Unit 12

“From Dream To Screen: The History Of Animation”

Research
https://stopmotionmagazine.com/history-stop-motion-nutshell/

stop motion is a technique which utilizes photographic methods as its capturing medium
and playing back those sequences of photographs to produce a continuous motion on
the screen. In the most simplest terms, stop motion is a photographic film making
technique where an object is moved in front of a camera and photographed many times.

the use of taking many pictures of a moving object is in essence one of the oldest
filmmaking techniques. Eadweard Muybridge was the first to discover that by lining up a
series of cameras and having one take a picture right after the other one in succession,
that the result would demonstrate the motion, path, and trajectory of the objects
movement.

1888 Louis Le Prince patented the design for the very first motion picture camera.

1889, Friese-Greene patented a motion picture camera called a Chronophotographic

camera where it would take 10 images a secong using perforated celluloid film.

1891 William Kennedy Laurie Dickson designed the Kinetographic Camera.

1894 and we find the Lumiere Domitor which was created by Charles Moisson for the the
Lumiere Brothers. At this point in history film making is very much considered hot,
exciting technology and for those unaware of the new tech it’s considered magic.

1898 - The very first documented stop motion animated film is credited to J. Stuart
Blackton and Albert E. Smith for Vitagraph’s The Humpty Dumpty Circus. There is a lot of
speculation as to when the technique was discovered but we at least know that the first
commercial release was with this film.

In 1907 a film titled The Haunted Hotel produced by J. Stuart Blackton became a huge
hit. It showed moving furniture and demonstrated the basic technique of object
animation.

Wladyslaw Starewicz was a genious when it came to developing a stop motion narrative.
One of his first most notible narrative films was Lucanus Cervus in 1910, using insects
as puppets. [He went on to create magical worlds filled with stop motion puppets and is
credited with as director for many big animated films through out stop motion history. If
interested it is suggested that the reader of this article look into watching the films The
Tale of The Fox, along with The Mascott which are both considered classic works by this
master artist.]

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 Probably one of the most famous animators at this time is the legendary Willis O’Brien.
His work on the film The Lost World (1925) was mind blowing for its time. He later
produced the animation for one of film makings biggest productions King Kong (1933).

One of his earliest fans who sought out O’Brien and be mentored by him was the world
most famous animator of all time Ray Harryhausen. Not only is Harryhausen famous in
the stop motion world but also every other form of animation out there. Ray Harryhausen
was for many years that lone animator who toiled away in his garage animating
dinosaurs, building puppets, and just basically exploring the medium. Using only his very
short demo reel he was able to get a position as an animator on the George Pal’s
Puppetoons show. Willis O’Brien invited Ray to join him in animating on the 1949 version
of Mighty Joe Young, this allowed the young Harryhausen to develop his skill and range
as an animator. He would go on to produce visual effects for many films such as The
Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), 20 Million
Miles to Earth (1957), along with a ton of others. His work on The 7th Voyage of
Sinbad (1957), Mysterious Island (1961), First Men in the Moon (1964), The Valley of
Gwangi (1969), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), and Clash of the Titans (1981) are
considered some of the best stop motion animated work in the world to this day. Having
in most cases animated the entirety of the visual effects by himself.

Though we skipped over George Pal in this article, we can’t ignore his contribution to the
art form since his replacement technique for animation was and still is a huge influence
on todays stop motion film making techniques. Puppetoons would be produced from the
1930’s to the 1940’s as a series. It’s style and energy was like nothing else of its time
and it won numerous Academy Awards.

One thing to consider here is that most stop motion animation was not produced in the
U.S.A. In fact puppet animation was very much alive and thriving in Eastern Europe at
the time. One of the very most famous animator/directors of the time was Jiri Trnka. He
has been single handedly created in Eastern Europe as the inventor of the Ball and
Socket Armature. His ball and socket armature building method, style, and technique is
all his own and would later influence many puppet builders. Jiri Trnka is often called
the Walt Disney of Eastern Europe since his studio Trnka Studios would produce many
short and long form films and would also produce feature films that would become a
huge success world wide. Films of note would be The Emporers Nightingale (1949), A
Midsummer Night’s Dream (1959), and The Hand (1965).

Television was a huge influence on stop motion productions since tv shows needed to be
produced fast and with a very tight budget. In 1955 The Gumby Show would be
produced and animated by Art Clokey and would go on to be a huge success.

By the 1970’s, stop motion had hit a fever pitch by being one of the most utilized visual
effects techniques, as well as a medium for commercials.

By the 1980’s stop motion had hit its peak with feature films, animated television series,
highly profiled commercials for major brands, and the newest of mediums the music

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 video. The 80’s were truly a golden age of stop motion world wide. Clay and puppet
animation seemed to be everywhere at that time, tv networks like Mtv would hire
animators to make their station ID’s and artists were making music videos with stop
motion, commercials were animated etc.

Will Vinton opened up an animation studio in Portland Oregon that would produce some
of the most iconic characters to this day. The Noid and The California Raisins would be
two huge clay animated commercial characters that would later become bigger then the
brands they were trying to promote. Films such as Starwars, Empire Strikes
Back, Dragon Slayer, and Robo Cop would be filled with stop motion visual effects to the
point that the lines between reality and the imagined were so well blurred, many people
thought it just couldn’t get any clearer.

By the early 90’s things started to fall apart in the stop motion animation industry. With
the growth of desktop computers and the advancement of technology, handmade
animation was quickly disapearing as the preferred medium of choice for commercials,
vfx, and movies.

The one film that put the nail in the coffin was Jurassic Park. While it was technically a
type of cgi rendered stop motion, it’s never considered such. Jurassic Park used metal
armature puppets connected to a computer through wires to control the onscreen
character generated inside the computer. It was a very expensive technique but the look
it created had been way slicker then the slight jumpyness of stop motion. Producers all
over started to abandon handmade everything from hand puppets and stop motion
animation, all the way up to environments and matte paintings which had been a staple
for filmmaking since the early days.

