FEEDING THE ANIMATION MACHINE : PASADENA EXTRAVAGANZA SERVES AS BOTH SHOWCASE AND JOB FAIR FOR THE INDUSTRY.

Byline: Amy Dawes Daily News Film Writer

Will it be the Olympics of Animation? The Cannes of Cartoons? Woodstock West? Or just the world's biggest animation party, with career opportunities thrown in to boot?

All of the above, claims Terry Thoren, a key organizer of the upcoming World Animation Celebration in Pasadena, an event open to the public that begins Monday and runs through March 30.

An ambitious undertaking, the festival is a sort of coming of age for an industry that has been building momentum like a house on fire due to the huge success of animated movies such as ``The Little Mermaid'' and ``The Lion King,'' special-effects blockbusters such as ``Terminator 2'' and ``Twister,'' and the advent of animation-enhanced multimedia.

``Animation is not only booming, it's going through the roof,'' said Thoren, president of the Klasky-Csupo studios, where Nickelodeon's `Rugrats'' and the USA Network's adult cartoon ``Duckman'' are created. ``We don't have enough talent to fill the opportunities that exist for us, and the same is true for all the studios in town.''

``There's a worldwide appetite for animation,'' said Marvin Levy, an executive at DreamWorks SKG, which has been luring seasoned animators from Disney. ``We already have more than 300 people in animation and are always competing for new talent.''

That means jobs are available, and finding the people who will fill them has been a major incentive for the backers of this elaborate affair, which will occupy the 3,000-seat Pasadena Civic Auditorium and adjacent conference and exhibition buildings, as well as party locations.

Several major studios, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks, helped underwrite the event and are providing executives and animators to speak at seminars. In turn, they will be using the event as a recruitment source, Thoren said.

Organizers expect as many as 25,000 people to attend, including top executives and animators, college recruiters, and college and high school students from all over the United States, as well as from Korea, Russia, Japan, Malaysia and other countries.

The core of the celebration is a screening and competition of more than 1,000 premieres, classics and short films from around the world, for which tickets are still available.

``I want everyone to know that they can drive up to the main auditorium, park and go see movies throughout the week,'' Thoren said.

``We've also written to all the studio heads and asked them to let their animators off work at 4:15 all week, because the short films start screening at 5 p.m., and there aren't many other ways to see them.''

In addition to screenings and parties, there will be a New Animation Technology Expo on Wednesday and March 27. Also, the International Business Conference of Television Animation takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Contests awarding more than $150,000 in prizes in the categories of storyboarding, screenwriting and character drawing will be held throughout the festival.

``We've tried to create a virtual Olympic village of animation activity,'' said Thoren, the event's honorary chairman.

Having attended the Woodstock music festival in 1969, he can't resist attempting a comparison of the two events.

``Woodstock had its problems - the rain, the electrical shorts, the bad acid,'' he recalls. ``But in the end, what people remembered was the spirit in which everyone came together. We're hoping that will happen here, because this is about growing our industry. It's not Klasky-Csupo vs. Film Roman, or Warner Bros. vs. Disney, it's the industry as a whole. We want more animated programs on television and more animated movies in theaters. If the industry grows, there'll be more opportunities for everyone. That's the vision.''

See it, do it, drink it, live it at World Animation Celebration

The World Animation Celebration features a packed schedule of screenings, workshops, seminars and parties. Among the highlights are the following:

Monday night's Oscar ceremony viewing party at which attendees can mingle with some of the animation world's biggest names, 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., a 20th anniversary tribute to Ardman Animation with Nick Park, Peter Lord and Sam Fell, principals of the award-winning British stop-motion animation studio.

Tuesday at 9:45 p.m., the two-hour movie compilation ``Disney's Unseen Treasures,'' presented by Walt Disney archivist Scott MacQueen.

Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., a behind-the-scenes look at the new 20th Century Fox animation facility, home of upcoming features ``Anastasia'' and ``Planet Ice.''

Wednesday at 9:45 p.m., ``Outlaws of Animation,'' featuring the work of Bill Plympton, Ralph Bakshi, Corky Quackenbush, John Dilworth and others.

March 27 at 7:30 p.m., a salute to 67 years of Warner Bros. animation, from the studio's first cartoon, ``Sinking in the Bathtub'' (1930), to the upcoming full-length animated feature ``Quest for Camelot.''

March 27 at 9:45 p.m., ``World's Best CGI,'' a focus on the computer-generated imagery featured in ``Toy Story,'' ``Independence Day,'' ``Dante's Peak'' and other major features.

Also at 9:45 p.m. March 27, a world premiere sneak preview of HBO's new animated series, ``Spawn,'' based on the Todd McFarlane comic.

March 28 at 5:30 p.m., outtakes from the movie ``Beavis and Butt-head Do America,'' followed by the festival's keynote address, which will focus on ``youth, talent and opportunities,'' to be delivered by Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, parent company of MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount.

March 28 at 7:30 p.m., ``From Beavers to Beavis: A Salute to Nickelodeon, MTV and Klasky-Csupo,'' featuring the world premieres of ``Daria'' and ``Angry Beavers'' plus special guest animators Mike Judge, Peter Chung, Craig Bartlett, Peter Hannan, Mitch Schauer, Gabor Csupo and Arlene Klasky.

March 29 at 1 p.m., ``10 Greatest Warner Bros. Cartoons,'' chosen by leading animation authorities and screened in 35mm.

March 29 at 5:45 p.m., ``The World's Best Commercials.''

Saturday at 8 p.m., the festival's Awards Ceremony and a screening of the ``Best of the Festival'' will be held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, followed by the Gala Closing Night Party, which begins at 10 p.m. and features a ``full-on rave'' with Day-Glo face and body painting, live music, drinks, food, dancing and more.

Single ticket admissions to screenings are $8.50 at the door. Day badges and VIP festival passes are available.

A full schedule of events is available by calling [phone], or on the World Wide Web, http://www.animag.com.

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--2--Cover--Color) ANIMANIA

Celebrating the cartoon boom

Photo: (3--4--Color) World Animation Celebration attendees can see the world premiere of Nickelodeon's ``Angry Beavers,'' near left, March 28, and get a look at ``Werner - Eat My Dust,'' far left, which has its American premiere March 29.

(5) Takashi Nakamura's ``Catnapped!'' is receiving its American premiere March 29 at the animation event.

Box: See it, do it, drink it, live it at World Animation Celebration (See Text)