Timeline

Gumby Episode Three: The Little Lost Pony

Filed under: animation, 1950s, Color, Stop Motion, U.S.A., 1957

Producer(s): Art Clokey

Release Date: 23/03/1957

"Gumby is watching television when he hears of a pony escaped from a nearby storybook. He finds the lost pony stuck to a train track while he's out playing, and learns that the pony, whose name is Pokey, is not really lost at all, just bored. Pokey ta..."

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – Prince Adam No More

Filed under: animation, 1980s, Action, Adventure, Color, Fantasy, Filmation, He-Man, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Rotoscope, Sci-fi, Superhero, U.S.A., 1983

Producer(s): Lou Scheimer

Release Date: 1983

"With only his closest comrades privy to his dual identity as both Prince and Defender of the Castle Grayskull, He-Man's double life seems an allegory for the closet. This episode, dubbed “Prince Adam No More,” is relevant to queer experience, com..."

Health for the Americas: Cleanliness Brings Health

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, James Algar, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, 1945

Producer(s): The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs

Release Date: 30/06/1945

""The comparison of two rural families to demonstrate the need for proper hygiene and the consequences of its neglect.""

Hell-Bent for Election

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Color, Cultural Industries, Propaganda, U.S.A., United Productions of America (UPA), World War 2 ( WW2 ), 1944

Producer(s): Stephen Bosustow

Release Date: 1944

"It's just a normal day for Joe, a railway worker, until he realizes that two trains - the Win the War Special and the Defeatist Limited - are on their way to the same tracks. While Joe is stuck deciding which one to let pass first, a wealthy-looking ..."

Hell’s Bells

Filed under: animation, 1920s, Silly Symphonies, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, 1929

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 30/10/1929

"In this Silly Symphony, we are introduced to the many creatures of Hell. Satan sits while creatures entertain him and feed him firemilk. When Satan tries to feed a little demon to his hound Cerberus, it runs away and kicks him off the cliff of Hell."

Hollywood Steps Out

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Cultural Industries, Merrie Melodies, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1941

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 24/05/1941

""A tour of Ciro's Nightclub packed with caricatures of many top stars.""

Humorous Phases of Funny Faces

Filed under: animation, 1900s, Silent, U.S.A., Vitagraph Studios, 1906

Release Date: 06/04/1906

"Often considered to be the earliest surviving U.S. animated film. The film follows chalkboard sketches that seemingly come to life."

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali-Episode 1: The Great Alligator

Filed under: animation, 1970s, Farmhouse Films, Floyd Norman, U.S.A., 1977

Producer(s): Janis Diamond Fred Calvert (executive producer)

Release Date: 10/09/1977

I Can Remember

Filed under: animation, 1970s, Color, Racial representation, Sesame Street, U.S.A., 1972

Producer(s): Sesame Street

Release Date: 15/11/1972

"An animated short from season four, episode eight of Sesame Street, a young girl is instructed by her mother to purchase a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter from the grocery store. "

I Love to Singa

Filed under: animation, 1930s, Animation Series, Color, Merrie Melodies, Musical, Technicolor, U.S.A., Warner Bros., 1936

Producer(s): Leon Schlesinger

Release Date: 18/07/1936

""A spoof of Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer", a strict piano teaching owl is cursed with a son who "loves to singa", but only jazz.""

In the Jungle There is Much to Do (En la Selva hay Mucho por Hacer) (1973)

Filed under: animation, 1970s, collage, Color, Musical, Technicolor, Uruguay, Walter Tournier, 1973

Release Date: ?/?/1973

"Inspired by a Uruguayan political prisoner’s letter to his daughter, In the Jungle There is Much to Do (El la Selva hay Mucho por Hacer) is a stop-motion musical animated short using the jungle animals' struggle for survival as a metaphorical expla..."

International Film Service

Filed under: studio, 1910s, 1920s, Krazy Kat, Silent, U.S.A., 1915

"A subsidiary of William Randolph Hearst's International News Service, IFS was created to translate popular comic strips of the day into cartoons, making them into "living comic strips", and intended to boost paper sales. Following the successes of hi..."

Interplanetary Revolution

Filed under: animation, 1920s, Cultural Industries, Russia, Stop Motion, 1924

Release Date: 08/18/1924

"Comrade Kominterov undertakes an intergalactic mission to defeat the capitalists and fascists of Mars, and beyond, in this experimental parody of Aelita (Protazanov, 1924)."

