A selection of animated films that the French Association will be screening at INOX City Centre

From hands-on workshops to multiplex screenings, it?s all animation for kids this summer.

If the toon boom in the city has seen training institutes mushrooming of late, the launch of Metaphor Studios last week showed that the production prospects are no less bright.

And with the summer holidays on, what better time than now to catch the imagination of those looking at animation as a career option?

?An animation workshop acts both as awareness and fun for kids,? says Srimati Mukherjee, course leader at Toonz Webel Academy that conducts children?s workshops every year. ?This year, we are planning a five-to-seven-day workshop on basic animation and story formation at our 2,000-sq-ft extension,? Mukherjee adds.

?For us, April to June is packed with kids? workshops,? offers Anish Vishwanath, Arena Multimedia?s New Alipore centre head. The tots are offered a primer on the subject for an hour every day for two weeks. This year?s bonus: a trip for all the students to see Ice Age 2 at a city multiplex.

But that?s not the only animation movie to watch out for on the big screen this summer. The French Association will be screening a selection of seven animated feature films at Inox City Centre between May 12 and 18. The highlight of the festival ? Paul Grimault?s classic Le Roi Et L?oiseau (The King and the Mockingbird).

Other films include Kirikou Et Lasorciere (Kirikou and the Sorceress), Le Chien Le General Et Les Oiseaux (The Dog, the General and the Birds), Kaena La Prophetie (Kaena: The Prophecy), La Prophetie Des Grenouilles (Raining Cats and Frogs), L?ile De Black Mor (The Island of Black Mor) and Les Triplettes De Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville).

Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics, the training academy chain set up by film-maker Ketan Mehta and Deepa Sahi, is also planning to showcase select films from its 24fps Animation Awards in mid-May. ?Besides, we are conducting workshops every fortnight for kids,? says Naveen Gupta, chief operating officer of Maya Entertainment.