It wasn’t long ago when the easiest way to calm down a wailing child was to switch on the cartoon channel. But animated movies or “cartoons” are no longer just certified for the kids. Every one of us has knowingly or unknowingly, at some point liked and cherished an animated feature. As the year which gave us some of the best sequels to animated features has just faded away, we decided to line up some of the best animated features to ever adorn the large screen.

Our top 10 choices are

: 1. Toy Story:

Pixar’s flawless animation riding on top of a compelling story line makes Toy Story our top pick. The feature tells the story of a group of toys who pretend to be lifeless in the presence of humans. Earning more than $361 million in revenues worldwide, Toy Story marked the breakthrough of computer generated animation into the mainstream.

2. The Lion King:

Simba’s story of rising from remorse and self penance to being the king of the fabled Pride Lands has captured many a Kids’ dreams. With a titillating musical score complimenting the story line, the film gathered two Academy awards and a Golden globe. The film is the highest hand drawn animation film of all times, Lion king has garnered more than $945 million worldwide.

3. Akira:

Set in 2019, Akira tells the story of the confrontation between bikers Shotaro Kaneda and Tetsuo Shima and the struggle to save Neo Tokyo from total annihilation. Akira, brought together, several top production houses of the Japanese film industry and is considered a landmark in Japanese animation history. The film based on the original manga epic of the same name has moved on to become a cult movie.

4. Pinocchio:

Even after about 70 years, the Walt Disney Classic, is just as interesting and engrossing to the audience today. Narrating the story of, Pinocchio, a wooden puppet, brought to life by the Blue Fairy, the film takes the viewer through the puppets journey to become a real living boy. The film, tough initially unsuccessful at the box office, has risen to critical acclaim over the years.

5. Shrek:

Perhaps everyone in the world has heard of Sherk. Perhaps, just perhaps. But the fairy tale of the loveable ogre and his love for Princess Fiona has let DreamWorks Animation stand up to competition with Pixar. The film won the first ever Academy award for Best animated feature and was also nominated for 6 BAFTA awards.

6. Beauty and the Beast:

Based on the popular fairy tale love of the Prince who gets transformed into a beast and young woman he imprisons, Beauty and the Beast is everything a romantic could ask for. Again, from the Walt Disney repertoire, the film went on to becoming a major success, garnering more than $403 million in revenues. The film mopped up several awards including the Academy award for the best music and song.

7. Yellow Submarine:

Yellow Submarine is a musical animated feature based on the music of the Beatles. The film is based on the musical victory of the Beatles over the music hating Meanies who have taken over underwater music loving land of Pepperland. The Yellow submarine which transports the Beatles, forms the film’s title as well as the title song of the Soundtrack. The film has been gathered praise and awards alike including the Grammy for the best original score for a Motion Picture.

8. The Iron Giant:

Based on the novel, Iron Man, the film tells the story of a lonely kid, Hogarth and the aftermath of his friendship with a giant alien robot. Released by Warner Brothers Animation, the film captured the attention of viewers and the critics alike. The film has been nominated for several awards, went on to gather $103 million worldwide.

9. Wall·E:

A simple story coupled with Pixar’s excellent animation, made Wall·E, make more than $531 million at the box office. The film tells the love story of two robots and the after effects it has on the human race. Wall·E won the Academy award as well as the golden globe for the best animated feature and was nominated for several others.

10. Snow white and the seven dwarfs:

Based on the classic fairy tale of Snow white and her association with seven dwarfs who save her life, this Disney Classic from 1937, is still one of the most liked animated features. The film has won critical acclaim and has won Disney an honorary Academy award. The feature has been unanimously noted as a path breaker in animated films by many film critics. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the list of the top animated films till date. With better technology aiding creative minds, the list hopefully will get updated soon.

