A famous frog once said that it wasn't easy being green, but loveable Ogre Shrek has blown this theory out of the water by topping the box office charts in the third installment of the movie of the same name. Shrek's popularity highlights the public's appetite for CG movies and follows a long line of DreamWorks success stories. If you fancy trying your hand at a spot of cartoon-making then head for Softonic's animation section, which contains tons of tools for both beginners and advanced animators. Here's the pick of what's showing there at the moment:

• CrazyTalk - Facial animation & lip-sync software
• Toon Boom Studio - Create high-quality professional animations
• Pivot Stickfigure Animator - Make stick figures come to life
• Animation Workshop - Create GIF, MNG, AVI, MOV and SWF animations
• Nature Illusion Studio - Transform your pictures into living nature scenaries
• 2D & 3D Animator - Produce high-quality images, titles, and banner ads
• Artoonix - Make your own cartoons and animations
• ATani - Animated file creator with built-in editor
• Magpie Pro - Lip syncing and timing tool for animators
• LipSync MX - Make your Flash characters talk