You might assume that the animation revolution began in 1937 with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but actually, the genre has actually existed almost as long as its live-action counterpart.

This timeline through the decades outlines animation’s humble beginnings—from simple drawings on a blackboard and the first cartoon—to major technological breakthroughs including the introduction of color and completely digital animation production.

1900s-1929

Year Animated Film Event

1906 J. Stuart Blackton’s “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” is released. It is a three-minute short in which Blackton creates animating drawings of faces and people against a plain blackboard.

1908 The first short comprised solely of animated images Emile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie” premieres in Paris.

1908 “Humpty Dumpty Circus” marks the first use of stop-motion animation on film.

1914 Earl Hurd invents the process of cell animation, which would revolutionize and dominate the industry for much of the 20th century.

1914 “Gertie the Dinosaur” is widely considered the first animated short to feature a distinguishable character. Cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay brings a walking, dancing dinosaur to life.

1917 The first feature-length animated film, Quirino Cristiani’s “El Apostol,” is released. Unfortunately, ​the only known copy was destroyed in a fire.

1919 Felix the Cat makes his debut and becomes the first famous animated cartoon character.

1920 The first color cartoon, John Randolph Bray’s “The Debut of Thomas Cat,” is released.

1922 Walt Disney animates his first animated short, “Little Red Riding Hood.” Though initially thought lost, a copy was found and restored in 1998.

1928 Mickey Mouse makes his debut. Though the first Mickey Mouse cartoon is technically the six-minute short “Plane Crazy,” the first Mickey Mouse short to be distributed is “Steamboat Willie,” which is also the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound.

1929 Disney’s iconic line of animated shorts, “Silly Symphonies,” kicks off its prolific run with “The Skeleton Dance.”

1930s-1949

Year Animated Film Event

1930 Betty Boop debuts as a woman/dog hybrid in the short “Dizzy Dishes.”

1930 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes makes its debut with “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub.”

1931 Quirino Cristiani’s “Peludopolis,” which tells the story of a military coup against a corrupt president, boasts the first instance of sound within a feature-length animated film. There are no surviving copies of the movie in existence.

1932 The first full-color, three-strip Technicolor animated short, “Flowers and Trees,” is released. The film wins Disney the first-ever Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

1933 “King Kong,” which features several stop-motion animated characters, is released.

1933 Ub Iwerks invents the multiplane camera, which allows animators to create a three-dimensional effect within two-dimensional cartoons.

1935 The Russian film “The New Gulliver” becomes the first full-length feature to employ stop-motion animation for the bulk of its running time.

1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Walt Disney’s first full-length animated feature and the first such production to emerge out of the United States, is released. It becomes a huge box office success and Disney was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for the achievement.

1938 Bugs Bunny makes his debut in “Porky’s Hare Hunt,” though the character wasn’t named until 1941.

1940 Tom the cat launches his unending pursuit of Jerry the mouse in the Oscar-nominated short “Puss Gets the Boot.”

1940 Woody Woodpecker arrives on the scene with a small role in the Andy Panda cartoon “Knock, Knock.”

1941 The first full-length animated musical, “Mr. Bug Goes to Town,” is released.

1946 Disney’s first live-action film, “Song of the South,” is released and boasts several animated interludes. Because of its controversial depiction of the African-American character Uncle Remus, the film has never been released on home media in the United States.

1949 Prolific stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen makes his debut with the creation of the title character in “Mighty Joe Young.”

1972-Present

Year Animated Film Event

1972 Ralph Bakshi’s “Fritz the Cat” is released as the first X-rated animated feature in cinematic history.

1973 Computer-generated images are used for the very first time in a brief shot within “Westworld.”

1975 Revolutionary special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic is founded by George Lucas.

1982 “Tron” marks the first time that computer-generated images are used extensively in a film.

1986 Pixar’s first short, “Luxo Jr.,” is released. It is the first computer-animated short to receive an Academy Award nomination.

1987 “The Simpsons,” an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening airs. It is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.

1991 Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” becomes the first fully animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

1993 " Jurassic Park" becomes the first live-action film to feature photorealistic computer-animated creatures.

1995 The first computer-animated film, “Toy Story,” is released to theaters. The achievement is honored with a Special Achievement Academy Award.