90’s saw hand animated films like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicken
Run, and James and the Giant Peach become big hits, but because of PIXAR’s success
with their first feature film Toy Story, the whole industry from music commercials,
television shows, to feature films quickly abandoned handmade art forms. 2D cel
animation quickly disappeared as well which wasn’t great for traditional animators.

only TV seemed to keep the flame alive for stop motion for more than 10 years. Shows
like Pingu, Bump in the Night, the Pj’s and a few others allowed for stop motion to have a
place of residency while the world looked away towards technology. The 90’s also
brought a new medium - video games. Clay Fighter which was released in 1993 was one
of many video games which took use of the stop motion animation technique of
photography to use in the production of these games.

In 1975 Kodak made the first digital camera which was abandoned but had a good
concept. By the late 90’s the first consumer digital cameras would be a fun toy for those
that could afford it. In the mid 2000’s digital cameras would be everywhere. In 2005 the
television series Robot Chicken would be produced using these digital cameras to
produce a 100% stop motion animated series for Cartoon Network. The technology had
finally caught up and this would mark the beginning of a whole new era.

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 Advancing computers meant speedier operation so techniques would be moved from
dark rooms for processing film - often meaning long waits to see the outcome of their
efforts - to quick production times by using computers to edit and create music/sound
effects. Because of the advancing technologies the overall cost of producing a stop
motion film once again became cheaper then its CGI counterpart, meaning it started to
become popular again.

Once frame grabbing software was brought into the mix and animators could instantly
see their animation, the gloves came off and the new Renaissance of Stop Motion
Animation had arrived. The very first frame grabber that I personally know of was created
at Will Vinton Studios using a tape machine to capture on video cassette and a few
frames of animation could be played back. The very first software framegrabber is a little
bit of a debate but officially Adobe’s Premier would allow you to framegrab from a
camera and play back the animation. This is most likely the first commercial release of a
software capable of doing this. Later softwares like Frame Thief and Monkey Jam would
be released to hobbiests interested in animating at home. Next would come Stop Motion
Pro which was used by Aardman for many years as their framgrabber, along with
AnimatorDV which later became AnimatorHD. But the software that became the industry
standard in the US would become DragonFrame. —— see notebook.

https://www.britannica.com/art/animation

Early experimenters, working to create conversation pieces for Victorian parlours or new
sensations for the touring magic-lantern shows, which were a popular form of
entertainment, discovered the principle of persistence of vision. If drawings of the stages
of an action were shown in fast succession, the human eye would perceive them as a
continuous movement. One of the first commercially successful devices, invented by the
Belgian Joseph Plateau in 1832, was the phenakistoscope, a spinning cardboard disk
that created the illusion of movement when viewed in a mirror.

In 1834 William George Horner invented the zoetrope, a rotating drum lined by a band of
pictures that could be changed. The Frenchman Émile Reynaud in 1876 adapted the
principle into a form that could be projected before a theatrical audience. Reynaud
became not only animation’s first entrepreneur but, with his gorgeously hand-painted
ribbons of celluloid conveyed by a system of mirrors to a theatre screen, the first artist to
give personality and warmth to his animated characters.

According to ‘Britannia’ the theory of the animated cartoon preceded the invention of the
cinema by half a century.

Although “firsts” of any kind are never easy to establish, the first film-based animator
appears to be 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. Later that year, Blackton also experimented with the stop-motion technique—

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 in which objects are photographed, then repositioned and photographed again—for his
short film Haunted Hotel.

In France, Émile Cohl was developing a form of animation similar to Blackton’s, though
Cohl used relatively crude stick figures rather than Blackton’s ambitious newspaper-style
cartoons. Coinciding with the rise in popularity of the Sunday comic sections of the new
tabloid newspapers, the nascent animation industry recruited the talents of many of the
best-known artists, including Rube Goldberg, Bud Fisher (creator of Mutt and Jeff)
and George Herriman (creator of Krazy Kat), but most soon tired of the fatiguing
animation process and left the actual production work to others.

Winsor McCay created ‘Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914, transforming the art of animation.
He managed to give his animated character a personality and a life through his fluid
sense of movement and great feeling for character.

With the help of Pat Sullivan, Otto Messemer extended these artistic discoveries in
creating ‘Felix the Cat’. Felix, designed for maximum flexibility and facial expressiveness
with a round head and big eyes, became the standard model for cartoon characters.

WALT DISNEY - Far more revolutionary was Disney’s decision to create a cartoon with
the novelty of synchronized sound. Steamboat Willie (1928), Mickey’s third film, took the
country by storm. A missing element—sound—had been added to animation, making
the illusion of life that much more complete, that much more magical. Later, Disney
would add carefully synchronized music (The Skeleton Dance, 1929), three-
strip Technicolor (Flowers and Trees, 1932), and the illusion of depth with his multiplane
camera (The Old Mill, 1937). With each step, Disney seemed to come closer to a perfect
naturalism, a painterly realism that suggested academic paintings of the 19th century.
Disney’s resident technical wizard was Ub Iwerks, a childhood friend who followed
Disney to Hollywood and was instrumental in the creation of the multiplane camera and
the synchronization | With the help of Ub Iwerks they used techniques that made the
Mickey Mouse cartoons and the Silly Symphonies series seem robust and fully
dimensional.

The Fleischer brothers invented the rotoscope process, in which a strip of live-action
footage can be traced and redrawn as a cartoon. Max and Dave Fleischer exploited this
technique in their pioneering series Out of the Inkwell (1919–29). Their characters Betty
Boop, Bimbo the Dog and Koko the Clown feature strongly through 1920s and 30s
America before switching to a more Disneyesque style of productions, most notably the
Popeye series.

Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), although not the first animated
feature, was the first to use up-to-the-minute techniques and the first to receive a wide,
Hollywood-style release. Instead of amusing his audience with talking mice and singing
cows, Disney was determined to give them as profound a dramatic experience as the
medium would allow

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 Eastern Europe also became the centre of puppet animation, largely because of the
sweetly engaging, folkloric work of Jiří Trnka. Based on a Hans Christian Andersen story,
Trnka’s The Emperor’s Nightingale became an international success when it was fitted
with narration by Boris Karloff and released in 1948.

