In one of my previous articles, I asked the question "what can you do with Adobe^R Flash^R". Well, one way to keep up with the many ways to use Flash is to visit Flash based websites such as Disney Online^R. Disney^R has had an online presence for more than ten years and at the beginning of this year, the Disney site was given a complete overhaul.

Disney is one of the major reasons that I became a digital artist and Flash programmer. It all began when I saw the Disney animated movie Fantasia. I sat there in the audience and watched Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice get overwhelmed by his own magic in the form of animated brooms carrying splashing buckets of water. The Walt Disney Imagineers and Disney animation had brought those brooms to life for me. I was too young to wonder how that magic was created but I knew that one day I would learn to do this myself. I'm no professional, but as the years passed, I followed Disney's lead. I first became a traditional pen and ink artist, then moved to digital art and Flash animation. Even though there are many 2D and 3D animation companies, Disney will always be the Master in my eyes.

If you visit Disney Online today, you will see a lot more than animated brooms. The website is a fantastic example of interactive Flash. As I mentioned above, the entire site has been updated but there is a new section that Flash lovers will especially appreciate. This new section is based on new Flash programming called Disney Xtreme Digital^SM and is a complete multi-tasked Flash environment geared toward the fourteen and under crowd. While still in beta, Disney makes no apologies about the need for a broadband connection to use the Flash GUI. This reflects the progress that Flash and the Internet have made over the last ten years.

Continue