Are there any (free) sites out there which let you make strip cartoons or animations?

I want to make an online cartoon or an animation of some kind as a birthday present for a mate of mine, for a bit of a laugh. I thought it might be funnier/more creative than an ordinary e-card. Are there any sites out there that will let me create something like this?

There was the "ILX - The Movie" thread which I started a long time ago which had a link to a film-making thing, but I'm looking for alternatives as that one was a bit limited with the amount of text you could write etc.

I'll have a google around and see what I can find, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or recommendations. Thanks:)