Born in Hungary, George Pal worked as an animator in Berlin, Prague, Paris, and the
Netherlands before immigrating to the United States in 1939. There he contracted
with Paramount Pictures to produce the Puppetoons series, perhaps the most popular
and accomplished puppet animations to be created in the United States.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-history-of-stop-motion-animation.html#:~:text=Stop-
motion animation was developed,of the genre's earliest examples.

The first stop-motion animation film was 1898's The Humpty Dumpty Circus, created by
directors and producers J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith. The film brought wooden
toys to life to depict acrobats and moving animals. Blackton continued working with and
developing this technique, using a blend of live action and stop-motion in The Enchanted
Drawing (1900).

The Golden Age

Stop-motion animation made its first serious entry into the mainstream film industry through
the work of animator Willis O'Brien. The Lost World (1925), in which O'Brien mixed stop-
motion dinosaurs with live actors, was a major hit, but it was his work on King Kong (1933)
that took stop-motion animation to new heights.

For King Kong O'Brien perfected many of the techniques he had developed for The Lost
World. Smooth motion, realistic expressions, and improved integration with live actors made
the stop-motion Kong the film's star, and earned O'Brien his place as the father of modern
stop-motion animation. The film Mighty Joe Young (1949), on which O'Brien supervised the
stop-motion animation special effects, was awarded an Oscar for best visual effects in 1950.
O'Brien's greatest protege was Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen made a string of major films
that advanced the art of stop-motion animation, including The 7th Voyage of
Sinbad (1958), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), and Clash of the Titans (1981).

Another notable Hollywood stop-motion pioneer was George Pal. His stop motion animation
work appears in numerous films, the most famous of which, 1953's The War of the
Worlds, won an Academy Award for best visual effects.

Another important development in the history of stop-motion animation occurred when

animators began to use flexible modeling clays to create their characters. Called clay
animation, or claymation, this technique was used by early animators but came to

Unit 12 6
 prominence in the 1950s through the work of artists such as Art Clokey. Clokey's characters
Gumby and Pokey appeared in short films and in the television series The Gumby Show.

Will Vinton is another major clay animation artist. Vinton coined the term 'claymation,' and
his work has appeared in numerous films, television programs, and commercials.
Vinton's Closed Mondays (1974), an eight-minute film about a drunk man's adventures in an
art museum, won him an Oscar for best animated short film. His other notable work includes
the television series The PJs (1999-2001) featuring the voice of comedian Eddie
Murphy, Saturday Night Live's Mr. Bill, and a series of holiday specials including 1987's A
Claymation Christmas Celebration, which won him an Emmy Award.

Ray Harryhausen:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ray-
Celebrating Ray Harryhausen’s centenary: 10 essentialHarryhausen
films from the stop-motion genius
A hundred years after he was born, we pay tribute to the stop-motion special effects wizard Ray
Harryhausen and his fabulous creature creations.
During his time at University he began
developing ‘Dynamation’. A technique used
https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/celebrating-ray-harryhausens-centenary-10-essential-films-from-stop-moti
on-genius to make actors appear to be interacting with
animated models on film.
Mighty Joe Young (1949) earned him an
Academy Award for special effects.

He’s well known for the Sinbad Films: The

7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), his first colour
feature; The Golden Voyage of
Sinbad (1973); and Sinbad and the Eye of
the Tiger (1977).

https://harvardfilmarchive.org/programs/jiitrnka-puppet-master

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_animation#:~:text=In 1907%2C the French

artist,animation methods%3A the 1908 Fantasmagorie.

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 In 1907, the French artist Émile Cohl started his filmmaking career with Japon de faintasie,
[9] with imaginative use of stop motion techniques. His next short can be regarded as the
first animated film using what came to be known as traditional animation methods: the
1908 Fantasmagorie.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miyazaki-Hayao

https://www.aardman.com/about/history/

Aardman was created in 1972 in Bristol by Peter Lord and David Sproxton.

https://www.laika.com/who-we-are

https://www.intofilm.org/films/filmlist/88#:~:text=Using moving images to tell,the magic lantern

and zoetrope.

Using moving images to tell stories has been around since prehistoric times, although
animation as we think of it today truly started in the 19th century, developing through the
invention of devices such as the magic lantern and zoetrope.

After the emergence of cinema things really developed, mostly through short films
in the silent era.

As new technologies developed, animation could be pushed further and turn into ‘one of
the most artistically and commercially significant genres in all of cinema’. and becoming
a defining element of children's film. Remarkably, the genre only continues to grow in
popularity and sophistication today, and the days of one animated feature being released
a year are long gone. Now there are dozens each year, hailing from around the world,
pushing storytelling possibilities in new ways, and continuing to develop new animation
techniques.

significant films form the silent era to the present day:

The Adventures of Prince Achmed 1926

A real piece of cinema history, The Adventures of Prince Achmed is the oldest surviving
animated film in the world. Made by the German animator Lotte Reininger, the way in
which the movie was made back in 1926 involved cut-outs in a technique that was
similar to shadow puppets - but that laid the ground for the scores of fantastic animated

Unit 12 8
 movies that would follow. But as well as being an important moment in the story of the
movies, the film is also great fun - telling the tale of a noble Prince enlisting the help of
Aladdin to battle an evil sorcerer.

Vintage Mickey 1928

“It was all started by a mouse.” So said Walt Disney himself, acknowledging the debt the
Disney company – and animated films more generally – owe to their signature character,
Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie. These playful animations remain as enchanting
now as on their first release, and are compulsory viewing for anybody with an interest in
animation. Included in this collection are the iconic ‘Steamboat Willie’, credited as the
first cartoon to use synchronised sound, and the Oscar-nominated 'Building A Building'.
However all of these shorts are a treat, showcasing the mischievous, adventurous,
cheerful rodent at his best.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs 1937

Disney’s film was the first to be made using entirely hand drawn animation, introducing
the world to a style of storytelling that would dominate commercial animation for many
decades. More than eighty years later, Show White’s adventures with Dopey, Grumpy,
Happy and co continues to be one of the most beloved films of all time, with timeless
storytelling and a huge heart.

