History of Animation

J. Stuart Blackton's Humorous Phases of Funny Faces

Jan 1, 1906

A three minute short video where Blackton is making drawings and silly faces on a black chalkboard. You can even see his hand during the video.

Humpty Dumpty Circus

Mar 17, 1908

Humpty Dumpty Circus is recognized as the first use of stop-motion animation.

Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor McCay

Mar 17, 1914

Gertie the Dinosaur is widely considered the first animated short to feature a distinguished character. A living, walking, and dancing dinosaur was brought to life.

Felix the Cat

Mar 17, 1919

First famous animated cartoon character.

The New Gulliver

Mar 17, 1935

This Russian film was the first full-length feature to employ stop-motion animation for the majority of it's running time.

Beauty and the Beast for Best Picture

Mar 17, 1991

The first fully animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture was Beauty and the Beast.

Jurrasic Park

Mar 17, 1993

Jurassic Park is the first live-action film to feature photorealistic computer-animated creatures.

Toy Story

Mar 17, 1995

The first computer-animated film, is released to theaters.

"Best Animated Film"

Mar 17, 2002

The Oscars created this category while "Shrek" was the first movie to win this award.

The Polar Express

Mar 17, 2004

Is the first fully-animated film to use motion capture technology to render all of its characters.