 When it comes to animation it doesn't get any bigger than Disney. The internationally renowned studio was inextricably linked to the genre after Mickey Mouse first hit movie screens in 1928 in Steamboat Willie and charmed crowds the world over. Soon after the mouse, which is now the world's most reproduced image ahead of both Jesus and Elvis, came a series of feature length film animations. Among the first wave of films put out by the studio were Snow White, Pinocchio and Bambi - films which to this day consistently rank among the world's favourites. It was then that the studio hit a Golden Age which continued through to the 1950s, with Peter Pan, Cinderella and Alice In Wonderland, and then into the Sixties with The Jungle Book and 101 Dalmatians. And ever since then, despite its films not perhaps having the seismic effect of other releases or grossing as much, the studio remained at the top of the game. But by 2000 the game was almost up. The art of animation was losing ground to the increasingly popular computer generated animation seen in films like Toy Story and more recently, The Incredibles. So in 2002, and in a move which made motion picture history, Disney junked its animation department. Instead of running a permanently manned feature film studio of fully trained animators, it took the bold step of deciding to draft in artists when they were needed and to rely more on animators in Asia who would work for less - a business practice known around the developed world as offshoring. It was a move which cost hundreds of loyal and skilled employees at the studio's LA base their livelihoods. Mass redundancies soon followed in Paris, Tokyo and Florida. Dan Lund and Tony West were two of the people caught up in the extraordinary events of March 25 2002, when the staff were told what was happening. As it dawned on them what had happened the pair grabbed a camera and started work on a documentary which would chart the turbulent times they and their friends were about to endure. Last year, and after two long years of work, the pair's finished documentary Dream On Silly Dreamer was complete. Part film interviews, part animation and part homage to classic Winnie The Pooh animations, the 40-minute documentary tells the story of the studio, staff and redundancies in a fairy tale style. It features interviews with the key animators, the studio bosses about the reasons for the changes and how things changed for those given the chop. And it's getting its world premiere at Animex. Producer Tony West said making the film had been therapeutic and helped him come to terms with the shock. "Animex is our first festival screening and because Dream On is about animation and the business of animation I think it's a fantastic place to show it," he said. Director Dan said: "It will also be much more exciting for us to present the film to people who have a real thirst for the subject. "Even though it isn't entirely animated it is about the business, and that's something people should really be aware of. "We had the idea to make a film about film-making just before the lay-offs but once that happened we were afraid people would leave and forget how great it was to work at Disney. "So we started collecting people's memories to catalogue everything about working there. We intended it to be a tribute to the company. But it didn't turn out like that. "It has a bitter-sweet edge to it. I had made documentaries before but to make one you are part of is something altogether different. There were times during the making when I thought it was self indulgent. Now it's finished and a handful of people have seen it we are getting amazing feedback. "Even this long afterwards people are still looking for closure. They get that here. "Personally I feel much better about things. I remember more of the good times and that makes me glad the film isn't too nasty. "I was very afraid when working on it that I would be the only person interested in it. "But then someone pointed out to me that people are laid off all over the world. "It wasn't much later before critics started to say the theme, of offshoring of talented jobs, is a universal theme that millions of people can relate to." Having a world premiere in the Animex programme is something festival director Chris Williams is particularly pleased about. He said: "The fact that Dan Lund and Tony West have chosen Animex as the place to have the World Premiere of their film is something pretty special. "It might not be a big budget Hollywood blockbuster, but I'm sure that the film will be one which goes on to wow audiences around the world. "It's going to be the first of what I hope is many World Premieres at Animex and will hopefully send a signal to other film makers, whether in animation or any other medium, that the North-east is a place where they can screen films to an appreciative audience." Page 2: Games, animation, chat and more | 
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