Animation | History, Movies, Television, & Facts | Britannica
Animation is the art of making inanimate objects appear to move. History's first recorded animator is, arguably, Pygmalion of Greek and Roman mythology.
Aug 16, 2024
Fleischer brothers
The <anchor>Fleischer brothers</anchor> invented the rotoscope process, in which a strip of live-action footage can be traced and redrawn as a cartoon. They exploited this technique in their pioneering series Out of the Inkwell (1919–29).
Fleischer brothers | Pioneers of American Animation | Britannica
Fleischer brothers \| Pioneers of American Animation \| Britannica

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Introduction
[References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fleischer-brothers/additional-info)

[Images](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fleischer-brothers/images-videos)

[![Popeye and his ubiquitous can of spinach.](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/61154-004-AFB178BA/Peopeye-reaches-for-can-of-spinach-c1945.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/61154-050-91C8C7FF/Peopeye-reaches-for-can-of-spinach-c1945.jpg)

For Students


[![](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-124/images/shared/default3.png?v=3.124.78)](/summary/Fleischer-brothers)

[Fleischer brothers summary](/summary/Fleischer-brothers)

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[6 of the World's Most Dangerous Birds](/list/6-of-the-worlds-most-dangerous-birds)

[![Russian grand duchess Anastasia; undated photograph. (Anastasiya Nikolayevna, Tsar Nicholas II)](https://cdn.britannica.com/68/194168-131-CFE3851A/Anastasia.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/story/did-duchess-anastasia-survive-her-familys-execution)

[Did Duchess Anastasia Survive Her Family’s Execution?](/story/did-duchess-anastasia-survive-her-familys-execution)

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[9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes](/list/9-of-the-worlds-deadliest-snakes)

[![United States Electoral College votes by state](https://cdn.britannica.com/68/220368-131-C835E48E/United-States-electoral-college-votes-by-state.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/story/how-many-electoral-college-votes-does-each-us-state-have)

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Contents


[Entertainment & Pop Culture](/browse/Entertainment-Pop-Culture)[Movie, TV & Stage Directors](/browse/Movie-TV-Stage-Directors)

# Fleischer brothers

American animators



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Table of Contents


**Fleischer brothers**, American brothers, producers of animated cartoons featuring such characters as Betty Boop and Popeye. Producer Max Fleischer (b. July 19, 1883, Vienna, Austria—d. Sept. 11, 1972, Woodland Hills, Calif., U.S.) and director Dave Fleischer (b. July 14, 1894, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 25, 1979, Hollywood, Calif.) were considered Walt Disney’s main rivals in the 1930s. The Fleischer brothers were sons of an Austrian tailor who took his family to America in 1887. They completed their first cartoon film in 1915. The mechanically inclined Max invented the rotoscope, a time- and labour-saving device in which live-action film frames ...(100 of 793 words)

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