1999 “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” marks the first film to use computer-generated imagery extensively and pervasively, in terms of its sets, special effects, and supporting characters.

2001 The Academy creates a Best Animated Feature category. “Shrek” is the first movie to win the Oscar.

2002 “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers " features the first photorealistic motion captured character for a film with Andy Serkis portraying Gollum.

2004 “The Polar Express” becomes the first fully-animated film to use motion capture technology to render all of its characters.

2005 “Chicken Little” becomes the first computer-animated film to be released in 3D.

2009 James Cameron’s groundbreaking “Avatar” is the first film to feature a fully computer-generated 3D photorealistic world.

2012 ParaNorman is the first 3D stop-motion animated film created with characters that are computer generated using 3D printing technology.

Biography of Walt Disney, Animator and Film Producer

The History of Warner Bros. Animation

The History of 3-D Movies

Disney’s Animated Classic Children’s Movies of the 1930s and 1940s

A Timeline of the History of Hollywood Horror Movies

Who Are the Best Disney Characters Who Never Speak?

The Funniest Animated Movies of All Time

A Brief History of 3-D Horror Movies

The 3 Types of Animated Films

The History of Hollywood’s Major Movie Studios

How Movies Went From Black and White to Color

The History of King Arthur on Film

The Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time

Academy Award for Best Cinematography: History and Rules

How Does a Film Qualify for the Best Picture Oscar?

The Most Important Movies of the 1950s

Home

Entertainment

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Activities

Humor

About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy

LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies

You might assume that the animation revolution began in 1937 with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but actually, the genre has actually existed almost as long as its live-action counterpart.

This timeline through the decades outlines animation’s humble beginnings—from simple drawings on a blackboard and the first cartoon—to major technological breakthroughs including the introduction of color and completely digital animation production.

1900s-1929

Year Animated Film Event

1906 J. Stuart Blackton’s “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” is released. It is a three-minute short in which Blackton creates animating drawings of faces and people against a plain blackboard.

1908 The first short comprised solely of animated images Emile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie” premieres in Paris.

1908 “Humpty Dumpty Circus” marks the first use of stop-motion animation on film.

1914 Earl Hurd invents the process of cell animation, which would revolutionize and dominate the industry for much of the 20th century.

1914 “Gertie the Dinosaur” is widely considered the first animated short to feature a distinguishable character. Cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay brings a walking, dancing dinosaur to life.

1917 The first feature-length animated film, Quirino Cristiani’s “El Apostol,” is released. Unfortunately, ​the only known copy was destroyed in a fire.

1919 Felix the Cat makes his debut and becomes the first famous animated cartoon character.

1920 The first color cartoon, John Randolph Bray’s “The Debut of Thomas Cat,” is released.

1922 Walt Disney animates his first animated short, “Little Red Riding Hood.” Though initially thought lost, a copy was found and restored in 1998.

1928 Mickey Mouse makes his debut. Though the first Mickey Mouse cartoon is technically the six-minute short “Plane Crazy,” the first Mickey Mouse short to be distributed is “Steamboat Willie,” which is also the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound.

1929 Disney’s iconic line of animated shorts, “Silly Symphonies,” kicks off its prolific run with “The Skeleton Dance.”

1930s-1949

Year Animated Film Event

1930 Betty Boop debuts as a woman/dog hybrid in the short “Dizzy Dishes.”

1930 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes makes its debut with “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub.”

1931 Quirino Cristiani’s “Peludopolis,” which tells the story of a military coup against a corrupt president, boasts the first instance of sound within a feature-length animated film. There are no surviving copies of the movie in existence.

1932 The first full-color, three-strip Technicolor animated short, “Flowers and Trees,” is released. The film wins Disney the first-ever Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

1933 “King Kong,” which features several stop-motion animated characters, is released.

1933 Ub Iwerks invents the multiplane camera, which allows animators to create a three-dimensional effect within two-dimensional cartoons.

1935 The Russian film “The New Gulliver” becomes the first full-length feature to employ stop-motion animation for the bulk of its running time.

1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Walt Disney’s first full-length animated feature and the first such production to emerge out of the United States, is released. It becomes a huge box office success and Disney was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for the achievement.

