Animation

Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, wouldn't take money advice from the prattling poriferan. "He works 97 hours a week; he gets paid for 40," notes Kenny. The modern day Mel Blanc doesn't give himself much credit for his own personal finance smarts either -- but maybe he should.

One of Japan's best-known exports, its unique style of animation, faces a new crisis -- a disruption in production following the recent earthquake and tsunami. The multi-billion-dollar "anime" industry has already been challenged by overseas competition and high employee turnover at home.

To get a better idea how Apple might fare without Steve Jobs's leadership, it's helpful to look at another hugely successful American company that decades ago lost its iconic CEO -- Walt Disney Co. After Walt passed away in 1966, his company didn't miss a step -- at least not for several years.

What's cute, furry, hungry and about to lure your kids into 7-Eleven stores? Domo, the Japanese stop-action character with the huge open-mouthed look, is the centerpiece of a new marketing campaign for the stores and its Slurpee drinks. The goal? To attract the character's fans, who tend to be...

When times are hard, you recycle. You make use of stuff you already had rather than spending to buy more. Even Walt Disney movies have done it, copying movements, gestures, and moments virtually line-for-line, pretty much tracing over old artwork and using old movies as visual templates for making...