Animation Timeline

By bob likes pie

  • Eadweard Muybridge Motion Study

    Photographer Eadweard Muybridge used sequential photographs to analyze animal and human movement.

  • Théâtre Optique

    Émile Reynard opened his popular 'Théâtre Optique' in Paris, where he projected films that had been drawn directly onto celluloid.

  • Barré and Nolan Animation Studio

    Raoul Barré and Bill Nolan opened the first animation studio in New York.

  • Fleischer Brothers 'Rotoscope'

    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.

  • Creation of 'Disney Studios'

    Walt and Roy Disney, Ub Iwerks, and other animators formed a company that would dominate animation for many years.

  • 'Steamboat Willie' Produced

    The first cartoon to synchronize sound with movement, produced by Disney in 1928.

  • 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves' Produced

    This was the first American feature-length animated film, receiving a Special Academy Award for significant screen innovation.

  • 'Tron' Produced

    The 1982 film 'Tron' combined live action with animation, was the first film to use CGI on a large scale.

  • 'Beauty and the Beast' Produced

    When Disney released 'Beauty and the Beast', it was nominated for Best Picture alongside four live-action films

  • 'Waltz with Bashir' Produced

    'Waltz with Bashir' uses animation to explore soldiers’ suppressed memories of events in the Middle East.