1938 Bugs Bunny makes his debut in “Porky’s Hare Hunt,” though the character wasn’t named until 1941.

1940 Tom the cat launches his unending pursuit of Jerry the mouse in the Oscar-nominated short “Puss Gets the Boot.”

1940 Woody Woodpecker arrives on the scene with a small role in the Andy Panda cartoon “Knock, Knock.”

1941 The first full-length animated musical, “Mr. Bug Goes to Town,” is released.

1946 Disney’s first live-action film, “Song of the South,” is released and boasts several animated interludes. Because of its controversial depiction of the African-American character Uncle Remus, the film has never been released on home media in the United States.

1949 Prolific stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen makes his debut with the creation of the title character in “Mighty Joe Young.”

1972-Present

Year Animated Film Event

1972 Ralph Bakshi’s “Fritz the Cat” is released as the first X-rated animated feature in cinematic history.

1973 Computer-generated images are used for the very first time in a brief shot within “Westworld.”

1975 Revolutionary special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic is founded by George Lucas.

1982 “Tron” marks the first time that computer-generated images are used extensively in a film.

1986 Pixar’s first short, “Luxo Jr.,” is released. It is the first computer-animated short to receive an Academy Award nomination.

1987 “The Simpsons,” an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening airs. It is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.

1991 Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” becomes the first fully animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

1993 " Jurassic Park” becomes the first live-action film to feature photorealistic computer-animated creatures.

1995 The first computer-animated film, “Toy Story,” is released to theaters. The achievement is honored with a Special Achievement Academy Award.

1999 “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” marks the first film to use computer-generated imagery extensively and pervasively, in terms of its sets, special effects, and supporting characters.

2001 The Academy creates a Best Animated Feature category. “Shrek” is the first movie to win the Oscar.

2002 “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers " features the first photorealistic motion captured character for a film with Andy Serkis portraying Gollum.

2004 “The Polar Express” becomes the first fully-animated film to use motion capture technology to render all of its characters.

2005 “Chicken Little” becomes the first computer-animated film to be released in 3D.

2009 James Cameron’s groundbreaking “Avatar” is the first film to feature a fully computer-generated 3D photorealistic world.

2012 ParaNorman is the first 3D stop-motion animated film created with characters that are computer generated using 3D printing technology.

Biography of Walt Disney, Animator and Film Producer

The History of Warner Bros. Animation

The History of 3-D Movies

Disney’s Animated Classic Children’s Movies of the 1930s and 1940s

A Timeline of the History of Hollywood Horror Movies

Who Are the Best Disney Characters Who Never Speak?

The Funniest Animated Movies of All Time

A Brief History of 3-D Horror Movies

The 3 Types of Animated Films

The History of Hollywood’s Major Movie Studios

How Movies Went From Black and White to Color

The History of King Arthur on Film

The Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time

Academy Award for Best Cinematography: History and Rules

How Does a Film Qualify for the Best Picture Oscar?

The Most Important Movies of the 1950s

Home

Entertainment

Careers

Activities

Humor

About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy

LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies

You might assume that the animation revolution began in 1937 with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but actually, the genre has actually existed almost as long as its live-action counterpart.

This timeline through the decades outlines animation’s humble beginnings—from simple drawings on a blackboard and the first cartoon—to major technological breakthroughs including the introduction of color and completely digital animation production.

1900s-1929

Year Animated Film Event

1906 J. Stuart Blackton’s “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” is released. It is a three-minute short in which Blackton creates animating drawings of faces and people against a plain blackboard.

1908 The first short comprised solely of animated images Emile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie” premieres in Paris.

1908 “Humpty Dumpty Circus” marks the first use of stop-motion animation on film.

1914 Earl Hurd invents the process of cell animation, which would revolutionize and dominate the industry for much of the 20th century.

1914 “Gertie the Dinosaur” is widely considered the first animated short to feature a distinguishable character. Cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay brings a walking, dancing dinosaur to life.

1917 The first feature-length animated film, Quirino Cristiani’s “El Apostol,” is released. Unfortunately, ​the only known copy was destroyed in a fire.

1919 Felix the Cat makes his debut and becomes the first famous animated cartoon character.

1920 The first color cartoon, John Randolph Bray’s “The Debut of Thomas Cat,” is released.

1922 Walt Disney animates his first animated short, “Little Red Riding Hood.” Though initially thought lost, a copy was found and restored in 1998.

