Gertie the Dinosaur
Some film histories erroneously cite this as the first animated cartoon, ignoring not only Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) (probably the first true animated cartoon), but even Winsor McCay's own earlier work, Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics (1911) and How a Mosquito Operates (1912).,Winsor McCay: [Gertie swallows a large stump, later on, Gertie is thrilled to see a small mastodon] Gertie, don't hurt Jumbo.,Edited into Los comienzos de la animación (1995),The cartoonist, Winsor McCay, brings the Dinosaurus back to life in the figure of his latest creation, Gertie the Dinosaur.

McCay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaudeville act; the frisky, childlike Gertie did tricks at the command of her master. McCay's employer William Randolph Hearst later curtailed McCay's vaudeville activities, so McCay added a live-action introductory sequence to the film for its theatrical release.

Animation historian Donald Crafton called Gertie "the enduring masterpiece of pre-Disney animation". And that about sums it up. The film is relatively simple, and if used live is a pretty basic gimmick. But i bet it worked to impress audiences. If they had never seen a cartoon before 9and they probably had not), this would be quite the treat.,