Animation has had a global renaissance during the 1990s and nowhere is this more evident than in Asia. With the exception of China and Japan most other Asian nations are relatively new to this art form. Over the last decade however the situation has changed dramatically with countries like Taiwan, South Korea, The Philippines and Thailand, as well as China, acting as offshore production plants for North American and European studios. Two other spurs for this mushrooming of activity has been the global growth of terrestrial, cable, satellite and video systems all demanding large menus of programming including animation. A second spur has been the exceptional popularity Japanese anime has enjoyed across Asia, Europe and the United States.

However, despite these developments there has not been a corresponding growth of a serious literature - covering industrial and aesthetic issues - about Asian animation and the small amount of work that has been produced has not been published in the English language. Animation in Asia therefore provides the first continent-wide analysis, delving into issues of production, distribution, exhibition, aesthetics and regulation, in this burgeoning field. Animation in Asia also offers vignettes of the fascinating experiences of a group of animation pioneers. The historical and contemporary perspectives derive from interviews, textual analysis, archival research and participation/observation data.