Recommended 2D animation program?

[The Lizard]

A friend of mine has a smart 9-year old who's been using the 30-day trial of the Toon Boom 4.0 animation program. The full price of $400 is a bit steep, so can anyone recommend a good quality kid-friendly animation program that's more affordable (or free)?

Thanks.

 

[Phig]

http://www.e-frontier.com/article/articleview/1913/1/793?sbss=793

had this for a while and haven't had the chance to properly explore it, but it looks pretty good... basic package $49... not sure how 9 year old friendly it is???

 

[HellHare]

Hey guys!

I have both Toonboom Studio 4.0 and Anime Studio 5. Both are great programs. But Toonboom in my opinion is easier to use.

But there is a more affordable program called Flipbook, which I know an old school animator who has used it and won some awards. http://www.digicelinc.com I think there are two versions. One is about $40.00.

If you get it let me know how you like it. If not I would go with Adobe Flash, it's industry standard. One thing I've learned is, you can be an expert on one system, but if no one uses it you wont get hired.

 

[The Lizard]

Great suggestions...thanks!

 

[Jspider13]

http://www.les-stooges.org/pascal/pencil/index.php?id=Home

This one is great and free.