30,000 B.C. – 1500 A.D.

EARLY WAYS OF

SHOWING MOTION

Archeological artifacts prove that we’ve been attempting to depict things in motion as long as we’ve been able to draw. Some notable examples from ancient times, as well as an example from the European Renaissance, include:

3,000 B.C.

SHAHR-E SUKHTEH: A bronze-age pottery bowl depicts goats leaping (Shahr-e Sukhteh, Iran).

1500 A.D.

VITRUVIAN MAN: Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man drawing shows multiple angles, implying movement.

1600 – 1877

ANIMATION

BEFORE FILM

With the spread of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America in the 18th and 19th centuries came experimentation with machines that would make images appear to move.

1603: MAGIC LANTERN

The Magic Lantern is an image projector using pictures on sheets of glass. Since some sheets contain moving parts, it is considered the first example of projected animation.

1824: THAUMATROPE

The thaumatrope housed a rotating mechanism with a different picture on each side. When rotated, you saw a combined picture (known as persistence of vision).

1831: PHENAKITOSCOPE

The phenakitoscope featured spinning disks reflected in mirrors that made it seem like the pictures were moving.

1834: ZOETROPE

The zoetrope was a hollow drum that housed images on long interchangeable strips that spin and made the images appear to move.

1868: FLIP-BOOK

The flip-book, also known as the kineograph, reached a wide audience and is credited with inspiring early animators more than the machines developed in this era.

1877: MOVIEOLA/PRAXINOSCOPE

The praxinoscope expanded on the zoetrope, using multiple wheels to rotate images. It is considered to have shown the first prototypes of the animated cartoon.

1900 – 1930

THE SILENT ERA

The early 20th century marks the beginning of theatrical showings of cartoons, especially in the United States and France. Many animators form studios, with Bray Studios in New York proving the most successful of this era. Bray helped launch the careers of the cartoonists that created Mighty Mouse, Betty Boop, and Woody Woodpecker.

1906: HUMOROUS PHASES OF FUNNY FACES

marks the first entirely animated film, using stop-motion
photography to create action.

1908: FANTASMAGORIE

is the first animated film using hand-drawn animation, and is considered by film historians to be the first animated cartoon. It was released on the 17th of August 1908, in Paris by the Gaumont company.

Fantasmagorie 1908.mov

1914: GERTIE THE DINOSAUR

is considered the first cartoon to feature an appealing character.

Gertie the Dinosaur 1914.mov

1919: FELIX THE CAT

Musical Mews and Feline Follies introduced Felix the Cat—often considered the first animated movie star.

1928:STEAMBOAT WILLIE

featuring Mickey Mouse—becomes the first cartoon with the sound printed on the film, and is the first notable success for Walt Disney Studios, founded in Los Angeles in 1923.

Steamboat Willie.mov

Featured Artist: Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Hermosa Illinois. He and his brother Roy co-founded Walt Disney Productions, which became one of the best-known motion-picture production companies in the world. Disney was an innovative animator and created the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. He won 22 Academy Awards during his lifetime, and was the founder of theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World. As an animator and entrepreneur, Disney was particularly noted as a filmmaker and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He and his staff created numerous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Disney himself was the original voice for Mickey. In addition to his Academy Awards, Disney won seven Emmy Awards. Today, there are Disney theme parks around the world, including Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong.

1930 – 1950s

THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICAN ANIMATION

During what many consider to be the “Golden Age” of animation, theatrical cartoons became an integral part of popular culture. These years are defined by the rise of Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Silly Symphonies), Warner Brothers, MGM, and Fleischer (Betty Boop, Popeye).

1930: Merrie Melodies

Warner Brothers Cartoons founded, and created the Merrie Melodies series.

Duck Amuck.mov

1937: SNOW WHITE

Walt Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first animated

feature film to use hand-drawn animation.

Snow White.mov

1960 – 1980s

THE AMERICAN

TELEVISION ERA

The animation industry began to adapt to the fact that television continued its rise as the entertainment medium of choice for American families. Studios created many cartoons for TV, using a “limited animation” style. By the mid ‘80s, with help from cable channels such as The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, cartoons were ubiquitous on TV.

1960: FLINTSTONES

Hanna-Barbera releases The Flintstones, the first animated series on prime-time television.

1961: YOGI BEAR

The Yogi Bear Show, a spin-off of Huckleberry Hound (another Hanna-Barbera production), debuts on national TV.

1964: THE PINK PHINK

DePatie-Freleng Enterprises wins the Academy Award for Best Short Film for The Pink Phink (of the Pink Panther series) and continues to create shorts for theatrical release.

PinkPhink.mov

1980 – 2004

Modern AMERICAN ERA

The CGI (computer-generated imagery) revolutionized animation. A principal difference of CGI animation compared to traditional animation is that drawing is replaced by 3D modeling, almost like a virtual version of stop-motion. A form of animation that combines the two and uses 2D computer drawing can be considered computer-aided animation.

1984: THE ADVENTURES OF ANDRE & WALLY B

This short film was the first fully CGI-animated film, created by The Graphics Group, the precursor to Pixar.

Andre and WallyB.mov

1987: THE SIMPSONS

The Simpsons is an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.

1995: Toy Story

Toy Story, the first fully computer-animated feature film, was released.

I am buzz lightyear.mov

2014: Big Hero Six

Big Hero 6 is the first Disney animated film to feature Marvel Comics characters

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