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
Animation \| History, Movies, Television, & Facts \| Britannica

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[animation](https://www.britannica.com/art/animation)

Table of Contents


- [Introduction & Top Questions](/art/animation)

- [Early history](/art/animation#ref215381)

- [Walt Disney](/art/animation#ref215382)

- [The Fleischer brothers](/art/animation/The-Fleischer-brothers)

- [“Termite Terrace”](/art/animation/The-Fleischer-brothers#ref215384)

- [Animation in Europe](/art/animation/Animation-in-Europe)

- [Nontraditional forms](/art/animation/Nontraditional-forms)

- [Contemporary developments](/art/animation/Nontraditional-forms#ref215387)


[References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/art/animation/additional-info) [Quick Facts & Related Topics](/facts/animation)

[Images & Videos](https://www.britannica.com/art/animation/images-videos)

[![Dumbo](https://cdn.britannica.com/26/175326-004-404B3580/scene-Dumbo.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/26/175326-050-8E3D0CF1/scene-Dumbo.jpg)[![Zoetrope](https://cdn.britannica.com/02/2802-004-B0BC063D/zoetrope-Illustration-image-illusion-rotating-drum-series.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/02/2802-004-B0BC063D/zoetrope-Illustration-image-illusion-rotating-drum-series.jpg)[![See J. Stuart Blackton's animated movie “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces”](https://cdn.britannica.com/63/99863-138-FB49249D/Humorous-Phases-of-Funny-Faces-film-animation.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](/video/99863/Humorous-Phases-of-Funny-Faces-film-animation)[![Take a look at a video clip from Winsor McCay's “Gertie on Tour”](https://cdn.britannica.com/61/99861-138-7734F11B/Video-clips-Winsor-McCay-Gertie-on-Tour.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](/video/99861/Video-clips-Winsor-McCay-Gertie-on-Tour)[![Steamboat Willie, 1928](https://cdn.britannica.com/51/252951-138-415DEAF4/steamboat-willie-1928-first-mickey-mouse-animated-film-character-walt-disney.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](/video/252951/steamboat-willie-1928-first-mickey-mouse-animated-film-character-walt-disney)[![Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs lobby card](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/194954-004-46614EBC/Lobby-card-Snow-White-and-the-Seven-1937.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/194954-050-D1BA2F3E/Lobby-card-Snow-White-and-the-Seven-1937.jpg)[![Fantasia](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/175320-004-B92367DE/lobby-card-scene-segment-Fantasia-The-Sorcerers.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/175320-050-70F6F3FC/lobby-card-scene-segment-Fantasia-The-Sorcerers.jpg)[![See the opening scene of the Warner Brothers cartoon “Porky's Midnight Matinee”](https://cdn.britannica.com/98/137798-138-21B5D905/scene-Porkys-Midnight-Matinee-Warner-Brothers-1941.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](/video/137798/scene-Porkys-Midnight-Matinee-Warner-Brothers-1941)[![Watch the Warner Brothers cartoon Fresh Hare, featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd](https://cdn.britannica.com/92/133692-138-9ACA542B/Fresh-Hare-Excerpt-Warner-Brothers-Bugs-Bunny.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](/video/133692/Fresh-Hare-Excerpt-Warner-Brothers-Bugs-Bunny)[![Pal, George](https://cdn.britannica.com/60/178760-004-7672B3A1/George-Pal-puppets-stop-motion-films-Puppetoons-1962.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/60/178760-050-F0B5188D/George-Pal-puppets-stop-motion-films-Puppetoons-1962.jpg)

For Students


[![Dumbo](https://cdn.britannica.com/26/175326-050-8E3D0CF1/scene-Dumbo.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/summary/animation)

[animation summary](/summary/animation)

Quizzes


[![USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood](https://cdn.britannica.com/65/129465-131-8F637272/USA-Annual-Academy-Awards-Closeup-entrance-statue-2009.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/quiz/pop-culture-quiz)

[Pop Culture Quiz](/quiz/pop-culture-quiz)

[![Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, with her dog, Toto, from the motion picture film The Wizard of Oz (1939); directed by Mervyn LeRay. (cinema, movies)](https://cdn.britannica.com/53/188353-131-21F482D5/Judy-Garland-Dorothy-Gale-The-Wizard-of.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/quiz/classic-closing-lines)

[Classic Closing Lines](/quiz/classic-closing-lines)

[![Fantasia (1940) Lobby card with Mickey Mouse in a scene from The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment from the animated film by Walt Disney. animated movie See NOTES](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/175320-131-3155A227/lobby-card-scene-segment-Fantasia-The-Sorcerers.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/quiz/saturday-morning-cartoons-and-more)

[Saturday Morning Cartoons and More](/quiz/saturday-morning-cartoons-and-more)

[![Still from Disney's Pocahontas, 1995 directed by Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg](https://cdn.britannica.com/30/221630-131-27F926B4/movie-still-Disney-Pocahontas-1995.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/quiz/animated-disney-movie-songs-quiz)

[Animated Disney Movie Songs Quiz](/quiz/animated-disney-movie-songs-quiz)

Read Next


[![Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, 1935.](https://cdn.britannica.com/05/196505-131-2A3562EA/Oswald-The-Lucky-Rabbit-1935.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/story/walt-disneys-first-cartoon-critter)

[Walt Disney’s First Cartoon Critter Was Not Mickey Mouse](/story/walt-disneys-first-cartoon-critter)

Discover


[![An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.](https://cdn.britannica.com/52/196952-131-0665E4EE/Egyptians-hieroglyphics-carvings.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/list/11-egyptian-gods-and-goddesses)

