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Fantasmagorie, the first hand-drawn animation, was released.
Animation around this time was unheard of, so when this hand-drawn cartoon was released, it surprised many people. While it does not include any sound, it is a prime example of how animation was created, which was by quickly flipping through hand drawings that come right after another. The film included a man encountering many different moving objects, and was a starting point for animation. -
The Rotoscope technique was invented.
Realistic action in animation was hard to convey during the early ages, so an animator by the name of Max Fleischer invented a device called the rotoscope. The process is done by creating an element on one layer, and composited over another, and onward. This would mean that images could more accurately been animated and motion would now be more smooth and life-like. -
Mickey Mouse/Steamboat Willie is born.
This was a very iconic moment, as Mickey Mouse has been a huge part of American culture for the last century. This cartoon, which was released in 1928, was the debut of Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie. Ever since this short was released, Mickey Mouse has been used in many films, shorts, toys, brands, and countless other lines of entertainment. -
The first short of "Looney Tunes" was released.
Walt Disney was a huge competitor against Warner Bros., who in turn created a series called Looney Tunes. These shorts included a story that involved slapstick humor and distinguishable theme music. It was a massive success, and was revived in 1987 after it went dormant in 1969 for new shorts were being made to a new generation of audiences. -
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is released.
This was the very first full-length animated film, and it was a huge marketing success. It was produced by Walt Disney Animations and took up to 1.5 million frames to make. It became a very culturally significant film and was honored by many awards and preservations. -
"Fantasia", a Walt Disney Film, was released.
Prior to this film, stereophonic sound technology in films was mainly unheard of, which is what this film included. This animated film was produced by Walt Disney, and while it was very iconic in the sound industry of animation and acclaimed by critics, WWII issues had caused it to be not as successful as anticipated. This was a film to try to get people to see Mickey Mouse in a less evil and mischievous light, but more as a good guy for marketing purposes. -
"Colonel Bleep" was the first TV cartoon to be produced in color.
Animated by Soundac, this series was the very first to be shown in color on TV. The plot mainly consists of characters who represent the past, present, and future, and involved protecting earth. Less than half of the episodes are known to have actually survived, and is mainly a lost portion of animation. -
"The Flintstones", an animated TV series, was the very first animation to hit prime time television.
Before 1960, television was only used for live-action series' and film. Then, in 1960, a company called Hanna-Barbera Productions created a series that relied solely on animation called "The Flintstones". This series was about everyday life, but set in the stone age, and was a commercially massive success. -
Pixar was founded.
Pixar, as we know, is a huge company in the animation industry, and has produced several multimillion dollar films. They first were started as the Graphics Group from just a few people and continued from there. They were sought after by multiple investors, until being bought by Disney in 2006. -
"The Adventures of Andre and Wally B." was created.
"The Adventures of Andre and Wally B.", created by Pixar/Graphics Group, was the first computer animated film. This was groundbreaking event, as it marked an era of using computers to animate 3D animation. While the film ran for only about 2 minutes, it still showed the capabilities that computers could do, even at that time. -
"Toy Story", the first ever fully computer-animated film, was released.
After the creation of "Adventures of Andre and Wally B.", Pixar went on to create a full hour-and-a-half computer animated film. While it was not what is up to today's standards, in 1995, this movie was revolutionary. It allowed for characters to express more emotion and motion than before, and marked a milestone in computer animation. -
The first 3D animated film to use motion capture.
Motion capture is where studios record people doing motions while wearing a compatible suit, then converting that to animation. It allowed for a more realistic and smooth motion from lifelike characters. "Polar Express" did this through the use of character models and kids in these morph suits. -
"Frozen", created by Disney, was/is the highest grossing animated film of all time
When "Frozen" premiered in 2013, the world rushed to watch this new movie. This was an anticipated movie for years and when it finally released, the hype showed. It quickly became the highest grossing film of all time, breaking many previous records. A sequel to this popular film is set to released late 2019.
