Firsts in animation
This list provides an overview of animated productions that can be considered as milestones in the development of animation techniques or in artistic or commercial success.
| Year | Milestone | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 | praxinoscope animation | Le singe musicien | |
| 1900 | Animation on standard celluloid film | The Enchanted Drawing | |
| 1917 | Feature film | El Apóstol | Created with cutout animation; now considered lost |
| 1926 | The Adventures of Prince Achmed | Oldest surviving animated feature film, cutout silhouette animation | |
| 1919 | Filmed in Rotoscope | The Clown's Pup | Short film |
| 1924 | Synchronized sound on film | Oh Mabel | Short film; used Lee de Forest's Phonofilm sound on film process, though none of the characters "speak" on screen |
| 1926 | Synchronized sound on film with animated dialogue | My Old Kentucky Home[1] | Short film; used Lee de Forest's Phonofilm sound on film process; a dog character mouths the words, "Follow the ball, and join in, everybody!" |
| 1930 | Filmed in Two-color Technicolor | King of Jazz[2] | Premiering in April 1930, a three-minute cartoon sequence produced by Walter Lantz appears in this full-length, live-action Technicolor feature film. |
| 1930 | Two-color Technicolor in a stand-alone cartoon | Fiddlesticks | Released in August 1930, this Ub Iwerks-produced short is the first standalone color cartoon. |
| 1930 | Feature-length puppet animated (stop-motion) film | The Tale of the Fox | Only animation finished in 1930; not released with a soundtrack until 1937 |
| 1935 | The New Gulliver | The first released puppet-animated feature. Includes scenes of animation combined with live-action footage | |
| 1931 | Feature-length sound film | Peludópolis | Now considered lost |
| 1932 | Filmed in three-strip Technicolor | Flowers and Trees | Short film |
| 1937 | First film using Disney's multiplane camera | The Old Mill | Short film. A predecessor of the multiplane technique had already been used for The Adventures of Prince Achmed. Ub Iwerks had developed an early version of the multiplane camera in 1934 for his The Headless Horseman Comicolor Cartoon.[3] |
| Feature filmed in three-strip Technicolor | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | ||
| 1940 | Stereophonic sound | Fantasia | Recorded in Fantasound with 33 microphones on eight channels, but the reproduction of multi-channel Fantasound in theaters was eventually more limited than intended |
| 1942 | First film applying limited animation | The Dover Boys at Pimento University | Short film |
| 1951 | First animated 3-D film | Now is the Time Around is Around | Abstract dual-strip stereoscopic short films by Norman McLaren for the Festival of Britain[4] |
| 1953 | First cartoon presented in widescreen format | Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom | Short film |
| 1955 | First animated feature in widescreen format | Lady and the Tramp | |
| First stop-motion television series | The Gumby Show[5] | ||
| 1956 | First US animated primetime TV series | CBS Cartoon Theatre | Compilation television series |
| 1957 | First animated TV series broadcast in color | Colonel Bleep | Television series |
| 1959 | Syncro-Vox | Clutch Cargo | Television series |
| 1960 | Xerography process (replacing hand inking) | Goliath II | Short film |
| First primetime animated sitcom | The Flintstones | Television series | |
| 1961 | Feature film using xerography process | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | |
| 1962 | The First animated TV Christmas Special | Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol | Television special |
| 1964 | First feature film based on a television show | Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! | |
| 1966 | The First animated TV Halloween Special | It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown | Television special |
| 1969 | First animated feature deemed to be X-rated | A Thousand and One Nights | Japanese anime hit. Pornographic animations had already been made for the phénakisticope and the short film The Virgin with the Hot Pants (circa 1924) |
| 1978 | Animated feature to be presented in Dolby sound | Watership Down | |
| 1983 | 3D feature film - stereoscopic technique | Abra Cadabra | |
| Animated feature containing computer-generated imagery | Rock and Rule | ||
| Animated TV series to be recorded in Stereo sound | Inspector Gadget | ||
| 1985 | Feature-length clay-animated film | The Adventures of Mark Twain | |
| 1988 | First feature film to have live-action and cartoon animation share the screen for the entire film | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | |
| 1989 | TV cartoon to be broadcast in Dolby Surround sound. | Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration | |
| 1990 | First computer-animated feature (produced without a camera) Feature film using digital ink and paint | The Rescuers Down Under | First feature film completely produced with Disney's Computer Animation Production System |
