Given ‘animation’ is a general term that contains diverse subjects such as animated games and the latest virtual reality, it is necessary to make clear that my interest is in the inception of animation as visual materials to watch, but not to engage or perceive by other senses. 

There are two reasons for taking animation as my topic. First, I saw myself deeply influenced by animated films since young.  2. As I am still sometimes amazed by the spectacularly breathtaking scenes of them, I became curious about the origin of the animation industry.

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Speaking of animation, its preliminary formation was in-motion pictures. Desired to capture the dynamics happening around them, predecessors utilised the best techniques they could get to record the symbolisms of vivid life. Therefore, the dynamic paintings of the prehistorical animals in the Lascaux cave of Franch dating from 15,000 BCE were regarded as the oldest proof of the origin of animation.

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After the Industrial Revolution, technological development bred more attempts at seeing and representing the world differently. Along with the invention of Frenchman Emile Reynaud’s large-scale praxinoscope, pictures for the first time were put together to forge a continuous sequence of actions, the initial short film. Emile Reynaud then opened his creation to the public, exhibiting the films in Theatre Optique, which was not only a remarkable success at that moment but also a trigger for the whole next generation striving for inventing the advanced medium of motion pictures.

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With the gradual refinement of animated films, the early phase of visual trickery became an out-of-date narrative. Improved aesthetic patterns including fancier visual effects and developed technologies such as increased length of films were applied to attract audiences’ curiosity. Since the most skillful experts to fabricate visual illusions are magicians, ‘it is not surprising that early specialists in animated effects had often come from careers in magic.’ (Maureen Furniss, 2017, Animation The Global History)

Below shows the early stop motion film about Magic Matches:

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You may not feel accustomed to the silent film without an audio track, but it was an accepted convention at the beginning of the 19th century. Not until the launch of the so-called talkie, The Jazz Singer premiered on October 6, 1927, that the entertainment industry had only silent films. Because without sounds, the film with exaggerated movements and subtitles was a necessity and Charlie Chaplin’s performance was definitely one of the most famous representatives.

As a result, most animated films at that time possessed the same excessive style. Donald Crafton recalled the co-experience with Pat Sullivan of creating ‘Felix the Cat’, the most significant animated character of the late 1910s and early 1920s.

In 1919 I created a character which Paramount named ‘Felix the Cat’. I used the style of Charlie Chaplin and kept him alone in his antics…at the time many cartoons were using ostentatious actions and extreme clowning… I decided to try a new angle for variety: I used real life as a background for stories.

(Donald Crafton: Before Mickey: The Animated Film 1898-1928)

There was another fact worth noticing that the transition to sound movies occurred during the great economic depression (1929-1939), which explained part of the reasons why sound movies were not immediately accepted by the market as the investors worried about any insecurities of novelty.

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Throughout the 1930s, animation studios have developed to mature production chains and contested for more big hits of cartoon characters with the adoption of integrated colour, sound and styles. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released by Walt Disney Studio in 1937, was undoubtedly the most internationally well-known landmark. As Leonard Maltin notes, ‘There is no way to overstate the effect of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on the film industry.’ Its significance in animation history brought countless discussions around the reasons of Snow White’s success. But what to my encouragement is Snow White’s creator, Disney’s early experiences. Hence I want to spend a few paragraphs talking about it.

In Disney’s youth, the American film industry enjoyed the postwar prosperity, replacing France and became the world leader in film production. Hollywood where many big studios gathered, also became the La La Land of animation. Although it is said that Disney’s decision to come to California in the 1920s, was the most vital factor in his success. ( Maureen Furniss), I personally regard Disney’s early engagement with animation techniques from an early age and cumulative experiences from his autonomous career from which success and failures mingled were of more significance for him.

Disney, one of the most eminent animation companies nowadays, was just a medium-sized studio in Hollywood, California. Besides, before releasing the Snow White, his studio had just gone through sabotage of personnel loss and a financial crisis. But, as the old saying goes, no matter what, there is always a way-out. Together with Ub Iwerks, Disney persisted in creating new characters and Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie in July 1928 proved to be another explosion.

According to some researchers, what he did distinctive from others were his groundbreaking emphasis on stories’ wholeness and the promotion of cartoon characters. While other studios had begun licensing characters from comic strips and animation, Disney exposed and merchandised his stars through magazines, peripheral products and other mediums as much as possible.

However, for me, watching his story is like revisiting the history of the early development of animation. Many ideas and inventions have left traces in the long river of history. The vicissitudes did not affect the gradual refinement and imagination of animation art. On the basis of its predecessors, it continues to create more interesting images that brought audiences pleasure.

Reference

Maureen Furniss, Animation The Global History, Thames & Hudson Lts. London, 2017. (Book)

Donald Crafton, Before Mickey: The Animated Film 1898-1928, (Ebook), https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yaeJFVTedysC&oi=fnd&pg=IA1&dq=silent+animated+film+history&ots=an0iYyiPB4&sig=4cH-f1mbzixzmPeHiFp327mWxsc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=silent%20animated%20film%20history&f=false

J. B. Kaufman, ‘Before Snow White’, Film History
Vol. 5, No. 2, Animation (Jun., 1993), pp. 158-175. (Journal)

By: Jingya Yu (Olivia)

Student number: 33764430