Animation - Misplaced Pages

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Animation refers to the process in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result. When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed at a speed of 16 or more frames per second, there is an illusion of continuous movement (due to the persistence of vision). Generating such a film is very labour intensive and tedious, though the development of computer animation has greatly sped up the process.

Limited animation is a way of increasing production and decreasing costs of animation by using "short cuts" in the animation process. This method was pioneered by UPA, then adapted by other studios cartoons moved from movies into television.

Animation History

Animated films with synchronized sound tracks began to be produced in the USA in the mid 1920s.

Humourous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) by J. Stuart Blackton, the earliest surviving American animation
Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) by Winsor McCay
Fantasmagorie (1908) by Emile Cohl
The Cameraman's Revenge (1912) by Ladislas Starevitch
Koko the Clown (1916) by Max Fleischer
Felix the Cat (1919) by Otto Messmer

The Golden Age

Animated shorts (generally under 10 minutes in length) were first shown in movie theaters. During the Great Depression of the 1930s in America, the extreme popularity of the cinema led to a corresponding rise in popularity of animated shorts. This was the Golden Age of animation, when some of the most famous characters, such as Disney's Mickey Mouse and Warner Bros' Bugs Bunny, became popularized.

In 1937, Walt Disney produced Snow White, the first feature-length animated movie.

After the US's entry into World War II, most of the resources used to create animated shorts were redirected towards producing war-related material and propaganda. The recent invention of television and its growing popularity also led to a decline in moviegoing, and together these events mark the end of the Golden Age.

Steamboat Willie (1929), Walt Disney
Flowers and Trees (1932), Walt Disney
Three Little Pigs (1933), Walt Disney
The Old Mill (1936), Walt Disney (development of the multiplane camera)
Popeye the Sailor, Max Fleischer
Gold Diggers of 1935, Tex Avery
Porky's Duck Hunt (1937), Tex Avery
A Wild Hare (1940), Tex Avery
Puss Gets The Boot (1940), (Will Hanna and Joe Barbera)

(and many, many more)

Animation on Television, 50s-60s

The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera, low cost production methods

Commercialization and counterculture, 70s-80s

Heavy Metal, The Smurfs, California Institute of the Arts

Revival, late 80s-90s

Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Simpsons (return of animation to prime time television), Ren and Stimpy, Duck Tales (first animated TV series to invest a lot of money and make it back through syndication and repeats, thus affording high-quality animation for TV)

Digital Animation

Beauty and the Beast, Pixar, Toy Story

Famous names in animation include:

Animation Studios