Animation

By Smith Caleb

  • the start of it all

    the start of it all
    A man named H.W. Goodwin invented a celluloid film which could hold images. It was made of gum cotton and gum camphor.

  • an early moving-picture production

    an early moving-picture production
    A man in France named Emil Reynaud opened a theatre using an invention called the Praxinoscope. It used turning mirrors to reflect images and produce a 10 to 15 minute "moving picture."

  • the enchanted drawing

    the enchanted drawing
    A man named James Stuart Blackton used animation techniques to produce a short film. It documented the drawing process of characters, without ever showing the artist; this made it seem that the drawings simply appeared.

  • Gertie the dinasour

    Gertie the dinasour
    This short animation film became popular quickly. It was created by Windsor McCay.

  • steamboat willie

    steamboat willie
    Walt Disney didn't give up on making animated films. In 1928 he released a short film called Steamboat Willie featuring Mickey Mouse and using sound for the first time, and it was an instant hit.

  • warner bros. studio is born

    warner bros. studio is born
    Looney Tunes was supposed to be a spin off on the Silly Symphonies produced by Disney. It soon took on a life of its own and became very popular.

  • iconic characters grow

    iconic characters grow
    The next decade brought several new popular characters to life. This included Woody Woodpecker, Mighty Mouse, and Tom and Jerry.

  • lady and the tramp

    lady and the tramp
    The first animated feature to be in widescreen (CinemaScope) became the last film Wolfgang Reitherman worked on as an animator.

  • the flinstones

    the flinstones
    This palaeolithic Hanna-Barbera cartoon was the first ever prime-time animated show.

  • computer generated movies

    computer generated movies
    At the University of Utah, and man named Ed Catmull developed a method of creating computer generated movies. It used scripting language.

  • who framed roger rabbit

    who framed roger rabbit
    Roger Rabbit is also a major milestone in animated history because of the sheer number of characters and assets from different studios that made an appearance.

  • 3-D and beyond

    3-D and beyond
    Apple computer company produced a method for creating 3-D films, and in 1995 Toy Story was released as the first full-length 3-D film. The animation industry would never be the same.