humor of the generation that came of age in the 1990s?  There are many answers but the only right one is The Simpsons.

Mixing irreverance with political satire, cultural commentary, and familial love is perhaps the most influential television program of all time.  The endless-running The Simpsons is turning 20, and instead of trying to make endless references to its stories and characters, rather than regurgitating its history that everyone knows, I'll give you five personal opinions I have on the show (and then some clips!).

1.  The best character relationship is Lisa and Homer, the most human and heart-breaking interpersonal dynamic of any two characters on the show.  Both know that the other operates at a different mental and emotional level, but over time each has found mutual satisfaction in accepting, and being accepted by, the other.  While Lisa is too smart to ever truly connect with Homer, a man of simple delights who approaches the world with little nuance or reflection, it is their love for one another, simply that of a girl to her father, that sustains and strengthens their relationship, as well as the fact that both understand the cognative chasm which divides them.

2.  The show jumped the shark after Season Ten.  There, I said it--the show was good through Season Ten (most state Season Eight, but they are wrong).  It's been better in the last two seasons though.

3.  Homer Badman is the funniest and best episode.  Why?  Because everyone (every character, social group, political ideology) is attacked and mocked, the jokes and writing are impeccable, and the Under the Sea spoof is unmatched.

4.  Second place is King Size Homer.  This needs no explanation.

5.  The Simpsons Movie should have been nominated for an Oscar.  Yes, it should have lost to Ratatouille (itself written and directed by Simpsons vet Brad Bird), but it was way better than Surf's Up.

Okay--CLIP TIME!!!

And the best clip EVER

(Sean Worsham)

We are pleased to announce that for the next week or so, we'll be sitting down with our FOX Holiday Animation Challenge Finalists for the traditional Aniboom Success Stories Interview!

Today, we're lucky to have animator Sean Worsham in the hot seat, creator of the hilarious and brutal Scare-Horn and Belle Jingles, one of FOX's top picks!

Watch it and then read our in-depth exchange!

More...

Well gang, it's been a heck of a week here at Aniboom!

All three competitions, changed stages, and are all heading down the home stretch to three Grand Prize Winners!

In our History Channel Competition, we ended our Wildcard Submissions stage.  Now, Aniboom community members can view, rate, and comment on the 79 animations vying for a slot alongside our Five Finalists to go for the Grand Prize of $10,000 and a $15,000 Development Deal with History.  The Wildcards will be announced on or around November 18th--so it ain't over yet!

On the Marvel front, we closed Wildcard Submissions, and will be announcing the Wildcard Finalists on or around November 9th (this coming Monday!).  Then, after a week of nail-biting and Motion Comics watching, we'll announce the $10,000 Grand Prize Winner, whose work will be showcased on #1 comic book site Marvel.com.

We were also thrilled to announce the Five Finalists for FOX and Aniboom's Holiday Animation Challenge--our Grand Prize Winner will be announced on or around November 17th, and until then we encourage Aniboom's animators to keep watching, rating, and talking about the incredible animations.

Our Youtube Videos of the Day were our Marvel Finalists, and have garnered thousands of hits already--check them out on our channel and help our Motion Comics masters take in tons o' hits!

It was a big week this week, but they're only getting bigger and bigger!  We wouldn't have it any other way!

Remember when I talked about my enduring love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Well, today, BIG NEWS hit regarding they're future, and a whole bunch of new Turtles series and movies that we should expect.

The Turtles are now the property of Nickelodeon!  (Apparently having one green slimy property wasn't enough!)

For a cool $60 mil, Nick's got the rights--and the plans--to start a whole new slew of projects, including a new feature film, a new CG animated cartoon series, and a new toy line with Playmate Toys.

So does this mean that the fab four are gonna try to beat the Aggro Crag?  Only time will tell!

I don't know about all of you, but I really miss the classic 2D Disney movies I grew up with.  Flicks like Aladdin, Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast were staples, wonderfully rendered, fluidly animated masterpieces that enhanced my childhood.

Now I love computer animation, and the folks at Pixar, Sony, and a host of other places have created their own masterpieces in recent years (Ratatouille is my favorite animated film of the decade!), but I miss the classics!

But now, Disney is releasing their first traditionally animated film this winter season, The Princess and the Frog, and I'm lookin' forward to it!

Check out these first 5 minutes to whet your classic animation-style appetite!

This coming Monday and Tuesday, October 19th and 20th, Aniboom founder and CEO Uri Shinar will be headlining two panels at the annual Digital Hollywood Summit in Santa Monica!

It's a great place to discuss and become a part of the future of film, television, and new media, and is attended by representatives of almost every major studio, network, advertising agency, and media group.  Uri will be there to promote Aniboom and our 8,000+ strong network of animators worldwide, and the Aniboom Virtual Studio.

One of the events he's most looking

forward to is Pitch Camp, when anyone, including animators, can talk to him and a range of other media headliners to pitch their ideas--it runs from 4:30 - 6:00 PM on October 19th.

For any Aniboom member, there are specially discounted tickets for members of Aniboom!  Check it out here, and get your tickets now!

The coolest cartoon on FOX and the, um, most-desiring-to-be-cool software corporation have teamed for a McFarlane-fueled product placement special!

According to The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital Blog, Family Guy and Microsoft are creating a half-hour sponsored special, rife with Microsoft-styled jokes, plots, digs, and plaudits.  ATD points out that Family Guy has taken shots at Microsoft in the past, spoofing their MP3 player, The Zune, but it hasn't stopped Bill Gates's brainchild from seeking out McFarlane's.

Embedded below is the Zune gag, referenced also in ATD's article.  Well, it's always been said that sometimes animation makes strange bedfellows....

Created by animator Prijent Vincent, Aniboom's newest 1 Million View-hitting Youtube animation is fan-favorite "It's Not Easy Being Green"!

Uploaded to Youtube a little over a year ago, Vincent's story of one pea's journey has delighted over a million viewers, garnered thousands of comments, and holds an amazing 4 1/2 star rating!  Congratulations, Prijent!

Check it out below:

We're startin' a new tradition here in Aniboom Blogland (yes, that did just link back to itself--so did "itself"--whoa, meta!), which will be the End of Week Round Up!

Just covering what we've covered, and maybe with a few asides...

So this week we looked at our History Competition Finalists!  We had interviews with everyone who made the Top 5--meanwhile we've started showcasing our Wildcard Submissions, and it's up to you to keep on sending in your work!  So come on and, as we say, make some history!

Below is Wednesday's Animation of the Day, a music video for hip hop band El Gremio--give it a listen and start your weekend now!