Isao Takahata (高畑 勲)

Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Anime, Color, Isao Takahata, Japan, Studio Ghibli, Technicolor, Director, Producer, Screenwriter

"Isao Takahata (高畑 勲, 1935-2018) is a Japanese, director, screenwriter and producer. He is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli alongside his lifetime friend Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿).  Takahata was born in Ise and grew up in Okayama where his h..."

Jam Handy Organization

Filed under: studio, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Color, Commercials, Early Sound, Educational films, Max Fleischer, Propaganda, Silent, Technicolor, Training films, U.S.A., World War 1 ( WW1 ), World War 2 ( WW2 ), 1914

"Jam Handy Organization was founded by Jam Handy just before the First World War. The company produced educational, advertising, and training films. During the First and Second World Wars, Jam Handy Organization animated and produced training and inst..."

Jan Švankmajer

Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Czech Republic, Krátký Film, Pixilation, Stop Motion, Animator, Artist, Director

"Jan Švankmajer is a Czechoslovakian surrealist artist, filmmaker and animator. His work revolves around the exploration of imaginative meanings within objects of the everyday specifically through their tactile qualities. Filled with grotesque imager..."

Jim Simon

Filed under: people, 1970s, 1980s, Educational films, Paramount Pictures, Sesame Street, U.S.A., Animation Designer, Animator, Artist, Background Artist, Studio Head, Writer

"Jim Simon is an artist and animator who created numerous commercials, public relation films, and entertainment and educational shorts during the 1970s and 1980s. Once dubbed “the Black Walt Disney” (even though he did not embrace the title), Simo..."

Jin Fuzai (金复载)

Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Anime, China, Jin Fuzai, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Technicolor, Composer, Soundtrack

"Jin Fuzai (金复载) is a Chinese composer known for creating numerous soundtracks for works by Sh..."

Jiří Trnka

Filed under: people, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Bratři v triku, Czech Republic, Fantasy, Jiří Trnka Studio, Puppetoons, Stop Motion, Studio kresleného a loutkového filmu, World War 2 ( WW2 ), Animator, Artist, Cartoonist, Cinematographer, Illustrator, Painter, Puppeteer, Set Designer

"Jiří Trnka was born in Pilsen (now Plzeň), Bohemia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire on February 24, 1912. He was a Czech animator and illustrator who specialized in stop-motion puppetry animation. While he was known for illustrating children’s ..."

John Whitney, Sr.

Filed under: people, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, U.S.A., Animator, Composer, Inventor

"John Whitney attended school at Pomona College, and in 1937, took a year in Paris to study twelve-tone composition under conductor René Leibowitz. Upon returning to America, he and his brother, James, began to make experimental films, initially work..."

Kaleidoscope

Filed under: animation, 1930s, Color, Direct Animation, Dufaycolor, Experimental, Gasparcolor, GPO Film Unit, Latin, Len Lye, London Film Society, New Zealand, Painted Animation, U.K., 1935

Producer(s): Gerald Noxon

Release Date: 27/10/1935

"Premiered at the London Film Society in 1935, Kaleidoscope is an early example of experimental animator Len Lye’s pioneering direct or “cameraless” animation techniques. The film’s notable use of stencil work illustrates Lye’s textile-like ..."

Kemp Powers

Filed under: people, 2010s, 2020s, 3D Animation, Anime, Pixar Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Animation, U.S.A., Director, Screenwriter

"Kemp Powers (1973-present) is an African-American director, screenwriter and playwright working for both animation and theatrical play. Powers worked as a journalist for 17 years before entering the film industry. He began writing for real-life wor..."

Kenzō Masaoka

Filed under: people, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Anime, Early Sound, Japan, Toei Animation Studio, Actor, Animator, Director, Producer, Special Effects Animator

"Masaoka was one of the first Japanese animators, who also trained and guided artists who would move on to become the next generation of animators. Masaoka is credited with creating the earliest anime using cel animation and recorded sound. He has als..."

Ko-Ko Trains ‘Em

Filed under: animation, 1920s, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Koko the Clown, Silent, U.S.A., 1925

Producer(s): Max Fleischer Alfred Weiss

Release Date: 09/05/1925

"Ko-Ko becomes jealous of Max's attention to his young ward and her dog, and tries to create a circus by training animals, then fleas."

Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus

Filed under: animation, 1910s, Animated film history and criticism, Krazy Kat, Silent, U.S.A., 1916

Producer(s): William Randolph Hearst

Release Date: 17/03/1916

"While at the circus, Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse enter into a rivalry over whether cats or mice are braver."

Krazy Kat Goes A-Wooing

Filed under: animation, 1910s, Early Sound, Krazy Kat, U.S.A., Vitagraph Studios, 1916

Release Date: 29/02/1916

Lambert the Sheepish Lion

Filed under: animation, 1950s, Color, Technicolor, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, 1952

Producer(s): Walt Disney

Release Date: 08/02/1952

"Lambert, a lion cub mistakenly delivered to a lonely ewe by a stork, struggles to fit in with a flock of sheep. Despite his ferocious appearance, the other lambs bully him, and he grows up shy, sensitive, and easily frightened. But his temperament is..."

Laugh-O-Gram Studio

Filed under: studio, 1920s, Silent, U.S.A., Walt Disney, 1922

"Walt Disney incorporated Laugh-O-Gram Films, Inc. in May 1922. He set up a studio on the second floor of the McConahy Building at Thirty-first and Forest in New York City. As Paul Terry had used Aesop's Fables for the basis of his cartoons, Disney us..."

Laverne Harding

Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Color, Daffy Duck, Early Sound, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Joe Barbera, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Oswald, Speedy Gonzales, Technicolor, The Road Runner, U.S.A., Walter Lantz, Walter Lantz Productions, Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker, Animator, Cartoonist, Comic Strip Artist

"Laverne Harding was the second female studio animator in history, and one of the first to receive onscreen credit for her work. She started out as an inker for the Walter Lantz Productions, moving on to do animation work for several of the Lantz Prod..."

Layaly Badr

Filed under: people, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s, Documentary, East Germany, Educational films, Egypt, Musical, Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization, Papercut, Animation Story Developer, Animator, Artist, Director, Filmmaker, Production Manager, Screenwriter

"Layaly Badr is a Palestinian-Jordinian screenwriter, artist, and animator. To this day she remains a role-model for women, children, and displaced Palestinians, utilizing film as a tool for education and advocacy (Nasr)."

Legend of the White Serpent (白蛇伝)(1958)

Filed under: animation, 1950s, Japan, Technicolor, Toei Animation Studio, 1958

Producer(s): Hiroshi Ôkawa

Release Date: 22/10/1958

"Legend of the White Serpent, also known as Hakujaden (白蛇伝), is the first feature-length animation produced by Toei Animation in Japan. Inspired by classical Chinese folklore, Hakujaden is a romantic tale of a white snake demon, Bai Niang, and a..."

Len Lye

Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 20th Century Studios, Australia, Britain, Color, Direct Animation, Dufaycolor, Experimental, Gasparcolor, GPO Film Unit, London Film Society, New Zealand, Painted Animation, Samoa, Time Inc., U.K., U.S.A., Animator, Artist, Director, Filmmaker, Producer, Screenwriter, Sculptor, Visual Artist

"Leonard Charles Huia Lye—more famously known as Len Lye—was born on July 5th, 1901, in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was a trailblazer in early-to-mid 20th century filmmaking, best known for his development of cameraless or “direct” animat..."

Leo D. Sullivan

Filed under: people, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Bob Clampett, Color, Educational films, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Racial representation, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Animation Designer, Animator, Art Director, Director, Educator, Producer

"Leo D. Sullivan began his career in 1959 after graduating from the Chouinard Art Institute. He first worked as an assistant to Warner Bros. producer Bob Clampett on the television show, Beany and Cecil. In 1965, Sullivan met fellow animator Floyd Nor..."

Leon Searl

Filed under: people, 1900s, 1910s, Krazy Kat, Silent, U.S.A., Animator, Cartoonist, Comic Strip Artist

"Leon Searl (whose name is alternatively spelt "Leon Searle") got his start as a newspaper cartoonist, first working for the Pulitzer Papers on the comic strip "Jimmy Johnnypants" from November of 1905 to February of 1906. He later went on to write at..."

Lillian Friedman Astor

Filed under: people, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, Early Sound, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, U.S.A., Animator

"Lilian Friedman Astor was the first American female studio animator and worked at Fleischer studios."

