Mark Mayerson · From fps #6 · February 6, 2006 | It's common for those who work in animation and those who are fans to refer to the animation industry. But while we think that there is an animation industry, there really isn't. A closer examination of the way animation is produced and delivered shows how animation fits into the bigger picture.

Film and television existed before animation arrived in those media. They evolved their own business structures and entertainment formats and when animation entered, it was forced to work with what already existed. Whether a one-reel short, a feature film, a series of TV half-hours or a thirty-second commercial, animation has to conform to industry standards, regardless of how difficult it might be. Animation is forced to play by somebody else's rules.

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