History of Animation (Prehistoric to 1994)

A collection of vocabulary terms covering the technological and historical evolution of animation from prehistoric origins to the peak of the Disney Renaissance.

Magic Lantern

A device patented in $1675$ by Athanasius Kircher that served as the first image projector, using an oil lamp or candle to project enlarged paintings on glass.

Phénakisticope

An $1833$ animation device that used a spinning disc with slits to create a stroboscopic effect when viewed in front of a mirror.

Zoetrope

A stroboscopic device improved by W.E. Lincoln in $1865$ consisting of a cylinder with replaceable image strips.

Praxinoscope

An $1877$ invention by Charles-Émile Reynaud that used a circle of mirrors to provide a clearer and brighter image than the Zoetrope.

Théâtre Optique (Optical Theatre)

A device patented in $1888$ by Émile Reynaud that used transparent inks on a $70mm$ gelatin band to project the first public animated images.

Cinématographe

A $3$-in-$1$ device invented by the Lumière Brothers in $1895$ capable of recording, developing, and projecting film.

Georges Méliès

A French illusionist and "father of special effects" who pioneered techniques like stop motion, dissolve, and double exposure.

J. Stuart Blackton

The "father of American animation" and founder of Vitagraph Studios who produced "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" in $1906$.

Humorous Phases of Funny Faces

A landmark $1906$ animation by J. Stuart Blackton using stop-motion and cutout techniques filmed at $20\,fps$.

Émile Cohl

The "father of the cartoon" who created "Fantasmagorie" in $1908$, the first traditional-method cartoon.

Chalk line effect

A technique used in "Fantasmagorie" where black lines on white paper were filmed and the negative was reversed to look like white chalk on a blackboard.

Gertie the Dinosaur

A $1914$ film by Winsor McCay that used $10,000+$ hand-drawn images and introduced registration marks and animation loops.

McCay Split System

The workflow where key frames representing major positions are drawn first and the in-betweens are filled in later, a method that became the $1930s$ standard.

El Apóstol

The first feature-length animation ($70$ minutes), created in $1917$ by Quirino Cristiani using $58,000$ frames at $14\,fps$.

Ub Iwerks

A key animation partner of Walt Disney who designed Mickey Mouse and animated every frame of "Plane Crazy" at a rate of $700$ drawings per day.

Steamboat Willie

The first animated film with synchronized sound, featuring Mickey Mouse and premiering on Nov $18, 1928$.

Flowers and Trees

The first $3$-strip Technicolor cartoon ($1932$) and the first animated short to win an Academy Award.

Three Little Pigs

A $1933$ Oscar-winning short described by Adrian Danks as the "most successful animated short of all time."

Multiplane Camera

An Academy Award-winning tool first used in "The Old Mill" ($1937$) that staged artwork on multiple glass planes to create an illusion of depth.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The first feature animation in color with sound ($1937$), which cost $\$1.5$ million and was initially nicknamed "Disney's Folly."

Xerox Process

A technical milestone first used in "101 Dalmatians" ($1961$) that allowed drawings to be copied directly onto cels, saving time and creating a "sketchy" look.

The Jungle Book

The last film produced under Walt Disney's personal guidance, released on Oct $18, 1967$.

Michael Eisner

The CEO who joined Disney in $1984$ and restructured the company to revive animation and expand theme parks.

Disney Renaissance

The era from $1989$ to $1994$ marked by high-quality hand-drawn animation and films such as "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King."