Animation has always required a close collaboration between artists and scientists, poets and engineers. Current trends in computer animation have made successful and effective teamwork a necessity. To address these issues, the authors have developed an interdisciplinary computer animation course for artists and scientists, in which student teams produce a professional animation that extends the capabilities of a commercial animation package. A key component of this course is the use of collaborative teams that provide practical experience and cross-mixing of student exper-tise. Another key component is group-based education: the students learn from each other, as well as from the instructors.