1928 Mickey Mouse makes his debut. Though the first Mickey Mouse cartoon is technically the six-minute short “Plane Crazy,” the first Mickey Mouse short to be distributed is “Steamboat Willie,” which is also the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound.

1929 Disney’s iconic line of animated shorts, “Silly Symphonies,” kicks off its prolific run with “The Skeleton Dance.”

1930s-1949

Year Animated Film Event

1930 Betty Boop debuts as a woman/dog hybrid in the short “Dizzy Dishes.”

1930 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes makes its debut with “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub.”

1931 Quirino Cristiani’s “Peludopolis,” which tells the story of a military coup against a corrupt president, boasts the first instance of sound within a feature-length animated film. There are no surviving copies of the movie in existence.

1932 The first full-color, three-strip Technicolor animated short, “Flowers and Trees,” is released. The film wins Disney the first-ever Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

1933 “King Kong,” which features several stop-motion animated characters, is released.

1933 Ub Iwerks invents the multiplane camera, which allows animators to create a three-dimensional effect within two-dimensional cartoons.

1935 The Russian film “The New Gulliver” becomes the first full-length feature to employ stop-motion animation for the bulk of its running time.

1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Walt Disney’s first full-length animated feature and the first such production to emerge out of the United States, is released. It becomes a huge box office success and Disney was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for the achievement.

1938 Bugs Bunny makes his debut in “Porky’s Hare Hunt,” though the character wasn’t named until 1941.

1940 Tom the cat launches his unending pursuit of Jerry the mouse in the Oscar-nominated short “Puss Gets the Boot.”

1940 Woody Woodpecker arrives on the scene with a small role in the Andy Panda cartoon “Knock, Knock.”

1941 The first full-length animated musical, “Mr. Bug Goes to Town,” is released.

1946 Disney’s first live-action film, “Song of the South,” is released and boasts several animated interludes. Because of its controversial depiction of the African-American character Uncle Remus, the film has never been released on home media in the United States.

1949 Prolific stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen makes his debut with the creation of the title character in “Mighty Joe Young.”

1972-Present

Year Animated Film Event

1972 Ralph Bakshi’s “Fritz the Cat” is released as the first X-rated animated feature in cinematic history.

1973 Computer-generated images are used for the very first time in a brief shot within “Westworld.”

1975 Revolutionary special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic is founded by George Lucas.

1982 “Tron” marks the first time that computer-generated images are used extensively in a film.

1986 Pixar’s first short, “Luxo Jr.,” is released. It is the first computer-animated short to receive an Academy Award nomination.

1987 “The Simpsons,” an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening airs. It is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.

1991 Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” becomes the first fully animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

1993 " Jurassic Park” becomes the first live-action film to feature photorealistic computer-animated creatures.

1995 The first computer-animated film, “Toy Story,” is released to theaters. The achievement is honored with a Special Achievement Academy Award.

1999 “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” marks the first film to use computer-generated imagery extensively and pervasively, in terms of its sets, special effects, and supporting characters.

2001 The Academy creates a Best Animated Feature category. “Shrek” is the first movie to win the Oscar.

2002 “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers " features the first photorealistic motion captured character for a film with Andy Serkis portraying Gollum.

2004 “The Polar Express” becomes the first fully-animated film to use motion capture technology to render all of its characters.

2005 “Chicken Little” becomes the first computer-animated film to be released in 3D.

2009 James Cameron’s groundbreaking “Avatar” is the first film to feature a fully computer-generated 3D photorealistic world.

2012 ParaNorman is the first 3D stop-motion animated film created with characters that are computer generated using 3D printing technology.

Biography of Walt Disney, Animator and Film Producer

The History of Warner Bros. Animation

The History of 3-D Movies

Disney’s Animated Classic Children’s Movies of the 1930s and 1940s

A Timeline of the History of Hollywood Horror Movies

Who Are the Best Disney Characters Who Never Speak?

The Funniest Animated Movies of All Time

A Brief History of 3-D Horror Movies

The 3 Types of Animated Films

The History of Hollywood’s Major Movie Studios

How Movies Went From Black and White to Color

The History of King Arthur on Film

The Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time

Academy Award for Best Cinematography: History and Rules

How Does a Film Qualify for the Best Picture Oscar?

