Calling All Animators! Calling All Animators!
A Review of Big Top's Cartoon Toolbox starring Felix the Cat
Rich Cunningham
When I was a young child I was fascinated by cartoons on the big screen
(back before the days of VCR's). My earliest memories of were of the Disney
films "Peter Pan" and "Bambi". This fascination lead to a life long hobby of
films, both animated and live-action, and the study of the cinema, both from
an artistic and technical point of view. So when I was asked to review this
program, I was very excited to see how it would "pan" out.
The program was very easy to install, both under Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
No problems were encountered and the program was ready to run with a simple
activation of the icon. The first thing one sees is an opening screen with
the framilair "Felix the Cat" theme song, and picture. However, before running
the program, one should spend a few minutes with the brief but well prepared and
readable manual. The manual is very important, as it describes not only the
proper way to run the program, but it includes a brief bit of theory on how
cartoons actually work. I won't go into the detail here, only say that it is
very important that one grasp this inital concept, or else the rest of the
program will be not very enjoyable.
After reviewing the manual, one can view the included products, one finished,
one not so finished. These are cartoons that show the full extent of how the
program functions with a finished product. One is semi-finished, as it is
used by the manual as a tutorial to instruct the user on the use of the program.
Once the mini-toons are viewed, the only thing left is to create your own cartoon.
To accomplish this, many, many tools are given, along with quite a few
scenery areas and props. Picture it as a movie studio, ala Roger Rabbit's Toon Town,
on CD and you are the writer, director, producer and script writer. One is only
limited by the imagination of the user. That is one of the strongest points
that this program has going for it. According to the publisher, children should be
creating as they learn, directing the actionk, determining what the next step
should be. "We're not creating point, click and snore programs, but
'user-driven software' that enables people to create and have a new experience every
time". In that regard they have succeded quite well.
The only problem I had in using the program was in the actual running of the
animations. In the ones provided, the action started off jerkily, and took
about 10-15 frames to catch up. It then slowed down and jerked whenever more
animation or props enter the set. While no microprocessor specs are listed in the
equipment requirements, I used a 486dx2-66 with 16 meg of ram, which I would
think would be sufficent. There is also no mention made as to what speed of
CD rom should be used. I used a double speed, but based on what I observed, I
would think a 4x may be necessary. Technial support from the company appears to be
very prompt, as I e-mailed a question to them and received an answer within 2
hours. Not withstanding the hardware problems I had (which may just be my
setup), the program was flawless.
All told, this program offers a lot for a child with an imagination. If your
child is looking for a lot of direction, or requires a lot of direction, this
may not be his cup of tea. But for the budding Walt Disneys or Steven
Spielbergs, this program will provide many hours of enjoyment.
School House Scorecard
| Product: |
Big Top's Cartoon Toolbox starring Felix the Cat |
| Company: |
Big Top Productions
|
| Cost: |
Not Available |
System Requirements:
(MACINTOSH)
System: 7.0 or higher
Ram: 4 meg free
Hard disk space: 6 meg free
Monitor: 13" or larger, 256 colors
CD Rom required
Other Applications off
Ram Disk/Doubler: Off
(IBM)
System:Windows 3.1 or higher, works with Windows 95
Ram: 4 meg free
Hard disk space: 6 meg free
Monitor: 640x480 or greater, 256 colors
Sound: Soundblaster or compatible with latest driver
CD Rom required
Other applications off
Windows notes: Windows 3.1:Turn on virtual memory (swap disk), located
in the 386 enhanced mode control panel. Use the default setting for
your configuration. Windows 3.11: To improve performance turn on
32-bit disk access and 32-bit file access, located in the 386 enhanced
control panel in virtual memory.
Breakdown:
Ease of Use 3
Learning Value 4
Entertainment Value 3
Graphics 4
Sound 3
Overall Score:
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