Fantasia 1940

Other than being ambitious, unique and having lavish visuals I don’t think there’s much
significance in terms of changing animation.

Animal Farm 1954

The first British animated feature was this adaptation of Orwell’s classic satire. Although
some of the novel’s darker elements were toned down for younger audiences, it remains
a remarkably successful animation and is still considered one of the strongest British
films ever made, proving that children’s animation could tackle serious themes and
remain delightfully entertaining.

Jason and the Argonaugts 1963

This adaptation of the Greek myth remains hugely popular and perhaps the best
example of the work of stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen. Celebrated for its
astonishing extended battle involving several skeleton figures, the film influenced the
likes of Spielberg, Lucas, and J.J. Abrams and was even once called the greatest film
ever made by no less a figure than Tom Hanks!

Laputa - Castle In The Sky 1986

Japanese director Hiyao Miyasaki is rightly seen as one of the most significant figures in
the history of animation, responsible for a string of masterpieces through the company
he co-founded, Studio Ghibli, including Spirited Away and Ponyo. This was his debut

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 feature, made before Ghibli, but a wonderful demonstration of the magical, poetic beauty
that came to define his work.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988

Set in the golden age of Hollywood, where humans and animated characters co-exist,
this remarkable twist on film noir was the first feature to seamlessly incorporate
animation into a live action film. Like the best films, it never forgets that to truly succeed
with audiences technical achievement should never come at the expense of story,
character and wit.

Beauty And The Beast 1991

Arguably the most enduring of Disney’s string of classic musicals of the late 1980s and
early 1990s, Beauty and the Beast has its place in film history for being the first
animation to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. And rightly so, this tale as old as
time is a work of spellbinding magic, beauty, and romance, that has never been bettered.

Toy Story 1995

Few films can be said to have genuinely changed cinema history, but Pixar’s debut, Toy
Story is undoubtedly one of them. The first computer animated feature ushered in a
technique that is now almost ubiquitous. Not only that, it’s also one of the most enduring
pieces of animated storytelling, the adventures of Buzz, Woody and co influencing
children’s cinema for generations.

The Prince Of Egypt 1998

In the history of animation, the number of films directed by women is distressingly low. It
was not until 1998 that a major Hollywood studio (Dreamworks) employed a solo female
director in this field for the first time. The result is one of the most visually spectacular
animations ever made, and an enduring, entertaining take on one of the Bible’s best-
known stories.

Shrek 2001
In 2001, the Oscar for Best Animated Film was finally introduced, an award which has
helped bring about a massive increase in the volume and consistent quality of
animations being produced. The first winner was Shrek, a sly and witty take on traditional
fairy-tales, with a big green ogre at its heart, and a rollicking pop soundtrack that
influenced many subsequent films.

Belleville Rendez-Vous 2003

There is an incredibly rich history of animation in European countries, particularly in
France. One of their most successful exports is this wonderfully eccentric comedy, which
uses song and pantomime to tell the story of a grandmother trying to rescue her
grandson, a Tour De France cyclist, after he is kidnapped by the local mafia.

Polar Express 2004

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 Audiences are now fairly familiar with the processes of motion capture. The first
animation to utilize this technique for an entire feature was The Polar Express, which
features human characters animated using live action motion capture animation. The
technique allowed Tom Hanks to play six different roles in a film that has become a
Christmas classic.

Team America: World Police 2004

Outrageous puppet movie about the activities of a band of anti-terrorism agents.

Animation has never exclusively been for younger audiences and has often been utilized
for some uniquely subversive and daring political satire. One of the most prominent
examples of this is the riotous and outrageous Team America, from the creators of South
Park, which skewered the right, the left, and oh, just about everyone during the height of
the War on Terror.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit 2005

Wallace and Gromit were already household names in Britain due to their extraordinarily
successful short film adventures, before they even hit the big screen. Such jumps are
often met with disappointment, but the plucky inventor and his loyal canine companion
passed the test with flying colours, delighting audiences around the world with
Aardman’s unique charm.

Wall-E 2008
Following Toy Story, Pixar animation hit a golden streak virtually unparalleled in the
history of all film, not just animation. With every release they seemed to somehow better
themselves, producing a remarkable streak of masterpieces. Wall-E, the beautiful, funny
and achingly romantic tale of a lonely space robot remains, for many, their finest hour.

Frozen 2013
Following a period of relative commercial and critical stagnation, in recent years Disney
animation has seen a return to their glory days of old. This has not been better
demonstrated than in the global phenomenon of Frozen, returning to the tradition of
adapting fairy tales, but updating the standard princess formula into something more
modern and progressive.

The Red Turtle 2016

The animation genre continues to innovate and surprise audiences. The Red Turtle
charmed and moved audiences by returning to dialogue free (but not silent) storytelling
for the remarkable tale of a man stranded on a desert island, before encountering a
mysterious giant turtle. An immersive, poetic masterpiece.

https://www.intofilm.org/films/filmlist/89
Stop motion is a type of animation in which a physical object is moved continuously
to give the impression of movement, either using puppets or clay

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 In this list, we explore stop motion through the ages, from adored directors to thriving studios
specialising in the art, spanning different countries, genres and styles, resulting in a wide
range of fascinating works:

Ray Harryhausen - The Early Years Collection (Disc 1) 2005

American animator Ray Harryhausen was a pioneer of stop-motion, most notably in
Jason and the Argonauts’ skeleton sword fight. This two-disc compilation explores some
of his early work as well as providing a fascinating insight into the craft behind the
finished product.