The Most Important Movies of the 1950s

Home

Entertainment

Careers

Activities

Humor

About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy

LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies

You might assume that the animation revolution began in 1937 with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but actually, the genre has actually existed almost as long as its live-action counterpart.

This timeline through the decades outlines animation’s humble beginnings—from simple drawings on a blackboard and the first cartoon—to major technological breakthroughs including the introduction of color and completely digital animation production.

1900s-1929

Year Animated Film Event

1906 J. Stuart Blackton’s “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” is released. It is a three-minute short in which Blackton creates animating drawings of faces and people against a plain blackboard.

1908 The first short comprised solely of animated images Emile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie” premieres in Paris.

1908 “Humpty Dumpty Circus” marks the first use of stop-motion animation on film.

1914 Earl Hurd invents the process of cell animation, which would revolutionize and dominate the industry for much of the 20th century.

1914 “Gertie the Dinosaur” is widely considered the first animated short to feature a distinguishable character. Cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay brings a walking, dancing dinosaur to life.

1917 The first feature-length animated film, Quirino Cristiani’s “El Apostol,” is released. Unfortunately, ​the only known copy was destroyed in a fire.

1919 Felix the Cat makes his debut and becomes the first famous animated cartoon character.

1920 The first color cartoon, John Randolph Bray’s “The Debut of Thomas Cat,” is released.

1922 Walt Disney animates his first animated short, “Little Red Riding Hood.” Though initially thought lost, a copy was found and restored in 1998.

1928 Mickey Mouse makes his debut. Though the first Mickey Mouse cartoon is technically the six-minute short “Plane Crazy,” the first Mickey Mouse short to be distributed is “Steamboat Willie,” which is also the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound.

1929 Disney’s iconic line of animated shorts, “Silly Symphonies,” kicks off its prolific run with “The Skeleton Dance.”

1930s-1949

Year Animated Film Event

1930 Betty Boop debuts as a woman/dog hybrid in the short “Dizzy Dishes.”

1930 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes makes its debut with “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub.”

1931 Quirino Cristiani’s “Peludopolis,” which tells the story of a military coup against a corrupt president, boasts the first instance of sound within a feature-length animated film. There are no surviving copies of the movie in existence.

1932 The first full-color, three-strip Technicolor animated short, “Flowers and Trees,” is released. The film wins Disney the first-ever Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

1933 “King Kong,” which features several stop-motion animated characters, is released.

1933 Ub Iwerks invents the multiplane camera, which allows animators to create a three-dimensional effect within two-dimensional cartoons.

1935 The Russian film “The New Gulliver” becomes the first full-length feature to employ stop-motion animation for the bulk of its running time.

1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Walt Disney’s first full-length animated feature and the first such production to emerge out of the United States, is released. It becomes a huge box office success and Disney was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for the achievement.

1938 Bugs Bunny makes his debut in “Porky’s Hare Hunt,” though the character wasn’t named until 1941.

1940 Tom the cat launches his unending pursuit of Jerry the mouse in the Oscar-nominated short “Puss Gets the Boot.”

1940 Woody Woodpecker arrives on the scene with a small role in the Andy Panda cartoon “Knock, Knock.”

1941 The first full-length animated musical, “Mr. Bug Goes to Town,” is released.

1946 Disney’s first live-action film, “Song of the South,” is released and boasts several animated interludes. Because of its controversial depiction of the African-American character Uncle Remus, the film has never been released on home media in the United States.

1949 Prolific stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen makes his debut with the creation of the title character in “Mighty Joe Young.”

1972-Present

Year Animated Film Event

1972 Ralph Bakshi’s “Fritz the Cat” is released as the first X-rated animated feature in cinematic history.

1973 Computer-generated images are used for the very first time in a brief shot within “Westworld.”

1975 Revolutionary special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic is founded by George Lucas.

1982 “Tron” marks the first time that computer-generated images are used extensively in a film.

1986 Pixar’s first short, “Luxo Jr.,” is released. It is the first computer-animated short to receive an Academy Award nomination.

1987 “The Simpsons,” an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening airs. It is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.

1991 Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” becomes the first fully animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

1993 " Jurassic Park” becomes the first live-action film to feature photorealistic computer-animated creatures.

