1887 – 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.
1892 – 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.”
1893 – Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope
Using the celluloid film developed by H.W. Goodwin, Edison was able to produce moving film pictures on the wall. The film moved over a series of wheels to produce the pictures.
1899 – Sound is captured
Using a magnetic recording device, sound was recorded for the first time. Animation enthusiasts would latch onto the technology.
1900 – 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.
1908 – The first official animated film
A Frenchman name Emile Cohl produced a film called “Fantasmagorie.” It was a hit, and is known today as the first true animated film.
1914 – Gertie the Dinosaur
This short animation film became popular quickly. It was created by Windsor McCay.
1915 – A patent on the process
A man named John Bray developed and patented a streamlined process for creating animated films. He tried, unsuccessfully, to force other companies to use his designs.
1920 – Felix the Cat
A man named Otto Messmer, who had been working in animation for a few years, created a character named Felix the Cat. Felix was very successful and even ended up including dolls and watches.
1922 – Laugh-O-Grams
Twenty-year-old Walt Disney began his first animation film studio called Laugh-O-Grams. It failed after only a short time.
1928 – 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.
1930 – 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.
1930 – Other popular charters
Throughout the 1930’s, several now-iconic characters were created. This included Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, and Daffy Duck.
1932 – New technologies
Walt Disney developed the use of 3-strip Technicolor animation. In 1935, Len Lye created a method of painting directly on film strips; he used it in his animated film “Color Box.”
1937 – The first full-length film
Walt Disney produced the first ever full-length animated film. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a major hit.
1940 – Iconic characters grow
The next decade brought several new popular characters to life. This included Woody Woodpecker, Mighty Mouse, and Tom and Jerry.
1972 – 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.
1993 – 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.
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