It was four o’clock and the sun had left its abode in the sky. The color of the sky met with that of the river. Both were of a mystifying grey color. The river at the banks was quiet and the grey sky looked calm giving no signs of the future jeopardy. Overhead a bird soared through the clouds calling out to its mates. On the banks our guide was pumping air into the raft. We huddled closer to him as he gave us instructions and precautions. I tried hard to focus on his words but my mind was occupied with the surrounding beauty of the silent river and the eagerness of rafting. Not once did I think that these words would save my life later. We jumped onto the rafts with much enthusiasm. Our guides made sure that our life jackets were tight and helmets on their place. We were handed paddles which were longer than I was. I imagined how much strength I would need to move it through the water. With a few strokes our raft left the banks and the sky turned darker. We hollered ‘Jai Ganga Maya Ki’ and cheered our paddles. We drifted through the river and even hopped out of the raft into the cold river for a while. Our guide informed us that we were nearing the rapids and here we would need to paddle harder. I was excited for the new adventure. I admired the flowing water and dipped my fingers into the icy water. Huge waves were forming in front of us looking like lifeless ghosts. Our raft rocked with the waves and a gigantic wave hit our raft. In seconds it overturned. All seven of us were dumped into the chilling water. Before I could take a breath I was pulled downwards by the strong current. The waves kept pushing me into the river. I gulped down much water. My life jacket kept bringing me back to the surface against the current. Water sprayed all over me and I felt as if I had no chance of making it out alive. I ran my hands around the raft and clung on to the rope tied at its sides. It was my only hope. I lunged upwards trying to push the water down with my legs. My head bobbed to the surface and the waves became less violent. I saw that everyone had clutched the rope. The words of the guide instructing us to hold the rope whenever we fall out of it came back as a faint voice in my mind. Fear gripped me as I saw panic in my dad’s eyes. I looked around for my mom and sister. They were there and terror was visible across their faces. We had to turn the raft to make it upright. I swallowed some more water. The water I had admired before now looked like a threatening force. We toppled the raft and once again I was sucked into the water under the raft. My life jacket pulled me upwards but I only hit the raft’s floor. I closed my eyes and I tried to get myself out. My lungs longed for oxygen. Finally after a few kicks I was able to get out and I grasped the rope. One by one the guide pulled us into the raft. My heart pounded as I took huge breaths and tried to take in as much oxygen as I could. I felt a surge of pain throughout my whole body. My sides ached and my legs were numb. Water ran down my face and my wet t-shirt clung to my body. I breathed in and out frantically. My hair had come out of the rubber band and was hanging loose, sticking to my face. I was safe. We all were. I couldn’t have felt more relieved in my life than at that time. We had lost two paddles and a helmet adding to the guide’s distress. He got off at the banks to search the missing paddles. Our raft was tied to the rocks and the deadly waves were behind us. Larger waves were now forming and it seemed as if the ghosts were trying to reach out to us, calling us back. I looked up seeing that the sky was as calm as ever and still showed no signs of the past crisis. I shivered in the cool evening breeze. I had never imagined that I would take a dip in the holy Ganges this way. I thanked God that we were safe. We went down the rapids more cautiously now and finally our journey came to an end. This incident which had taken place in mere minutes felt like a lifetime. The three other men were strangers to us but somehow those few minutes connected us to each other. Each of us had been seized by the same emotions while drowning. We drove back to our camps and had a steaming cup of hot tea. We sat by the bonfire and shared our experiences each telling his story. I felt glad. The moon shone brightly in the cloudless sky telling us that the day was over and a new tomorrow will come.

If he had been created just four days earlier , he would have shared his birthday with the children’s day.  But I guess that was not meant to happen due to human limitation or Walt Disney’s mood and Mickey Mouse came to our lives on the 18th of November. Just four days after we celebrate children’s day. So how much do we know about the world’s favourite mouse ? Of course Jerry is cute , but it cannot compare to the popularity and mass acceptance of Mickey Mouse. We are today bringing before you some quick trivia which we are sure you could look it up in wikipedia too, but that would be tedious for you, wouldn’t it be? Instead we are bringing before you a few short, quick facts about Mickey Mouse.

Do you know how old Mickey will be this birthday? 91 years ! and he is still going young and strong.

Do you know in which movie Mickey debuted ? He debuted in Steamboat Willie

Do you know how many of his movies were nominated in the academy awards for the best animation movie? Nine and Lend a paw won the award in 1942

Do you know when Mickey began to appear in comic strips? in 1930

Walt Disney created Mickey mouse. Do you know who the co creator of Mickey was?  Ub iwerks

Minnie was Mickey’s girlfriend. Do you know the name of his enemy? Its Pete.

