-
Drawings are Done on Transparent Celluloid
Émile Reynaud opened his popular Théâtre Optique in
Paris, where he projected films that had been drawn directly on
transparent celluloid -
Animated Films are Composed from Drawings
Animators such as J. Stuart Blackton and Winsor McCay in the U.S. and Émile Cohl in France were making animated films composed entirely of drawings. -
The First Animation Studio is Opened
Raoul Barré and Bill Nolan open the first animation studio in New York. -
The Rotoscope is Patented
Brothers max and Dave Fleischer, creators of Betty Boop, patented the rotoscope in 1917, enabling animators to copy the movement of live action by tracing filmed live-action images frame by frame. -
Walt and Roy Disney and Form a Company
In 1923,Walt and Roy Disney, Ub Iwerks, and other animators formed a company that would dominate animation for many years. Not only did the studio’s animators produce finely drawn films, but they emphasized unique, specific characters and movement that revealed the characters’ personalities. -
Disney produces Steamboat Willie
The Disney studio produced Steamboat Willie (1928), the first cartoon to synchronize sound with movement, and the short three-color Technicolor film Flowers and Trees, which won the first Oscar for animation in 1932. -
Disney produces Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
In 1938, Disney produced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first American feature-length animated film. It received a Special Academy Award for significant screen innovation. -
Disney produces Beauty and the Beast
Disney’s 1991 Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture alongside four live-action films, a feat that was repeated in 2009, when the Disney Pixar animated film Up was one of ten Best Picture nominees. -
Disney produces Toy Story
In 1995, Disney released the Pixar production Toy Story, the first feature-length computer-animated film, which the Academy honored with a special award to its creator John Lasseter.