Lillian Friedman Astor

Filed under: people, 1930s, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Color, Dave Fleischer, Early Sound, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, Popeye, U.S.A., Animator

"Lillian Friedman Astor was born in New York City. She developed a passion for drawing as a preteen, and went on to attend Washington Irving High School, focusing on fashion design. After a brief stint as a fashion designer upon graduation, she sought..."

Lin Wenxiao (林文肖)

Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Anime, China, Cinecolor, Painted Animation, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Technicolor, Animation Designer, Animator, Artist, Director

"Lin Wenxiao (林文肖) is one of the greatest animators and directors in Early Chinese Animation. She is a former member of Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS, 上海美术电影制片厂) as well as International Animated Film Association (ASIFA)..."

Little Nemo/Watch Me Move

Filed under: animation, 1910s, 1911

Producer(s): Winsor McCay

Release Date: 08/04/1911

"Also called Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics, the cartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style."

Little School Mouse

Filed under: animation, 1950s, Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Technicolor, Tom and Jerry, 1954

Producer(s): Fred Quimby William Hanna and Joseph Barbera

Release Date: 29/05/1954

"With a diploma in outwitting cats in his arsenal, Jerry attempts to teach a younger mouse who keeps finding other means to achieve the tasks he is given."

Little Tora: The Abandoned Cat

Filed under: animation, 1940s, Anime, Japan, 1947

Producer(s): Nihon Doga Toho Kyoiku Eiga

Release Date: 25/09/1947

""A family of cats find a homeless kitten and take him in to their home. But one of the siblings becomes jealous about the attention the new cat gets from her mother and runs away from home. The new member of the family goes looking for her.""

Lou Scheimer

Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Filmation, He-Man, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, U.S.A., Animator, Art Director, Director, Producer, Voice Actor

"Louis "Lou" Scheimer was born on October 19th, 1928. He is best known for being the co-founder of American production company Filmation Associates—the leading company in TV animation throughout the 70s and 80s. The company was formed in 1962 alongs..."

Ludwig Bemelmans

Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Austria, hand-drawn, Madeline, U.S.A., United Productions of America (UPA), Animation Story Developer, Cartoonist, Illustrator, Writer

"Ludwig Bemelmans was an American children’s writer and illustrator who published over forty books in his lifetime but was also equally appreciated for his humorous illustrated stories for adults (“Ludwig Bemelmans). He is perhaps best known for c..."

Machi Uri no Shōjo

Filed under: animation, 1960s, Color, Japan, Stop Motion, Toei Animation Studio, 1967

Producer(s): Matsue Jinbo

Release Date: 1967

"Machi Uri no Shōjo / The Little Match Girl / マッチ売りの少女 (1967) is based on Danish author Hans Christian Andersen's 1845 fairy tale of the same name. The tragic tale depicts a young girl trying to sell matches on the street with her fat..."

Madeline

Filed under: animation, 1950s, Children's film, Classical, Jazz, Madeline, Technicolor, U.S.A., United Productions of America (UPA), 1952

Producer(s): John Hubley, Stephen Bosustow

Release Date: 27/11/1952

"An adaptation of Ludwig Bemelmans’ 1939 children’s novel of the same name, Madeline is a light-hearted animated short that follows twelve little girls attending a Paris boarding school under the care of a strict but well-meaning nun, Miss Clavel...."

Making ‘Em Move

Filed under: animation, 1930s, Early Sound, U.S.A., Van Beuren Corporation, 1931

Release Date: 1931

"A classic 1931's cartoon from Van Beuren Studios, Make 'Em Move depicts a mischievous female character whom stumbles in onto the scene of a cartoon factory bursting with drawings and jazz music. The animals depicted create animation much like themsel..."

Marcell Jankovics

Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Anime, Color, Hungary, Pannonia Studio, Technicolor, Animator, Character Designer, Director, Screenwriter, Writer

"Marcell Jankovics is a Hungarian animator, director, graphic artist, and writer. He was the former art director and managing director of Pannonia Film Studio in 1995 and 1996, the former president of the Hungarian Cultural Society in 1998 and the St...."

Margaret Mintz nee Winkler

Filed under: people, 1910s, 1920s, Oswald, Pat Sullivan Cartoons, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Animator, Producer

"A crucial figure in the history of the American animation industry, Margaret Winkler was the first woman to produce and distribute animated films, including early works of the Dave and