About 1966, several members of ASIFA-Hollywood (The Los Angeles branch of ASIFA, the International Animated Film Association) decided to put together an international animation program to be shown at theLos Angeles County Museum of Art. It was almost impossible to see quality animation in the US at that time. Prescott Wright became active with the group when he joined the American Film Institute in 1969 and, having worked previously in film distribution, he was asked to head the project when it was decided to show the program in other cities.

Under Wright's guidance, the program became known as the "International Tournée of Animation" and, by late 1970, he began to book the program at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, university campuses, and other cultural institutions around the US.

The animators were offered a generous contract as part of their agreement to enter their films in the Tournée. As producers, Wright and his associates received 50% of the gross, while the remaining 50% was split among the artists. About half of the money going to the animators was split evenly between each filmmaker and the remaining amount was split based the length of each short film. This meant that a very short film got slightly less one which was a minute or two longer.