Do you know Mickey’s original name before it was changed to Mickey? Mortimer Mouse.

Do you know that Mickey’s debut was not in fact his first movie but his third? The first was in fact Plane crazy.

Do you know the first movie where Mickey spoke? what were his first words? The movie was Karnivall kid and the first words were “hot dog , hot dog!”

Do you know in which movie Mickey appeared for the first time with Donald and when? In 1934 in the movie Orphan’s benefit.

Do you know the official color movie release of Mickey? The band concert in 1935.

Do you know which was Mickey’s first full length feature film? Fantasia in 1940

Do you know something strangely miraculous happened in 1988?  The rivals i.e Disney’s Mickey mouse and Warner Bro’s Bugs bunny came together in the movie Who framed roger the rabbit .

Those were some of the trivia related to the world’s favourite mouse. You can add to the list if you have some more and let the knowledge and charm of Mickey spread all over . That in fact will be the best way to celebrate his birthday – together .

Do you know Epic Mickey is a video game where Mickey’s image has been rebranded to give him a mischievous darker personality?

Moms usually do not get calls at midnight. Not a good sign and I am not even speaking about the moral issues, but more worried about the graveness (is it the right word? My brother suggested the word) of the news from the other end. So that night when her phone buzzed at around 12.30 am and when she jumped up to attention at the sight of the name of the caller, three pairs of eyes,  one of which was mine,stared at her unblinkingly ; disbelievingly ( brother says this is wrong English here- well booo to him). She talked hurriedly to whom she addressed as Sir. Gosh! A Sir?  And finally when she was done with the conversation (which seemed to stretch till eternity) she whispered shocked- “ We are going to the Formula one race tomorrow. Institute’s order” (She was the Assistant Professor in the the Jaypee Institute of IT). I was shocked. My brother stammered “you are kidding!” (he always does when he is excited)  She just nodded dumbly and immediately a mini pandemonium broke loose. I squealed in delight. For the first time I had that three letter word for my mom- AWE. My brother started excitedly chattering and stammering simultaneously. Papa started grumbling and mumbling. Nothing much conclusive happened after that. I just remember dozing off to a confused, ecstatic, restless sleep.

Jump to next morning, which happened to be total chaos, even before I, the official chaos creator was up awake. I woke up to find mom and papa arguing. Papa was in no mood to waste the Sunday on some pointy nosed carts , racing like maniacs and would rather laze away at home. I didn’t wait to watch the result. I already knew what was going to happen . It would just be Mom, brother and myself and I was right. But Papa gracefully offered to drop us at the venue as were late to catch the chartered bus from Mom’s institute. But that was a mistake! I will come to that in a minute.

And so we reached all washed and tidied up; a bit grumpy though, because we were not allowed to carry our cameras. “We might be violating protocols’ mom had said in an officious manner. Mom and her protocols!

Egad! (that is something I picked up from Archie comics. Sounds cool, doesn’t it?) To my amazement and wonder the road leading to the venue were filled with Audis, Jaguars, Benz, limousines and our poor swift felt totally out of place among all the grandness.

“Great ! all we need are BPL cards” commented my brother. Even My mom who considers herself above all those “show sha baazi “ was surprisingly very much subdued and made Papa swear upon his soul not to alight from the car, come what may. The reason was obviously obvious (can I say that?) Sunday- Lazing away plans- Dress…etc etc! Yes you can connect the dots.

We scurried off after bidding a hasty goodbye to papa, who was wearing a smug smile now that we were gone, in search of the chartered bus to meet Mom’s colleagues. And when we found them, another full on drama was unfolding over there. One of mom’s colleague’s three year old daughter was throwing a mega tantrum. Reason- Kids below five years of age weren’t allowed. She had come all geared up with Formula one accessories-cap, water bottle, t shirt and the likes least expecting that she would be turned away so unceremoniously. And she bellowed screamed and screeched but to no avail. Would anyone believe it? A three year old and F 1 racing? God! Could she even spell formula? Any ways  li’l miss pampered brat was finally packed off along with her poor parents (God, save them!) and we were ushered inside the grand stands finally.

