AF8: Happy Birthday To Us!
Today marks the anniversary of the launch of Animation For Adults. Eight years ago on December 17, 2013, I posted our review of Chico and Rita and our first news story (which was about a Hayao Miyazaki film which seems an appropriate beginning). I could never have imagined that what began as a one-man effort launched from the not very exciting location of my room in the southeast corner of England would begin a wonderful adventure that would grow to a team of super-smart writers from both sides of the pond and would connect us with animation lovers and filmmakers from every corner of the globe. From indie artists to Oscar-nominated directors, from legendary voice actors and animators, we collectively have met (virtually in most cases) with many of our heroes and had many amazing opportunities.
And yet, it feels like we are only just getting started. The last couple of years have been tough for everyone, and we have had challenges of our own, but we've continued to keep on keeping on and produced some of our best material, and really expanding our interview selection in particular.
Due to the previously mentioned challenges, some of the expansions we've been planning have ended up on hold, but things are coming. In the new year, for example, we plan to start hosting regular virtual events for our users to enjoy or take part in... but more on that later,
Eagle-eyed regulars may have noticed we've made a few changes behind the scenes to make navigating the site easier. Following our improved review index, we've added specific indexes for news, podcasts and articles, plus a full site map which allows you to browse by post type, label or peruse the full archive. We have also opened a user survey, which will allow you to give feedback on the site. This will be an ongoing thing that hopefully will allow our users to shape the future of AFA.
We have removed the comments, which frankly took up a lot of space and were very rarely used. We encourage you to get in touch with us via our social media or directly via email if you want to sure your thoughts on our posts. They could be easily reinstated if there was a big outcry, but the internet seems to be moving away from them in general.
I can't forget to add that none of this would have been possible without the support of you dear reader and the wonderful animation community. Unless, of course, this is your first visit- and in which case... hello- we're happy to have you and we hope you'll stick around.
There's so much more still to come.... to Infinity, and beyond!
Yours animatedly,
Chris Perkins
Founder/Editor-In-Chief
