Our last blog post in which we discussed our favourite animated films prompted us to think back to animations we have enjoyed from childhood. Some of the best loved animations of all time date back to the 1920s where Walt Disney and Warner Brothers revolutionised the industry. The earliest version of Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 followed closely by the Warner Brothers Cartoons in 1930. But what about even earlier than that? Where did animation begin, when and how?

So, we asked Kurobot to share his knowledge and teach us all about the origin of animation.

Motion in art can date back as far as Paleolithic cave paintings, a very very long time ago! Paintings of animals with many legs in various positions is noted as the first attempt at conveying motion. Other pieces include sequences and phases of movement in both animals and people painted onto bowls, plates and murals.

Animation before film dates back to the 1600s where numerous devices were used to display animated images. The magic lantern, invented 1650, used a translucent oil painting and a lamp to project images onto adjacent flat surfaces. It was often used to display monsters and demons to convince people they were witnessing supernatural events. (We have ours ready for Halloween)

The Thaumatrope, invented 1824, was one of the first devices to demonstrate the Phi phenomenon, the human (and Kurobot) brains ability to persistently perceive an image. The device used a small circular piece of card with different images on each side, strung onto a central cord. When the cord is spun between the fingers the images appear to merge into one creating a moving image.

Possibly the most well known origin of motion picture is the humble flip book. Invented 1868, a flip book features a sequence of animated images on the unbound edge of each page of the book. When bending the pages back and flicking through the book the images merge due to the rapid replacement of each image with the next, forming a short animation.

The silent era of animation began in the late 1800s with the production of short stop motion animations, the most famous of which, produced in 1920 was Felix the cat. Felix was the first merchandised cartoon character and became a household name.

1923 marked the beginning of the golden age of animation when a small studio “Laugh-o-grams” went bankrupt, and its owner, Walt Disney opened a new studio in Los Angeles. This was possibly one of the most significant events in the history of animation.

The first Disney productions include “The Alice Comedies” series, “Song Car Tunes” and “Dinner Time”, however the most notable breakthrough entitled “Steamboat Willie” featured an anthropomorphic mouse named “Mickey” neglecting his work on a steamboat to instead make music with the animals aboard the boat. This would mark the development of animation in our generation including TV, and CGI animation.

Image sources: Silent London, Education Eastman House, The Local, Good Comics, Animation Connection