The race was yet to begin and we started sizing up our surroundings. The course or the track was vast and seemed to stretch on endlessly. Just opposite our stands across the track was another such and a little bit to our left was what was that now? The victory platform or podium.. . We scowled and glared at mom when we realised that we were the only ones without a camera while people around us showed off their canons and Nikons. I sheepishly took out my cell phone and tried clicking some pictures as it was imperative to collect some proof to show off to my friends. And that was when my brother exclaimed or literally shrieked ‘ SHARUKH KHAN!!!!” Now you see Sharukh other than being a superstar from Bollywood happens to be our family or khaandani  deity. So everything else drifted away and only he remained in our focus like those cheap shaadi camera works. Every other thing became a blur. And yes, I do remember a lanky someone called Deepika Padukone somewhere in my visual field but I don’t remember when or where because as they say my sights were trained on The God. It went left as he walked towards left. It went downstairs as he strode down to mingle with the participants. It again came up as he walked to his seat and took his place. But no matter how much you idolise a person, one tends to get bored of continuously staring a person especially if the person does not stare back at you.  I shook off my disappointment at not being noticed by the star and tried to concentrate at what was going on. After texting about a hundred smses, a 200 rs coke and a short speech of around 300 words the race finally started. I took on the challenge of clicking a race car in motion and after about four or five attempts got the hang of it and managed to click a couple of snaps. My cheers of joy and achievement managed to make the other kids (the Jaypee faculty kids) notice us and finally we got talking. After that, time seemed to move fast. I have to admit the kids were more fun that staring at a star. Images blurred again and only our stand remained focused, but this time the focus was on the people around me instead of some distant heavenly object. In no time, it was time to head back home but not before some more fun moments at Sagar Ratna where we stopped by for dinner . A fun filled eventful day you can say.

Oh did I say who won and how he won? Well it was one Mr V. (you know how their names are!) And how? Ah! Well I think I got busy with my eye due to some irritation … oh well! Let me confess. I don’t remember! Now come on! I am just a normal thirteen year old girl still crossing over (that’s a term chachi asked me to use ) from childhood. My brother calls me a dim witted neo teenager (not that he isn’t one) but call me whatever, I am just me and I believe in being me rather than trying to be someone else , who I am not. Now did that make sense?

With special thanks to Chachi and My brother Srajan

Srishti Bhatnagar will be posting about her F 1 experience in the next edition. Please be ready to read about her hilarious account in the next

-Debashish Basistha

Never had I thought so,

That I would be standing here,

Before this crossroad

Where every path

Seems equally unknown;

Leaves me feeling

Like a layman among Einsteins-

Can’t I make my own choice?

Or have I got people for this too?

My heart goes dead

When I lean on it for help!

But a choice is to be made,

I know not what;

Ah! It’s a long road ahead

Or a really brief one

My mind goes blank!

Am I ready for the test?

Only time will tell, I guess!

I was desperate and tired. My eyes strained themselves to keep focused on the computer screen. My eyes were heavy and my head hurt like hell. I was in a desperate need for an aspirin. After long hours of searching for some historical events on four dates given by my teacher, I was unable to find anything suitable. I had to write an essay on one of the four dates and only thing I found out was the Al Hoceima, Morocco Earthquake that took place on 26^th May, 1994. Writing about something which I have never had any experience of is nearly impossible. This earthquake, the information on which I had been searching for the past two hours had a mild impact on the human life but a devastating one on the Earth’s crust. Two people had died and three hundred were injured but the Earth’s crust had shifted on its axis by a few centimeters. Even though it lasted for mere seconds, its aftershocks were observed for many hours. I viewed many photographs picturing the landslides in the Rif Mountains, the wrecked buildings and architectural structures, the rubble on the streets, fallen poles, traffic lights and the incomprehensible street signs, written in Arabic. It was a gruesome sight. Tight knots formed in my stomach. I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up from the chair and…

Suddenly the ground started to shake. I saw the water in my glass spill on the ground and the crash of broken glass made me hunch in fear. Lights went out. I tried to make my way out but couldn’t amidst the fallen objects and darkness. I stretched my hands out and slowly started to feel my way around. Another shock came; I lost my balance and fell on my computer table. It struck me right on my waist. I felt a surge of pain throughout my body. I cried out. A few more shocks came and this time they were violent. Violent to the extent that, my room came tearing down. With quick reflexes I jumped beneath the oak table.

