Animation

Warner Bros., Disney and DreamWorks have Valley-made animated films coming out this year. DreamWorks’ “The Prince of Egypt” is being completed in North Hollywood. Some special effects remain to be done for this epic about Moses and Pharaoh, below, due out Dec. 18. “The Red Sea is being finished up, and the burning bush,” said co-director Brenda Chapman, first woman to direct a major animated feature.

More Applicants: Applications were up 10% for the prestigious Character Animation Program at Valencia’s California Institute of the Arts, director Frank Terry said. Close to 400 bid for 50 slots. For a time, studios hired gifted students before graduation. That has slowed, Terry said, since the studios realized how much it costs to turn an unseasoned animator into a pro.

Animation Art: People go to animated movies, and they also collect the art produced in making them. The Howard Lowery Gallery in Burbank specializes in animation art. Current pieces include a drawing for a 1938 Disney short, “Mer Babies,” and cels from its 1989 “The Little Mermaid.”

Going Global: Although the Valley is animation’s hub, “the business has really gone very international,” said Sarah Baisley, editor of Animation Magazine. Overseas studios are establishing satellites here, she said. And the Agoura Hills-based magazine is now distributed in 18 other countries, including Panama and Venezuela.