Monkey shown without tail in animation (5)
I believe the answer is:
verve
'animation' is the definition.
(I know that verve is a type of energy)
'monkey shown without tail' is the wordplay.
'monkey' becomes 'vervet' (vervet is a kind of monkey).
'shown without tail' means to remove the last letter.
'vervet' with its final letter taken off is 'VERVE'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for verve that I've seen before include "Life" , "Vigour, spirit, style" , "Sparkling enthusiasm" , "Sparkle" , "Energy and zest" .)