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For animation to reach its peak, someone had to be the first one to start it all. This person is thought to be Émile Cohl, a French caricaturist and animator who is proudly called ‘The Father of the Animated Cartoon.’
He created the first ever animation in 1908 and called it Fantasmagorie, also known as a Fantasy. The title is borrowed from the French word for "phantasmagoria,” describing a mid-19th century magic lantern show with moving images of ghosts.
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It was a very short, black-and-white silent cartoon, which ran for about 1:20 minutes. It was a hand-drawn animation depicting a stick figure man moving around and encountering morphing objects like a vine bottle that turns into a flower. There are also certain parts where the animator's hand enters the picture, which draws the main characters—a clown and a gentleman. The film, full of wild transformations, is a tribute to the Incoherent Art movement.
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Even though it only ran for 1:20 minutes, it was one of the most demanding tasks that its creator had attempted as an artist. “First he had made a drawing on white paper with black ink. Then he traced that drawing through a second sheet, changing nothing in the outline except for a minute alteration that would be perceived later as motion. Eventually hundreds of drawings were completed in this manner, then photographed in sequences. The result was printed in negative, so in the final film the illusion was produced of white lines moving on black,” explained Donald Crafton in his book Emile Cohl, Caricature, and Film.
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This way Cohl made over 700 drawings, achieving the result of fluid motion and convincing movement of figures. The impact of his work has been long-standing, influencing later cartoonists and starting a whole branch of filmmaking.
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Of course, the roots of animation extend far beyond film and technology. Half a century before the invention of cinema, various pioneers were curious to create the illusion of movement. Therefore, devices like the phenakistoscope and zoetrope were invented to trick the human eye to see stages of an action that were shown in fast succession as a continuous movement.
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But after Cohl and his short animated film Fantasmagorie, animation improved and many other techniques were invented to achieve an even better effect. What changed the game forever was Walt Disney Studios after they released Steamboat Willie in 1928. It was the first Disney cartoon to have synchronized sound and the first cartoon ever to include a fully post-produced soundtrack.
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Nine years later, Disney already released their first full-length feature film, Snow White. After some time in 1993, the software for 3D animation was created, which allowed for some of the most realistic animations we see today. Throughout the years, animation has become a popular way of storytelling that has shaped a lot of people.
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It offers the unique freedom to explore any concept without the limits of reality. By exploring a wide range of themes and topics, cartoons are both entertaining and emotionally impactful. When focusing on more serious topics like politics, environmental issues, and social justice, animation can also be a powerful tool for education and social commentary. It’s a great medium that both kids and adults can understand, which makes it such a popular and necessary filmmaking technique.
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