Coming Attractions: An Animation Celebration

Just two of the words used by critics in heaping well-deserved praise on Walt Disney's Snow White, the 1937 groundbreaking classic that firmly cemented the mouse factory as the premiere innovator of feature animation.

Over the decades, rival studios have stood by the wayside, eager to stake a claim of their own in the lucrative market only to meet with lackluster success. There have been but a handful, such as The Secret of NIMH that have come close to matching Disney's marvelous artwork, only to fail where it counts most - the box office.

Warner Bros. took one on the chin with their much publicized The Quest For Camelot pulling in a paltry $23 million, while 20th Century Fox fared little better with the $58 million gross of Anastasia.

Still, the competition has continued to storm the gates of the Disney empire, and cracks have begun to show in the castle walls. Jeffrey Katzenberg, once the number two man at Disney, broke ranks and formed DreamWorks Pictures with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen.

Their first effort, the Exodus tale The Prince of Egypt, has grossed nearly $100 million in North America alone, while Antz, their computer-animated answer to Disney's A Bug's Life has earned a respectable $90 million.

And there's more to come. With the success that rival studios are now reaping, they have cranked their respective animation departments into high gear to open the flood gates and give Disney a run for their money. While the mouse that roars still holds the high ground, a full slate of animated fare is set to roll out. What's on the horizon:

The Iron Giant Warner Bros. - A young loner befriends a giant robot. The artwork is said to be stunning by those who have seen the finished product, which Warner Bros. hopes to have ready in time for a Summer 1999 release.

Toy Story 2 Disney - The third collaboration between Disney and Pixar Films following the original Toy Story and last year's A Bug's Life, this time around, Woody is stolen by a greedy toy collector and it's up to Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head, Hamm, and the rest of Andy's toys to rescue their chum. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return as the voice talents for Woody and Buzz. Opens this Holiday season.

The Road To El Dorado DreamWorks - Their second animated effort on the heels of The Prince of Egypt. Two 16-Century rogues stumble across a map of the fabled lost city of El Dorado. Upon reaching the new world, they discover that their quest for gold is not going to be as easy a task as they imagined when they find they must deal with the native population, who mistake them for the gods of strife and Destruction.

Go To Page: 1 2