James And The Giant Peach 1996

This beloved Roald Dahl story was directed by Henry Selick, who also helmed LAIKA’s
fantastically creepy Neil Gaiman adaptation, Coraline, as well as making his feature
debut with The Nightmare Before Christmas. Selick has made a career out of creating
dark children’s films using stop-motion in inventive ways.

Corpse Bride 2005

Executive producer on The Nightmare Before Christmas and famed for his own dark,
gothic narratives, Tim Burton has twice ventured into the stop-motion sphere as director
with Corpse Bride (co-directed by Mike Johnson) followed by Frankenweenie. This film
features regular Burton collaborators and is packed full of his trademark style and
themes. This is a great example of how a directing style and be translated into any
medium.

Peter And The Wolf 2006

Another co-production, this one coming from the UK, Poland, Norway and Mexico, is a
short film based on a Russian symphonic fairy tale. This version, unlike most Peter and
the Wolf interpretations, doesn’t have a narrator, instead relying on the visuals and
music, recorded by the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Fantastic Mr Fox 2009

Tim Burton is not the only eminent director to flit between live action and stop-motion
animation; indie auteur Wes Anderson put his distinctive quirky spin on another Roald
Dahl classic, Fantastic Mr. Fox, featuring an all-star voiceover cast. There’s seemingly an
old-school charm to the author’s work which really lends itself to the retro animation
technique.

A Town Called Panic 2009

Shaun the Sheep Movie is a superb feat of silent film storytelling, influenced by the
classics of the 1930s. So too is A Town Called Panic, a stripped-back French stop-motion
animation which uses its medium as an avenue for humour, revelling in the absurdity of
the handcrafted characters and their wacky, slapstick-infused escapades.

Shaun The Sheep Movie 2015

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 From one cherished childhood character to another, the Shaun the Sheep Movie was the
creature’s first big screen outing. An Aardman creation – the British animation studio who
have given us Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit, Chicken Run and
Creature Comforts – this is a rare example of a film which uses both clay and puppets.

Kubo And The Two Strings 2016

Stop-motion animation has come a long way since the days of Harryhausen, though he
paved the way for modern innovators who remain influenced by his legacy. LAIKA,
founded in 2005, are a studio at the forefront of 21st century stop-motion production, and
the end credits sequence of Kubo shows some incredible behind-the-scenes work of the
film.

My Life As A Courgette 2016

My Life as a Courgette is a French-Swiss Claymation and is more serious in tone than
most. It explores some very serious and difficult topics – the death of a parent, mental
health, bullying – but uses colourful visuals to do so, offering hope and positivity despite
its difficult subject matter.

https://movieweb.com/most-influential-animated-movies/#the-secret-of-nimh

Fantasia 1940
This groundbreaking film broke away from the traditional animated narrative structure
and instead presented a series of abstract, visually stunning segments set to classical
music. By doing so, it demonstrated how animation could be a vehicle for pure artistic
expression. It also pioneered techniques such as the use of the multiplane camera (a
camera which created depth by allowing for multiple layers of artwork) which enhanced
depth and realism in animation.

Fritz the Cat 1972

Fritz the Cat holds the distinction of being the first X-rated animated movie, blazing a
trail for the onslaught of animation for adults that followed. Directed by Ralph Bakshi, this
film pushed the boundaries of animation with its irreverent humor, social commentary,
and provocative content. Its commercial success demonstrated that animation could
appeal to adult audiences, challenging the perception of animation as a medium
exclusively for children.

The secret of NIMH 1982

Don Bluth, a former Disney animator, dared to break free from the established norms of
Disney animation and embarked on his own creative journey. His audacious move
culminated in his first 1982 full-length film, The Secret of NIMH, which would go on to
become one of the most influential animated movies in history.

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 Bluth's departure from Disney marked a significant shift in the animation landscape as he
brazenly departed from the dominant House of Mouse style. The Secret of
NIMH demonstrated a darker, more mature storytelling approach, and its success paved
the way for a wave of animated films that dared to challenge traditional conventions,
sparking a renaissance of creativity within the industry and establishing Bluth's legacy as
a pioneer in the world of animation.

https://www.onstageblog.com/onscreenblog-features/2022/3/25/40-years-later-the
-secret-of-nimh-remains-one-of-the-greatest-animated-movies-of-all-time

Akira 1988
The release of Akira sparked the massive surge in popularity of Japanese anime and
manga style animations in the West.
Its groundbreaking visuals, complex narrative, and mature themes captivated audiences,
introducing them to a level of animation sophistication that had rarely been seen before.
It played a pivotal role in contributing to the growth of this distinctly Japanese animation
style.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988

It isn’t technically an "animated movie" by traditional definition, and it’s certainly not the
first to mix live-action with animation either, with classics like The 7th Voyage of
Sinbad, Mary Poppins, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks coming long before. It is,
however, the first to seamlessly blend the two with such unprecedented technical
sophistication, which still stands up today. It not only pushed the boundaries of what was
possible in terms of live-action and animation integration, but also demonstrated the
potential for a mature, noir-inspired storyline within an animated setting. In the years that
followed, its influence was all over movies like Space Jam and Cool World.

Beauty and the Beast 1991

It was the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar; this significant
recognition of animated films as a legitimate and artful medium in the world of cinema
broke down barriers and paved the way for future animated classics. It also showcased
significant and spectacular advancements in animation technology, particularly the use of
the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), which allowed for a seamless blend
of hand-drawn and computer-generated animation.

Toy Story 1995

Toy Story is responsible for a seismic shift in the animation industry. It was the first
feature-length film entirely created using CGI, revolutionising the way animation was
produced. It showcased the potential of this technology to craft visually stunning and
immersive worlds, setting a new standard for animated storytelling. Beyond its technical

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 achievements, the film's endearing characters and heartwarming narrative resonated
with audiences of all ages, solidifying the idea that CGI could be used to tell emotionally
rich and compelling stories. This groundbreaking achievement in Toy Story laid the
foundation for the CGI-dominated era of animation that followed, with Pixar at the
forefront, shaping the way animated films are made and enjoyed to this day.