1995 The first computer-animated film, “Toy Story,” is released to theaters. The achievement is honored with a Special Achievement Academy Award.

1999 “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” marks the first film to use computer-generated imagery extensively and pervasively, in terms of its sets, special effects, and supporting characters.

2001 The Academy creates a Best Animated Feature category. “Shrek” is the first movie to win the Oscar.

2002 “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers " features the first photorealistic motion captured character for a film with Andy Serkis portraying Gollum.

2004 “The Polar Express” becomes the first fully-animated film to use motion capture technology to render all of its characters.

2005 “Chicken Little” becomes the first computer-animated film to be released in 3D.

2009 James Cameron’s groundbreaking “Avatar” is the first film to feature a fully computer-generated 3D photorealistic world.

2012 ParaNorman is the first 3D stop-motion animated film created with characters that are computer generated using 3D printing technology.

Biography of Walt Disney, Animator and Film Producer

The History of Warner Bros. Animation

The History of 3-D Movies

Disney’s Animated Classic Children’s Movies of the 1930s and 1940s

A Timeline of the History of Hollywood Horror Movies

Who Are the Best Disney Characters Who Never Speak?

The Funniest Animated Movies of All Time

A Brief History of 3-D Horror Movies

The 3 Types of Animated Films

The History of Hollywood’s Major Movie Studios

How Movies Went From Black and White to Color

The History of King Arthur on Film

The Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time

Academy Award for Best Cinematography: History and Rules

How Does a Film Qualify for the Best Picture Oscar?

The Most Important Movies of the 1950s

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies

1930s-1949

Year Animated Film Event

1930 Betty Boop debuts as a woman/dog hybrid in the short “Dizzy Dishes.”

1930 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes makes its debut with “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub.”

1931 Quirino Cristiani’s “Peludopolis,” which tells the story of a military coup against a corrupt president, boasts the first instance of sound within a feature-length animated film. There are no surviving copies of the movie in existence.

1932 The first full-color, three-strip Technicolor animated short, “Flowers and Trees,” is released. The film wins Disney the first-ever Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

1933 “King Kong,” which features several stop-motion animated characters, is released.

1933 Ub Iwerks invents the multiplane camera, which allows animators to create a three-dimensional effect within two-dimensional cartoons.

1935 The Russian film “The New Gulliver” becomes the first full-length feature to employ stop-motion animation for the bulk of its running time.

1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Walt Disney’s first full-length animated feature and the first such production to emerge out of the United States, is released. It becomes a huge box office success and Disney was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for the achievement.

1938 Bugs Bunny makes his debut in “Porky’s Hare Hunt,” though the character wasn’t named until 1941.

1940 Tom the cat launches his unending pursuit of Jerry the mouse in the Oscar-nominated short “Puss Gets the Boot.”

1940 Woody Woodpecker arrives on the scene with a small role in the Andy Panda cartoon “Knock, Knock.”

1941 The first full-length animated musical, “Mr. Bug Goes to Town,” is released.

1946 Disney’s first live-action film, “Song of the South,” is released and boasts several animated interludes. Because of its controversial depiction of the African-American character Uncle Remus, the film has never been released on home media in the United States.

1949 Prolific stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen makes his debut with the creation of the title character in “Mighty Joe Young.”

1972-Present

Year Animated Film Event

1972 Ralph Bakshi’s “Fritz the Cat” is released as the first X-rated animated feature in cinematic history.

1973 Computer-generated images are used for the very first time in a brief shot within “Westworld.”

1975 Revolutionary special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic is founded by George Lucas.

1982 “Tron” marks the first time that computer-generated images are used extensively in a film.

1986 Pixar’s first short, “Luxo Jr.,” is released. It is the first computer-animated short to receive an Academy Award nomination.

1987 “The Simpsons,” an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening airs. It is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.

1991 Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” becomes the first fully animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

1993 " Jurassic Park” becomes the first live-action film to feature photorealistic computer-animated creatures.

1995 The first computer-animated film, “Toy Story,” is released to theaters. The achievement is honored with a Special Achievement Academy Award.

1999 “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” marks the first film to use computer-generated imagery extensively and pervasively, in terms of its sets, special effects, and supporting characters.

