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Phenakistoscope and Stroboscope Introduced
Created by Joseph Plateau and his sons, the phenakistoscope was the pre-cursor to animation. When the two discs were spun at the right time, they created a moving image. Created be Professor Simon von Stampfer, the stroboscope was very much like the phenakistoscope, but it is von Stampfer's invention's name that we use today. -
Praxinoscope
The praxinoscope, created by Charles Emile Reynaud, was a circular device that allowed background images to be combined with animated images reflected in mirrors. For a while, Praxinoscopes seemed dead to the world until 1956, whe the Magic Mirror, an adaptation to the praxinoscope, was introduced. -
"The Enchanted Drawing"
Created by James Stuart Blackton, "The Enchanted Drawing" was the first silent and interactive film. It would later inspire "Humorous Phases and Funny Faces", which was displayed with stop action photography. Blackton inspired Emile Cohl, who created the first fil solely comprised of animation with a whopping 700 drawings! -
Emile Cohl
Emile Cohl is considered to be one of the founding fathers of animation. He was the first to make a film comprised solely of animations. In his lifetime, he wasn't recognized as he was today, and passed away in poverty. One of his more famous films, "Man in the Moon", was recovered after his death. He made 700 drawings on double-layered rice paper for his animations. -
John Randolph Bray
J.R. Bray released Col. Heeza Liars African Hunt this day. More importantly, however, J.R. Bray had one of the most important contributions to animation history: the cel system - painted or hand drawn animation on white sheets, and rotoscoping - a technique where the artist traces frame by frame onto sheets of paper.
J.R. Bray would also on February 8, 1920, release the first ever colour cartoon, "Tomas the Cat". -
"Gertie the Dinosaur"
"Gertie the Dinosaur" was created by Winsor McCay, who produced small, high quality films and comic strips. He was known for his black line white background productions. For "Gertie the Dinosaur" he made a whopping 10,000 drawings! -
"Out of the Inkwell"
"Out of the Inkwell" was created by Max Fleischer, who invented rotoscoping. He was John Bray's successor, and released live action series, comic book shorts, scientific documentaries, and song cartoons. He is known for creating the character Koko the Clown, who stars in "Out of the Inkwell". -
Warner Brothers
Warner Brothers was founded by Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack, the four Warner brothers. They started with the success of "The Jazz Singer", and quickly moved their way up. Warner Brothers would move on to produce some of the most memorable characters, such as Bugs Bunny. They became well known for "Looney Tunes and Melodious Melodies". -
Otto Messmer
Co-creator of "Felix the Cat" (partner to Pat Sullivan), Otto Messmer would be known for his rapid production of one new film every two weeks, an astounding feat! "Felix the Cat" even today is well known, and his marketing in the 20's hit the roof - anything from cups to clocks to backpacks and stickers had "Felix the Cat" on them. -
Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio
Already having been successful, the Disney brothers Walt and Roy disney would come to be two of the most treasured animators in history. Walt grew up on a humblr farm not far off from Kansas City, and worked for the Kansas City film ad before leaving August 1923 after approaching Frank Newman, owner of a chain of cinemas in the Kansas City area. After teaming up with his brother, Walt created one of the most iconic characters of all time, Mickey Mouse. -
"Steamboat Willie"
"Steamboat Willie" (created by Walt Disney) was the first ever film that had synchronized sound. Despite being black and white, "Steamboat Willie" washed away all other contestors with its new sound additions. -
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
The first ever colour feature length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs spent nearly 2 million dolllars in its production when its initial budget was 250 thousand dollars. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs set a new standard for animations and cartoons across North America. -
United Productiond of America (UPA)
Formed by Dave Hilberman, Zack Schwarts, and Steve Bostustow, UPA was formed after the mass firings at the Disney Corporation. They revived Fox and the Crow, and created Mr. Magoo, which earned two academy awards and is well known for its lack of realism. Gerald McBoing Boing, a recently revived show, also earned an academy award. -
Hanna-Barbera Productions
Formed by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna, Hanna-Barbera Productions (previously HB Enterprises) is now known as Cartoon network, and is well known for it's largely successful television productions such as The Flinstones, The Jestons, Scooby Doo, and more recently, Adventure Time. -
Analog Computer Graphics
John Whitney creates analog computer graphics using 17 Bodine motors, 8 Selsyns, 9 different gear units, and 5 ball intergrators. -
Ken Knowlton
For the first time ever, animation took a new perspective in computer generated animation systems. Ken Knowlton, during his time at Bell Laboratories, began one such programs. -
Computer Generated Animation of Faces
Fred Parke, while attending the University of Utah, created "Computer Generated Animation of Faces", a program that allowed digital, 3D faces to be worked with on computers. This contribution to animation history would change the way films were created forever. -
"TRON"
TRON, one of the first movies ever to e released with CG enterprise, was a milsetone for movie-making history. While it was a bit of a botch job story-wise, TRON's CG animation development was astronomical for its time and had people's jaws hitting the floor. -
"Toy Story"
Toy Story (produceded by Pixar Animation Studios) was the first ever full-length film in 3D CGI. It introduced a new era of CGI film-making.
