CHICO -- They smile broadly every time a camera is pointed their way. To the casual observer, they may seem like young girls anywhere, walking in groups, talking excitedly about what their day might have in store.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Over the last 25 years, there's been a real boom in feature animation, from Disney's re-emergence with "The Little Mermaid" to the rise of Pixar and Studio Ghibli to the mainstream distribution of adult-targeted films like "Persepolis" and "Waltz with Bashir." Animation, at its finest, frees the filmmaker to create whole worlds on film with no limits except his or her ...

CHICO — As an NFL referee, Chico's Don Carlsen knows that if nobody's talking about the refs after the game, that means they've done a good job.

ftn CHICO — Police were called to the area of East Second Street and Broadway early Friday morning to break up fights allegedly involving several men and women.

CHICO — For 14 years, Luke Barker sat in the stands at Nettleton Stadium, keeping a scorebook for each baseball game, watching how Chico State plays the game.

'I’m just happy to be here and fortunate that I’m still me,' he says

Sexy, sweet and laced with a sadness at once specific to its place and time and accessible to anyone with a breakable heart, “Chico & Rita” is an animated valentine to Cuba and its music.

Chico and Rita tells a love story about a Cuban pianist and singer in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero. The film is nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at this year's Academy Awards. Host Scott Simon chats with the film's co-director, Fernando Trueba, about using music and animation to transport audiences to the nightclubs of 1940s Havana and New York.

CHICO — People's reactions during natural disasters has been an area of intrigue for Timothy Sistrunk, long before Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Chico & Rita is like a graphic novel of a romantic drama, set to music that entices and inspires. It's the grown-up choice to win this year's Oscar for animated feature.