Shrek 2001
Shrek is undeniably one of the funniest animated movies to be released, and this is seen
in its huge success among audiences of all ages. The film's technological achievements
in computer animation pushed the boundaries of what was possible in the medium,
paving the way for the future of 3D animated features.

Spirited Away 2001

Like Akira before it, but arguably on an even bigger scale, Spirited Away should be
considered as one of the most influential movies of all time. Hayao Miyazaki's
masterpiece not only introduced Japanese anime to a global audience, but also
transcended cultural boundaries with its universal themes of identity, courage, and
environmental consciousness. It marked a turning point in the animation industry, proving
that animated films could be both artistically sophisticated and emotionally resonant for
audiences of all ages, inspiring countless filmmakers to explore the medium's potential
for storytelling and visual artistry on a grand scale. The movie changed the way the world
perceived animated movies, specifically Japanese-produced ones. It held the record of
highest-grossing Japanese movie for 19 years and gained a global recognition by
becoming the only foreign-language film to ever win the Academy Award for Best
Animated Feature (per Screen Rant).

https://www.slashfilm.com/610705/the-best-animated-film-of-each-decade/

Gertie The Dinosaur 1910s

the genre has just been developed.
not just the best animated film from the decade. It's widely credited as the first animated
film, period (whether that's actually true is beside the point). And it's very cute! Gertie
herself is appropriately adorable, paving the way for Disney's well-documented penchant
for sweet anthropomorphized animals. Although the design of Gertie is very simple, little
more than a black and white line drawing, animator Winsor McCay's work is surprisingly
sophisticated. It's not long — the entire cartoon only runs for about 14 minutes, and was
initially created to serve as a brief novelty act as part of a vaudeville show. And yet,
McKay gives Gertie lots of personality, taking special care to make her move

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 naturalistically, lungs heaving and muscles flexing as she playfully responds to her
master's commands.

The Adventures Of Prince Achmed 1920s

Walt Disney gets a lot of credit for his early animation work. But although "Steamboat
Willie," the first film to feature Mickey Mouse himself, helped to establish a brand that
came to dominate the animation industry, German animator Lotte Reiniger proved that
animation was an art form in its own right a full two years before Mickey hit the screen.
Reiniger used cut-out animation. She cut, photographed and colour tinted for three years
to create a strikingly beautiful effect that feels “full of life”. The gentle movements of her
shadow puppets gives Reiniger's interpretation of a classic fairy tale an atmosphere and
spirit unlike other piece of animation made before or since.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1930s

This film got Walt Disney’s massive animation empire officially running. This was the film
that proved to Hollywood that there was profit to be made in feature-length animation, a
fact that we take for granted now but that was very much still in question during the '30s.
Until that point, animated shorts were incredibly popular as a component of the overall
cinematic experience, during which they were combined with newsreels and two longer
films. But few studios were willing to take on the risk and expense of creating an entire
full-length animated film. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" changed all that, with its
charming songbird princess, iconic evil queen, and lovable troupe of supporting dwarfs,
who were each brought to life with their own unique and easily identifiable personality.

Bambi 1940s
Bambi doesn’t have the highest replay value compared to other disney films by any
means but it’s not for lack of quality, it’s because it’s too painful. Bambi showed
audiences that an animated film can make a powerful emotional statement.
With its gorgeous, Japanese-inspired backdrops and powerful emotional core, "Bambi" is
perhaps the most moving and artistic of Disney's early films.

Sleeping Beauty 1950s

"Sleeping Beauty" is the finest Western fairy tale adaptation in animated movie canon.
The classic French story is familiar, of course: A young, cursed princess falls into a
deathlike sleep, only to be woken by a handsome prince. Appropriately, the animation
style has a timeless quality to it, and more than most Disney movies features an
incredible attention to detail that makes each individual frame to look like a work of art.
Even the backgrounds are gorgeous to look at.
Disney somehow manages to balance the fairy tale elements of the story with its
traditional musical numbers, as well as some well-timed humor; even after all of these
years, "Sleeping Beauty" never feels dated, just classic. "Sleeping Beauty" contains both
stunning warmth and a malevolent, terrifying sense of darkness. It's a work of magic,

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 pure and simple, and it's the epitome of what people mean when they talk about classic
Disney animation.

101 Dalmatians 1960s

There is no universe in which "101 Dalmatians" gets anywhere near the credit it
deserves. In fact, when it first came out, a lot of people were critical of its sketchy
animation, a far cry from the opulent, detailed landscapes featured in the Disney films of
the previous decade. But "101 Dalmatians" gets the last laugh, because its charming
puppies and wildly fiendish villain have stood the test of time.
Roger and Anita are one of Disney's sweetest couples, and Roger's pointedly passive-
aggressive song about Cruella DeVil is a cheeky delight. But most of all, "101
Dalmatians" has great, understated set pieces scattered throughout, like the sequence in
which Pongo watches the street, looking for a woman to be Roger's mate, and a series
of women walk by with their pet dogs, all of whom bear a striking resemblance to their
owners. Despite the dark storyline (they're planning on murdering a bunch of dogs) and
the foggy London scenery, "101 Dalmatians" is a light-hearted jewel in the Disney vault.

The Aristocats 1970s

"The Aristocats" came out at a time when Disney had unquestionably lost a little bit of its
luster. Nestled between the heyday of classic Disney but not quite part of the Disney
Renaissance, "The Aristocats" sneaks under the radar. Basically, there's a beautifully
regal cat (played by Eva Gabor) and her three stupidly adorable kittens who end up lost
because their owner's butler catches wind that they're in line for a hefty inheritance and
plots to dispose of them.
Ultimately, "The Aristocats" is just tons of fun animal hijinks set to a cool, jazzy
soundtrack ("Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" is a banger, even if it is marred by the
horrifically offensive Siamese cat character). But, let's be honest, "The Aristocats" is
really here because it contains the single greatest Disney character ever created: Uncle
Waldo, the comically drunken goose. An absolute treasure, he reflects a Disney that's
willing to embrace the off-kilter and irreverent, and the movie is better for it.

