Animation is one of the most popular and least scrutinised areas of popular media culture. This module seeks to introduce students to animation as a mode of production through examinations of different aesthetics and types of animation from stop motion through to cel and CGI-based examples. It then goes on to discuss some of the debates around animation in relation to case study texts. Example debates include: who animation is for (children?), the limits of the term 'animation' in relation to CGI, the industrial frameworks for animation production (art vs commerce) and character vs star debates around animation icons. A range of approaches and methods will therefore be adopted within the module, including political economics, cultural industries, star studies and animation studies itself. The module is taught by seminar and screening.