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!

Yes, it's been almost a year since the historic American Presidential Election of 2008, but this is still awesome!

Who says life doesn't imitate art (or animation)?

And of course, who can forget The Simpsons taking on the (not so) epic 1996 fight to lead the free world?

(Gabriel Aronson)

On our final day interviewing HISTORY Finalists, we reach Community Choice Gabriel Aronson, whose work "Opposing a Social Order" competes for the Grand Prize!  Let's jump right in!

Tell me a little about yourself:

I am an American-Austrian animator, with a background in puppetry and set design for theater. I recently completed a year in London where I studied at Chelsea College of Art and Design and worked on projects for the BBC. I am now living in New York, seeking my fortune!

Why did you decide to participate in The History Channel Competition?

I was intrigued by how appropriate many of the historical statements are to struggles in American politics today. In addition, many of the projects I've done in the past consisted of visualizing a piece of audio, so I felt comfortable with the format.

What did you like about the competition?

I really appreciated the freedom that was given to the animators in how they chose to visually approach the provided audio.

How did it feel to become a Finalist?

Needless to say it is a great honor, not only to be chosen as a finalist, but also to be the community pick! Many thanks go out to those who gave their feedback and support!

Who are some of your influences?

This particular piece was inspired by silent films that dealt with class struggles and the industrial worker, such as Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times".

What kind of technique do you like to use?

I enjoy incorporating real textures into my animations. The current iteration of my piece is completely computer animated, but for further development I'd like to introduce stop-motion animated elements.

What’s next for you?

We'll see what the future holds! I just moved to New York a few days ago and look forward to working in film production and theater!

Don't forget to check out Gabe's website, blog, and vimeo page!

Voting is now open for Aniboom's Marvel Motion Comics Competition!

The first stage is over, and Marvel is looking at entries to the Competition for Four Finalist positions.  One Motion Comic, selected by Aniboom users, will be the Fifth Finalist, as the Community Choice!

You can support your favorite Motion Comics anywhere on the web using our Embedded Player!

Check out these amazing Motion Comics now, and if you still haven't submitted, start pluggin' away on your Wildcard Entry, which will begin to be accepted October 19th!