An American Tail 1980s

Animator Don Bluth was on a pretty impressive run during the late '80s. After parting
ways with Disney in 1979, Bluth went on to create some of the only animated films that
were able to challenge the Mouse at the box office. And "An American Tail," released in
1986 as part of a collaboration with Steven Spielberg, was one of his absolute best.
A historical musical, "An American Tail" told the story of a young Russian mouse who
emigrates with his family to New York City at the turn of the century to escape a
dangerous pogrom led by cats, only to be separated from his parents and forced to face
a brave new world all by himself. Fievel Mousekewitz is probably the sweetest, cutest,
most endearing cartoon mouse ever committed to celluloid. His journey through New
York City is terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure, held together by Fievel's

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 ongoing sadness over his lost family, beautifully expressed by the devastating song,
"Somewhere Out There." Even just thinking about it should make you emotional.

Beauty and the Beast 1990s

Disney animation has always been popular, but "Beauty and the Beast" was when its
output began getting serious respect from the critical community. It was the first animated
film ever to be nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, and it heralded the
peak of the Disney Renaissance, which began in earnest a few years earlier with "The
Little Mermaid."
Its story about a bookish girl from a small French village who is held captive by a cursed
prince trapped a monstrous form is perhaps not the most conventional of romances.
However, audiences were won over by the magical castle, the servants who had been
transformed into common household furniture, and some excellent music from Howard
Ashman and Alan Menken (the duo won the Oscar for best song for the title track,
although Ashman sadly died of AIDS before the film's release). Cynical audiences may
raise an eyebrow at the idea of Belle falling in love with the man literally holding her
hostage, but, on the other hand, you have the antics of Lumiere and Cogsworth. They're
pretty difficult not to be charmed by.

Howl’s Moving Castle 2000s

It required a pretty serious internal conversation not to make this list just a collection of
Miyazaki films. So, just know that, for every movie included here, a Miyazaki movie could
have easily taken its place. "Howl's Moving Castle" is perhaps less well-regarded than
"Spirited Away," but it has a lighter touch and a vibe that isn't quite as unsettling, so it
seemed like it deserves a little extra credit.
A young, mild-mannered hat-maker named Sophie is cursed, becoming a 90-year-old
woman. In an effort to break the spell, she heads off on an adventure with a wizard
named Howl, who is facing his own battles. "Howl's Moving Castle" is an immensely
imaginative story, with a deep roster of fascinating side characters that flesh out the film
wonderfully. Miyazaki's films are never what you might call pro-war, but his particular
anger at the Iraq War (which was unfolding during production) is felt especially strongly
here, creating an eccentric fairy tale with lots going on underneath the surface.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2010s

In the last few decades, we've had three different Spider-Man reboots. By the time
"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" came out in 2018, it was hard to imagine anyone a
fresh perspective to the lovable but well-worn superhero. Surprisingly, "Spider-Man: Into
the Spider-Verse" may be the most unique and exciting film starring a Marvel character
to arrive in ages.
Focusing on Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker was a smart decision, as Miles brings
a youthful energy that makes the entire franchise feel new. "Into the Spider-Verse" also
features a bold, frenetic animation style that pays homage to the character's comic book

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 origins, and the way that the movie utilizes its different iterations of the Spider-Man
character is inspired. Forget the weighty continuity that most Marvel films are born into:
This Spider-Man outing is happy to simply be a fun, dynamic, and surprisingly poignant
ride.

Wolfwalkers 2020s
The 2020s are still getting started, so there aren't too many animated films to choose
from yet. However, even this early on, "Wolfwalkers" is still a strong contender for
the best animated film of the decade. A gorgeously hand-drawn adventure combining
Irish history with ancient mythology and a feminist tale of nonconformity, "Wolkwalkers" is
as charming as it is beautiful.
The way that filmmakers Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart design the wolves and depict
their unique sense of smell is lovely, and it is well grounded by the two voice actors who
play Robyn and Mebh. Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker were 15 and 12 years old,
respectively, at the time of filming, but despite their young ages, they bring tremendous
heart and spirit to "Wolfwalkers." In a society where girls have such rigidly defined
expectations of behavior placed upon them, it's great fun to see Robyn and Mebh find
the freedom to run and play in the forest together, unencumbered by rules of the world
they live in.

Essay First Draft

From Dream to Screen: The History of Animation

According to the Oxford dictionary animation is the technique of photographing successive

drawings or positions of puppets or models to create an illusion of movement when the film is
shown in sequence.
I wanted to look into how animation developed as a process and form of filmmaking to better
understand what stood the test of time. The people that changed the course of stop motion,
the films that produced innovative concepts and the techniques that evolved through the eras
all influence the way I will shape my story and produce my final major project.
A general history
The use of moving images to tell stories has existed since early civilisation but animation as
we know it today really started in the 19th century, evolving via the invention of gadgets such
as the magic lantern and zoetrope. Things really started to develop after the emergence of
cinema, mostly through short films in the silent era. As new technologies developed,
animation could be pushed further and turn into ‘one of the most artistically and commercially
significant genres in all of cinema’.