| 1991 | First animated film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture | Beauty and the Beast | As of 2023, no animated film has won the Best Picture Oscar yet. |
| 1992 | First animated feature to earn $500 million worldwide[6] | Aladdin | |
| 1993 | CGI-animated series | VeggieTales | Christian animated series released on home video |
| 1994 | CGI-animated series for television | Insektors | |
| First animated feature to earn $750 million worldwide[7] | The Lion King | ||
| 1995 | First "3D" style (wire-frame) computer-animated feature First CGI and G-rated Pixar CGI feature film | Toy Story | |
| Animated television series to be broadcast in Dolby Surround | Pinky and the Brain | ||
| 1996 | First entirely CGI feature film (without using rotoscopy) | Cassiopéia | Released 3 months after Toy Story, this Brazilian film does not use anything that was not created within CGI software |
| 1997 | First animated series produced for the Internet[8] Animated series | The Goddamn George Liquor Program | |
| 1998 | PG-rated CGI animated film | Antz | |
| 1999 | First animated IMAX feature | Fantasia 2000 | |
| 2001 | Motion-capture animation PG-13-rated CGI animated film | Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within | |
| First Academy Award for Best Animated Feature | Shrek | Monsters, Inc. and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius were also nominated. | |
| 2002 | First Flash-animated television series | ¡Mucha Lucha! | |
| 2003 | First Flash-animated film | Wizards and Giants | |
| 2004 | Cel-shaded animation | Appleseed | |
| First motion capture animated movie | The Polar Express | ||
| 2005 | Feature shot with digital still cameras | Corpse Bride | |
| 2007 | Feature digitally animated by one person | Flatland | |
| Presented in 7.1 surround sound | Ultimate Avengers | Blu-ray release | |
| 2008 | Feature film designed, created and released exclusively in 3D | Fly Me to the Moon | |
| 2009 | Stop-motion character animated using rapid prototyping | Coraline | |
| First feature film directly produced in stereoscopic 3D rather than converted in 3D after completion using InTru3D | Monsters vs. Aliens | ||
| 2010 | First animated feature to earn $1 billion worldwide[9] Feature film released theatrically in 7.1 surround sound | Toy Story 3 | |
| 2012 | Stop-motion film to use color 3-D printing technology for models | ParaNorman | |
| 2013 | First animated feature to earn $1.25 billion worldwide | Frozen | |
| 2016 | The first R-rated 3D computer-animated film | Sausage Party | |
| 2019 | First animated feature to earn $1.5 billion worldwide | The Lion King (2019) | Walt Disney Pictures, which produced the film, considered it to be live-action despite the entire film (aside from its opening shot) being computer animated.[10] Other sources deemed it to be animated based on specified criteria.[11] |
| 2022 | Animated feature film to aspect ratio opened up in IMAX | Lightyear | It opened up from 2.39:1 to 1.43:1 for select sequences of the film.[12] |
| 2024 | First animated feature film produced in 2:1 aspect ratio. First animated feature film that was originally planned as a TV series. | Moana 2 | It was originally planned as a Disney+ Original Series, but due to popularity of the first film on Disney+ in 2023, it was converted to a movie. |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Maltin, Leonard; Beck, Jerry (1980). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-0703-9835-1.
- ^ "Whiteman Film Due Tomorrow." Los Angeles Times 18 Apr. 1930: A9. Print.
- ^ Pat Williams and Jim Denney (2004). How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life. HCI. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-7573-0231-2.
- ^ "Around Is Around (1951)". BFI. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018.
- ^ Solomon, Charles (1989). Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation. New York: Random House, Inc. pp. 231–232. ISBN 978-0-394-54684-1.
- ^ "Aladdin (1992)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ Brevert, Brad (May 29, 2016). "'X-Men' & 'Alice' Lead Soft Memorial Day Weekend; Disney Tops $4 Billion Worldwide". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
- ^ "27th Annual Annie Award Nominee Showcase: Goddamn George Liquor Program". AWM.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
- ^ Subers, Ray (August 29, 2010). "'Toy Story 3' Reaches $1 Billion". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ Smith, Nigel (July 29, 2019). "The Lion King Director Reveals There's One 'Real Shot' in Hit CGI Remake". People. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ Whitten, Sarah (2019-12-09). "Disney calls 'The Lion King' live-action. The Golden Globes just nominated it for best animated feature". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
- ^ Har-Even, Benny (March 29, 2022). "Lightyear In IMAX Will Feature 1.43:1 Aspect Ratio Scenes". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.