The Big Cartoon DataBase

The Big Cartoon DataBase
Type of site
 Database
Website http://www.bcdb.com/
Commercial Yes
Registration Optional
Launched October 3, 1996

The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows, and cartoon shorts.

The BCDB project began in 1996 as a list of Disney animated features on creator Dave Koch's local computer.[1] In response to increasing interest in the material, the database went online in 1998 as a searchable resource dedicated to compiling information about cartoons, including production details such as voice actors, producers, and directors, as well as plot summaries and user reviews of cartoons.[2] In 2003, BCDB became a 501(c) non-profit corporation.[1] On June 24, 2009, it was announced by creator Dave Koch on his BCDB forums that the site had 100,000 titles.[3]

Features

One feature of the BCDB is its "Top Rated" page which provides a listing of the top 25 animated films as voted by the registered users of the website. Ratings are shown based on top score as well as the cartoons that receive the highest number of votes. Users are given the option of rating a movie from "1" (lowest) to "10" (highest). To safeguard against attempts to skew the data, the DataBase employs data filters and a vote quota in an attempt to give an accurate Bayesian estimate. The BCDB also has a lowest-20 rated cartoons feature which, based on the same data, shows the least liked cartoons in the database.[4]

BCDB also includes a linked, online forum, where users express their opinions about cartoons, and/or ask questions about them. The forum is available to all registered users, and is actively moderated by a team of moderators and administrators.

Other features include news items related to the animation industry and the recently added image gallery, which allows users to see images of various cartoon characters taken from popular films.

Recognition

In 2002, The San Diego Union Tribune listed BCDB as a "top site" and wrote "with more than 42,000 cartoons, 2,000 series[,] and 1,300 cartoon reviews, this may be one of the Internet's largest searchable databases of cartoons".[5] In 2005, Apple Hot News wrote "The Big Cartoon Database is the place to find in depth information about any cartoon ever made".[6] In 2006, it was reported by the Reference and User Services Association, in their Eighth Annual List of Best Free Reference Web Sites, that "The Big Cartoon Database is the definitive Web compendium for anyone interested in the history of animation."[2]

The BCDB is used as a reference by such sources as Hartford Courant,[7] The San Diego Union Tribune,[5] Oakland Tribune,[8] Beacon News,[9] USA Today,[10] and the Animation World Network,[11] among others. Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages rates the site as 5 (out of 5) stars.[12]

Big Comic Book Database

Run by the Big Cartoon Database, the Big Comic Book Database (BCBDB) is the sister website of BCDB and set up to contain information about comic books. As of 2005, the database contained information on over 100,000 comic books in over 5,000 series and includes over 35,000 cover scans. In mid-2005, BCBDB added additional elements to make the site a more all-encompassing comic book resource. Cover scans include high-resolution versions for detailed online study of artwork. The site includes a comic book price guide showing readers current resale values at the various grading levels of individual comic books.

The BCBDB is arranged by publisher and set for ease in researching various issues and series. For each of the comics compiled in the database, it contains creator information such as writer, penciler, inker, and other artistic contributors, as well as including a synopsis for many of the comics listed. Key comic book issues include notes on why they are considered important to the industry, and for what milestones the key comic book is known.

References

  1. 1 2 Koch, Dave. "About BCDB". BCDB. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Best Free Reference Web Sites: Eighth Annual List". Reference & User Services Quarterly. Reference and User Services Association. May 1, 2006. ISSN 1094-9054. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  3. ↑ "100K!". BCDB. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Ratings". Big Cartoon Database. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  5. 1 2 "PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY – TOP SITES". The San Diego Union Tribune. December 9, 2002. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Big Cartoon Search". Apple Hot News. February 6, 2006. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  7. ↑ Hunt, Kevin (November 14, 2002). "Hartford Courant". Hartford Courant. pp. D3. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  8. ↑ "The flicks we wish we'd left on shelf". Oakland Tribune. December 8, 2003. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  9. ↑ Danahey, Mike (September 2, 2003). "Go, Mickey! It's your birthday!". Beacon News. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  10. ↑ Snider, Mike (November 15, 2004). "Film rescued from scrap heap". USA Today. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  11. ↑ DeMott, Rick (December 18, 2006). "Ivor the Engine Actor Dies". Animation World Network. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  12. ↑ Joe Kraynak (2005). Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages. Que Publishing. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-7897-3408-2.
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