In May the Academy kicked off a season of animation with “Drawing on the Future: Mentorship in Animation,” a program in which animators James Baxter, Andreas Deja, Pete Docter and Eric Goldberg discussed their individual approaches and the inspiration and guidance they received from such mentors as Marc Davis and Ollie Johnston of Disney’s “Nine Old Men.”

The Academy’s summer exhibition “Ink & Paint: The Art of Hand-Drawn Animation” showcased more than 125 paintings, drawings, sketches and cels from the 1950s through the 1990s with artwork from such classics as “Alice in Wonderland,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “The Lion King.”  The exhibition is open through Sunday, August 24.  Admission is free.

“The Sound behind the Image II: Now Hear This!,” presented by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council, explored the role of sound in animation from its beginnings through the digital age.  With live onstage demonstrations of early sound effects and current technologies, the Samuel Goldwyn Theater was rocked by the rumblings of the “Polar Express” train and the clangs and crashes of the rooftop fight sequence from “Beauty and the Beast.”

On August 10 the Academy honored two giants in Canadian animation – composer Normand Roger and animator Frédéric Back.  Michael Giacchino, the Oscar®-nominated composer of “Ratatouille,” moderated an onstage conversation with Roger in “Normand Roger and The Animated Soundtrack.”  Back joined them onstage after the screening of his Oscar-nominated short “Crac,” on which he and Roger collaborated nearly 30 years ago. The program also included three additional screenings of Oscar-winning shorts, all of which featured Roger’s scores and sound effects.

The evening also marked the opening of the new exhibition “Frédéric Back: A Life’s Drawings,” which showcases the artist’s drawings, illustrations and notebook sketches as well as photographs and travel diaries documenting his career.  The exhibition will be open to the public through November 1 on Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m., and whenever Academy public programs are hosted at the Linwood Dunn Theater.  Admission is free.