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 It’s disputed what the first documented animated film is however most sources including
‘Britannica’ say J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith’s The Humpty Dumpty Circus from
1898 was the first commercial release. Then in 1907 Blackton’s film ‘The Haunted Hotel’
demonstrated the basic technique of object animation.
Winsor McCay created ‘Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914, transforming the art of animation. He
managed to give his animated character a personality and a life through his fluid sense of
movement and great feeling for character.
With the help of Pat Sullivan, Otto Messemer extended these artistic discoveries in creating
‘Felix the Cat’. Felix, designed for maximum flexibility and facial expressiveness with a round
head and big eyes, became the standard model for cartoon characters.
In 1928 Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks would create Steamboat Willie. It took the US by storm
as it would be the first animation to use synchronised sound. While the Edinburgh University
Press explain that the Fleischer brothers were working on synchronised sound animation
using the process invented by Lee De Forest years before Disney, Steamboat Willie is the
first cartoon to officially use it.
While stop motion is a sub-section in animation, the history of both is very intertwined. the
storytelling and even technique is influenced by all types of films, shorts, filmmakers and
countries. That being said, America has a significantly richer history than most – filled
with productions and artists that have influenced the animation timeline.
Willis O’Brien’s work gave stop-motion animation its first serious entry into the mainstream
film industry and kicked off what is often referred to as ‘the golden age’ of stop-motion. His
work on King Kong (1933) perfected lots of the techniques he created for The Lost World
(1925) “taking stop-motion animation to new heights. According to ‘study.com’ King Kong
earned O’Brien his place as the father of modern stop-motion.
In 1937 Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Until this point the overall
cinema experience included animated shorts alongside newsreels and two longer films as no
commercial studios wanted to take on the expense and risk of making a feature-length film.
Snow White proved to Hollywood that there’s profit in full length animations. The film also
got Walt Disney’s massive empire officially running.

Harryhausen was for many years that lone animator who toiled away in his garage
animating dinosaurs, building puppets, and just basically exploring the medium. Using only
his very short demo reel he was able to get a position as an animator on the George Pal’s
Puppetoons show. Willis O’Brien invited Ray to join him in animating on the 1949 version
of Mighty Joe Young, this allowed the young Harryhausen to develop his skill and range as
an animator.

Ray Harryhausen
O’Briens’s greatest protege was Ray Harryhausen who made a selection of films that moved
the art of stop motion forward. A notable mention is Jason and the Argonaughts (1963),

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 considered to be the best example of his work; celebrated for its outstanding battle involving
multiple skeleton figures.
Another pioneer of stop-motion was Art Clokey. His career began on ‘Gumbasia’ (1955)
which then him and his wife subsequently created American household favourite ‘Gumby’.
The 1980s was dubbed the Golden Age of stop motion animation as so many feature films,
television series, music videos and highly profitably commercials were produced in the
decade. Clay and puppet animation seemed to be everywhere at that time, tv networks like
Mtv would hire animators to make their station ID’s and artists were making music videos
with stop motion, commercials were animated etc.
Will Vinton coined the term Claymation as he achieved critical and commercial success in
clay animations. One of his employees, Travis Knight, went on to create LAIKA Studios.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) is a fantastic twist on film noir set in the golden age of
Hollywood where humans and animated characters co-exist. It was the first feature to
seamlessly blend animation into a live action film. Unlike other previous classics that had
attempted the concept, such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Mary Poppins, and Bedknobs
and Broomsticks, the film’s technical sophistication along with great story, character and wit
still holds up today.

The early 90s saw the stop motion industry begin to fall apart. Growing technologies in the
form of desktop computers and their capabilities meant the preference of handmade
animations for commercials, vfx and movies was diminishing. ‘Jurassic Park’ (1993) was the
final blow to the industry. While it was technically a type of cgi rendered stop motion, it’s
never considered as such. The use of metal armature puppets connected to computers to
control onscreen characters was an expensive technique but had a much cleaner and less
jumpy look. Producers began to leave handmade things behind; from hand puppets and stop
motions to environments and matte paintings the digital age was taking over.
Despite the success of films like ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, ‘Chicken Run’, and
‘James and the Giant Peach’, PIXAR’S massive hit with ‘Toy Story’ (1995) meant the
handmade flame was near dead. ‘Toy Story’ was the first fully computer animated feature,
revelutionising the way animation was produced. This groundbreaking achievement paved
the way for the CGI-dominated era of animation (with PIXAR at the lead).
While America has its dense linear history, European (and a few other place’s) animation
was taking a slightly different path.
Wladyslaw Starewicz was a genius with stop motion narrative, with his most well-known films
being ‘Lucanus Cervus’ (1910) where he used insects as puppets, this was one of the first
few documented uses of puppets in animation, and ‘The Tale of The Fox’ (1937).
Lottie Reininger was a German animator
Jiri
emile cohl

Unit 12 21
 More Films That Changed The Game
As well as the historically significant, groundbreaking films that are staples of animation
history the films in this section also have relevance. While they didn’t create a new concept
or bring about a turningpoint for the industry they have influenced the storytelling and
mainstreaming of different things

In an article from ‘/Film’, film critic Audrey Fox explained that from animation’s beginnings in
the silent era to classic fairytale adaptations from our childhoods to the modern, innovative
films breaking new ground, animation is an extremely expansive medium. It’s not just
children’s entertainment, but a legitimate art form in its own right. ‘The Secret of NIHM’
(1982) was created by former Disney animator Don Bluth. He broke off from the established
Disney tropes to showcase a more mature, darker storytelling style. According to ‘MovieWeb’
the success created by “one of the most influential animated movies in history” laid the
foundations for a wave of animated films that “challenge traditional conventions, sparking a
renaissance of creativity within the industry and establishing Bluth's legacy as a pioneer in
the world of animation”.
Frame Rates

Before TV filmmakers had to crank their cameras meaning the playback speed would range
from 16fps to 22fps so each time it was played it would look slightly different. After motors
were added to cameras for better control when recording the frames per second could be
accurately calculated. Then with the invention of projectors with calibrated speeds
filmmakers could synchronise images, sounds etc. This led manufactures to agree on the
standard frame rate of 24fps. Now that it was standardised across the board (with a few
broadcasting exceptions and professional variables as time goes on) films could have
consistency and have that more ‘professional’ look modern audiences are used to.
Stop-Motion Animation Studios
While companies such as Studio Ghibli, Disney, Illumination etc are considered to dominate
the animation genre Aardman and LAIKA studios are the leading figures in stop-motion
animation.

According to ‘nofilmschool’ “Laika has slowly emerged as one of the most beautiful and
inventive animations studios”.

Conclusion

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