2001 The Academy creates a Best Animated Feature category. “Shrek” is the first movie to win the Oscar.

2002 “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers " features the first photorealistic motion captured character for a film with Andy Serkis portraying Gollum.

2004 “The Polar Express” becomes the first fully-animated film to use motion capture technology to render all of its characters.

2005 “Chicken Little” becomes the first computer-animated film to be released in 3D.

2009 James Cameron’s groundbreaking “Avatar” is the first film to feature a fully computer-generated 3D photorealistic world.

2012 ParaNorman is the first 3D stop-motion animated film created with characters that are computer generated using 3D printing technology.

1972-Present

Year Animated Film Event

1972 Ralph Bakshi’s “Fritz the Cat” is released as the first X-rated animated feature in cinematic history.

1973 Computer-generated images are used for the very first time in a brief shot within “Westworld.”

1975 Revolutionary special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic is founded by George Lucas.

1982 “Tron” marks the first time that computer-generated images are used extensively in a film.

1986 Pixar’s first short, “Luxo Jr.,” is released. It is the first computer-animated short to receive an Academy Award nomination.

1987 “The Simpsons,” an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening airs. It is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.

1991 Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” becomes the first fully animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

1993 " Jurassic Park” becomes the first live-action film to feature photorealistic computer-animated creatures.

1995 The first computer-animated film, “Toy Story,” is released to theaters. The achievement is honored with a Special Achievement Academy Award.

1999 “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” marks the first film to use computer-generated imagery extensively and pervasively, in terms of its sets, special effects, and supporting characters.

2001 The Academy creates a Best Animated Feature category. “Shrek” is the first movie to win the Oscar.

2002 “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers " features the first photorealistic motion captured character for a film with Andy Serkis portraying Gollum.

2004 “The Polar Express” becomes the first fully-animated film to use motion capture technology to render all of its characters.

2005 “Chicken Little” becomes the first computer-animated film to be released in 3D.

2009 James Cameron’s groundbreaking “Avatar” is the first film to feature a fully computer-generated 3D photorealistic world.

2012 ParaNorman is the first 3D stop-motion animated film created with characters that are computer generated using 3D printing technology.

  • Biography of Walt Disney, Animator and Film Producer

  • The History of Warner Bros. Animation

  • The History of 3-D Movies

  • Disney’s Animated Classic Children’s Movies of the 1930s and 1940s

  • A Timeline of the History of Hollywood Horror Movies

  • Who Are the Best Disney Characters Who Never Speak?

  • The Funniest Animated Movies of All Time

  • A Brief History of 3-D Horror Movies

  • The 3 Types of Animated Films

  • The History of Hollywood’s Major Movie Studios

  • How Movies Went From Black and White to Color

  • The History of King Arthur on Film

  • The Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time

  • Academy Award for Best Cinematography: History and Rules

  • How Does a Film Qualify for the Best Picture Oscar?

  • The Most Important Movies of the 1950s

Biography of Walt Disney, Animator and Film Producer

Biography of Walt Disney, Animator and Film Producer

The History of Warner Bros. Animation

The History of Warner Bros. Animation

The History of 3-D Movies

The History of 3-D Movies

Disney’s Animated Classic Children’s Movies of the 1930s and 1940s

Disney’s Animated Classic Children’s Movies of the 1930s and 1940s

A Timeline of the History of Hollywood Horror Movies

A Timeline of the History of Hollywood Horror Movies

Who Are the Best Disney Characters Who Never Speak?

Who Are the Best Disney Characters Who Never Speak?

The Funniest Animated Movies of All Time

The Funniest Animated Movies of All Time

A Brief History of 3-D Horror Movies

A Brief History of 3-D Horror Movies

The 3 Types of Animated Films

The 3 Types of Animated Films

The History of Hollywood’s Major Movie Studios

The History of Hollywood’s Major Movie Studios

How Movies Went From Black and White to Color

How Movies Went From Black and White to Color

The History of King Arthur on Film

The History of King Arthur on Film

The Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time

The Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time

Academy Award for Best Cinematography: History and Rules

Academy Award for Best Cinematography: History and Rules

How Does a Film Qualify for the Best Picture Oscar?

How Does a Film Qualify for the Best Picture Oscar?

The Most Important Movies of the 1950s

The Most Important Movies of the 1950s

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