I was awake and alive. With wobbly legs and faltering steps I made it out of my room. I searched for my parents but instead found people running wildly. Women dressed all over in black and men in white with their children wrapped in their arms were exclaiming “tishreel”. “What?” I asked one of them. He looked at me in confusion, with eyes of full of terror he shouted “tishreel” and ran away. What in the world was happening? Minutes ago I was surfing the net and now I was surfing this god forsaken place. I couldn’t make out what the peculiar curls and swirls on the boards read. I couldn’t make out the alien language being shouted in my ears. Above all, I couldn’t make out where in the world I was.

Everything was scattered haphazardly on the roads. I was scared. Scared of what was happening and what might happen. I was alone. I longed for everything to be back to normal. I wanted to be back at home with mom and dad. I finally came outside darting around the debris. Dirt and dust filled my nostrils. I bent down low but the air was so thick, it made me cough. My vision got blurry and water streamed down my eyes. I heard a faint voice “Moosaiga” “Moosaiga”. Concentrating on the voice, I followed it and saw a little kid struggling to get out of the fallen stones. “Moosaiga”, he looked at me with helpless eyes. I watched him straining himself to get out of the wreckage. I pushed the pillar, with as much force as I could muster. I tried to pull the kid out, but all my attempts were vain. I cried “Help! There’s a kid stuck here. Help!” No one paid any heed to my plea. Everyone was so engrossed in escaping that they didn’t see the kid under the pillar. I got up to find some help. I looked around but could see nobody in the thick haze. I bent down and again started pulling the kid but to my horror, I noticed that the kid was not even trying anymore. However, I pulled harder. The kid had given up and so did I. I saw him die right in front of my eyes. My heart sank and tears came in my eyes. I had just witnessed a death of an innocent child. I sat there with my face in my hands. The world had stopped for me. Not a thing moved. After all this violence, I tried to get some peace but my heart kept pounding inside my chest. The silence around me was broken by the sound of a siren. An ambulance was finally here.

“Madam, Madam”, they called out but I couldn’t move. I was fixed at the place and couldn’t get my eyes to move from the kid. “Madam, Madam, please” I looked up and saw my maid. “Good morning, your morning coffee is ready.” I looked at her, bewildered. An earthquake had just taken place and she was worried about my morning coffee! I got up and my hands touched something hard, my computer table! I rubbed my eye and saw the ceiling of my room still there strong and sturdy. The glass was half filed with water, and the computer was beeping loudly as it had run out of battery. The maid kept the coffee on the table and went out of the room. I tried to get a sense of what all had just happened. Then the thought hit me. The events that took place during the Al Hoceima Earthquake had just now been unfolded right in front of my eyes.  A chill ran through my spine as my mind flashbacked to the kid. I stood there trembling. Finally after moment’s peace I gave a sigh of relief and drank my coffee. I felt glad. After all, I finally had my report. And this time it would not just be about the magnitude of the earthquake and the causalities but also about the emotions and fear that were felt by those who witnessed the catastrophe. Never before was 26^th May, 1994 important in my life. It was insignificant, but now it is imprinted in my memory for eternity. I have witnessed the day when lives were lost and injured and the Earth changed forever.

Fried Eye note : Rupasi Gupta is a tenth standard student of Bal Bharti Public School in Delhi and Fried Eye thanks her for this wonderful article. Rupasi we will love it if you continue writing in future too. Our best wishes for your future .

That’s all what I make,

Looking back at my destiny,

What reveals, how I made it;

Leads myself into mutiny.

What I cannot bear

Everything written in my fate

I know not how to depart-

Thus I have come to tolerate.

Continue Reading

Come as you are,
To the unpoised soul;
Leaving no traits,yet undone
Like the everflowing river,
To show waterfalls too care: Continue Reading

– SHARMISHATHARANI,
SANKAR AJAN JYATIO VIDALAYA, DULIAGAON, JORHAT

I want to be like my mother

I Love Mother Nature