What if cartoon characters were real performers who lived and breathed and worked on movie soundstages like any other actor? With the considerable might of Walt Disney Studios and Amblin Entertainment behind him, director Robert Zemeckis took that offbeat notion and from it concocted Who Framed Roger Rabbit - a frenetic comedy adventure combining live-action and animation with a degree of realism never before attempted. Mechanical effects by George Gibbs and Michael Lantieri enabled actor Bob Hoskins and others to interact convincingly with characters that had no on-set presence. These characters were later provided by some three hundred artisans working under animation director Richard Williams and were then seamlessly integrated into the live-action -complete with shadows and highlights - by the optical wizards at Industrial Light & Magic.

Article by Adam Eisenberg

Filmmaking impresario George Lucas - whose flights of fancy have spawned the Star Wars trilogy and the adventures of Indiana Jones - has focused on myth and magic for his latest excursion into the world of unbridled imagination. Manufacturing an earthbound environment every bit as wondrous and complete as Tatooine or Endor, Lucas and film director Ron Howard have produced Willow - an epic sword-and-sorcery adventure complete with fairy princesses, evil queens, firebreathing dragons, pesky brownies, talking animals and a diminutive hero determined to save an infant foundling from the forces of evil. Willow represents the most complete mustering of Lucasfilm effects talent since Return of the Jedi - employing effects animation, miniaturization techniques, stop-and-gomotion, animatronics and computer generated imagery.

Article by Jody Duncan Shannon