[11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses](/list/11-egyptian-gods-and-goddesses)

[![Presidential Debate Bingo. As candidates for the Republican Party's nomination for the 2024 presidential election take to the stage to debate the issues and each other, keep track of the facts you need to know with updated Britannica entries. As with every Bingo game, if you connect five tiles in a row, celebrate!](https://cdn.britannica.com/66/249866-004-B67557FB/presidential-debate-bingo.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/story/presidential-debate-bingo)

[Presidential Debate Bingo](/story/presidential-debate-bingo)

[![Close-up of ostriches (Struthio camelus) necks and heads; location unknown.](https://cdn.britannica.com/58/152058-131-0EB52C8F/Ostriches.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/list/6-of-the-worlds-most-dangerous-birds)

[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)

[![The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C., April 14th, 1865; from a lithograph by Currier and Ives.](https://cdn.britannica.com/38/114738-131-1EC2D535/assassination-Pres-John-Wilkes-Booth-Abraham-Lincoln-April-14-1865.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/story/9-infamous-assassins-and-the-world-leaders-they-dispatched)

[9 Infamous Assassins and the World Leaders They Dispatched](/story/9-infamous-assassins-and-the-world-leaders-they-dispatched)

[![Super Typhoon Noru over the western tropical Pacific Ocean as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Aqua satellite July 31 2017](https://cdn.britannica.com/29/231229-131-7C7695E7/super-typhoon-Noru-Pacific-Ocean-2017.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/story/what-is-the-difference-between-a-typhoon-and-a-super-typhoon)

[What Is the Difference Between a Typhoon and a Super Typhoon?](/story/what-is-the-difference-between-a-typhoon-and-a-super-typhoon)

[![Encyclopaedia Britannica First Edition: Volume 1, Plate XLIII, Figure 1, Astronomy, Solar System, Equation of Time, Precession of Equinoxes, Earth, orbit, ecliptic, apogee, perigee, line of apsides, mean anomaly, tropical year, Sydereal, Julian](https://cdn.britannica.com/30/119830-131-D828BB6C/Encyclopaedia-Britannica-First-Edition-Volume-1-Figure.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](/story/first-day-of-fall)

[First Day of Fall](/story/first-day-of-fall)


Contents


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

# animation

artistic medium



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Also known as: cartoon film


Written by


[Dave Kehr\
\
Film columnist for _The New York Times_ and former chief film critic for the _Chicago Tribune_ and the _New York Daily News._](/contributor/Dave-Kehr/4557)

Dave Kehr

Fact-checked by

[The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica\
\
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.](/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419)

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated:

Aug 16, 2024
• [Article History](https://www.britannica.com/art/animation/additional-info#history)


Table of Contents


[![Dumbo](https://cdn.britannica.com/26/175326-050-8E3D0CF1/scene-Dumbo.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https://cdn.britannica.com/26/175326-050-8E3D0CF1/scene-Dumbo.jpg)

Dumbo

[See all media](https://www.britannica.com/art/animation/images-videos)

Key People: [Mary Blair](/biography/Mary-Blair)[Walt Disney](/biography/Walt-Disney)[Frank Tashlin](/biography/Frank-Tashlin)[Dr. Seuss](/biography/Dr-Seuss)[Miyazaki Hayao](/biography/Miyazaki-Hayao)_(Show more)_

Related Topics: [anime](/art/anime-Japanese-animation)[computer animation](/topic/computer-animation)[Claymation](/art/claymation)[pixilation process](/technology/pixilation-process)[abstract animation](/art/abstract-animation)_(Show more)_

Related Facts And Data: [Late Afternoon - Facts](/facts/Late-Afternoon)[Bao short film - Facts](/facts/Bao-short-film)[Animal Behaviour - Facts](/facts/Animal-Behaviour)_(Show more)_

[See all related content →](/facts/animation)

## Recent News

Aug. 16, 2024, 5:19 AM ET (The Hollywood Reporter)


[AI Is Coming For Our Kids (or at Least Their TV Shows)](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/a-i-kids-tv-shows-1235973910/)

Top Questions


### What is animation?

Animation is the art of making inanimate objects appear to move. History’s first recorded animator is, arguably, [Pygmalion](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pygmalion) of Greek and Roman mythology. The theory of the animated cartoon preceded the invention of the cinema by half a century.

### What place does _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_ hold in the history of animation?

[_Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Snow-White-and-the-Seven-Dwarfs-film-1937) was the first film to use up-to-the-minute animation techniques and receive a Hollywood-style release. When it was released in 1937, the film was an immediate box-office sensation and was honoured with a special Academy Award.

### Who made the first film-based animation?

The first film-based animation was made by [J. Stuart Blackton](https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-Stuart-Blackton), whose _Humorous Phases of Funny Faces_ in 1906 launched a successful series of animated films for New York’s pioneering Vitagraph Company.

### Who invented rotoscope animation?

The [Fleischer brothers](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fleischer-brothers) 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).

**animation**, the art of making inanimate objects appear to move. Animation is an artistic impulse that long predates the movies. History’s first recorded animator is Pygmalion of Greek and Roman mythology, a sculptor who created a figure of a woman so perfect that he fell in love with her and begged Venus to bring her to life. Some of the same sense of magic, mystery, and transgression still adheres to contemporary film animation, which has made it a primary vehicle for exploring the overwhelming, often bewildering emotions of childhood—feelings once dealt with by folktales. The theory of the animated cartoon ...(100 of 3467 words)

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