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

The history of film animation begins with the earliest days of silent film and continues through the present day.

Because the history of animation as an art form has undergone many changes in its hundred-year history, Misplaced Pages presents four separate chapters in the development of animation:

Hollywood Animation: The Silent Period (1900s through 1920s)

• The beginnings of theatrical animated cartoons in the era of silent film, ranging from the works of Winsor McCay through Koko the Clown and Felix the Cat

Hollywood Animation: The Golden Age (1930s and 1940s)

• The dominance of Walt Disney throughout the 1930s
• The rise of Warner Bros. and MGM
• The departure from realism, and UPA

Hollywood Animation: The TV Era (1950s through 1980s)

• The emergence of TV animated series from Hanna-Barbera Productions
• The decline of theatrical cartoons and feature films
• Saturday morning cartoons
• The attempts at reviving animated features through the 1960s and 1970s
• The onslaught of commercial cartoons in the 1980s

Hollywood Animation: The Renaissance (1990s to present)

• Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the return of Disney
• Steven Spielberg's collaborations with Warner Bros.
• A flood of newer, bolder animation studios
• The Simpsons, South Park, and animation for adults
• The mainstream popularization of anime
• The rise of computer animation
• The decline of Saturday morning cartoons, the rise of Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network

Animation History: Canada

Animation History: Europe

Animation History: Japan

Famous Names in Animation

• Tex Avery
• Ralph Bakshi
• Mel Blanc
• Bob Clampett
• Shamus Culhane
• Walt Disney
• Max Fleischer
• Friz Freleng
• John Hubley
• Ub Iwerks
• Chuck Jones
• Walter Lantz
• Winsor McCay
• Grim Natwick
• Nick Park

Animation Studios

• Aardman Animation
• Filmation
• Fleischer Studio
• Hanna-Barbera Productions
• Pixar
• Termite Terrace
• UPA
• Walt Disney Studios
• Warner Brothers

Styles of Animation

• Computer animation
• Stop-motion animation (for ex. claymation)
• Limited animation

See also: Animated series, Anime (Japanese animation)

Techniques

• Onion skinning

External links

• Chronology of Animation
• Animation links collection