graphical message via email

I would like to send out an announcment via email but I need to really
impress. I would like a graphical, self contained animation to run -
either within the confines of the email program or perhaps a html doc
that will run in the default browser. I don't want to go to the hassle
of creating an animated gif (unless someone knows of a simple program I
could use). I have no experience with flash animations and I'm not sure
if they can be a single file. Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Brian