i love those.
free 30 day trials of flash @ adobe.com (macromedia was swallowed whole)
you can easilly find older versions of flash to learn on first if you'd like.
what they did is not hard to do at all.
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learn about objects on the stage and timeline first.
if you are anything like me, you're first animation will hook you.
feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions on basics. i work in it from time to time.
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best of luck.
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