The Animation Inspiration Behind Disney Interactive’s It’s a Small World Series Disney Interactive’s It’s A Small World animated series combines culture and education with enjoyable engagement. The story revolves around six children of different nationalities as they learn about the world’s various languages, cultures, and histories. The videos allow the viewers to interact and engage in language learning along with the characters through engaging lessons and instruction. The animated series takes its inspiration from a variety of sources. The style is simple and traditional featuring vibrant colors and rich artwork, and the animation itself borrows influences from many great artists. Produced by the Austin, Texas-based animation studio Powerhouse Animation, the series was partially inspired by the animated shorts of Ward Kimball, a Disney legend. Kimball’s Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom is a favorite of the Powerhouse team. Another influence came from Tom Oreb, one of the character designers for Disney masterpieces like Sleeping Beauty. Fans of old Disney movies and traditional animation will also notice the familiarity between It’s A Small World and the classics. The language-learning software company Rosetta Stone sponsored the project and worked with Powerhouse to help deliver an educational and exciting experience to children all over the world. To help garner ideas and inspiration for the series, the team at Powerhouse Animation visited Disneyland and toured the entire park, experiencing the wonderful world of Disney in its entirety. They even rode the It’s A Small World ride, which was sure to give them the inspiration they needed. The Powerhouse team has more connections to California than just Disneyland. Recently, the production company opened a second animation studio in Burbank, CA to help expand and cover the animation market in the Los Angeles area. Today the series is available on Disney.com and YouTube.com; it can also be accessed through many other streaming devices like Roku and Xbox. Author's Bio Powerhouse Animation is a traditional 2dDanimation studio based in Austin, Texas with offices in Burbank, CA. Since 2001, Powerhouse has been making ideas come to life through animation, illustration, and motion graphics. With a staff of 35 in-house artists, animators, videographers and designers, Powerhouse works on a wide variety of projects and has created animation for companies including Disney, Sony, Marvel, DC, Old Spice, Coca Cola, Miramax, the USO and more. To learn more about some of these projects visit www.powerhouseanimation.com.