First animated cartoon. The very first cartoon in the world: history and facts

When children sit down to watch another colorful cartoon, they do not even think about what the very first cartoons in the world were like. The history of animation is very interesting and ambiguous, and it is fraught with not only color films for children, but also black and white works without sound.

In this material, you will learn about the first foreign and Soviet cartoons that appeared on blue screens in the last century.

Today Youtube (YouTube) is flooded with modern cartoons with interesting characters and instructive overtones. Remember at least the tape "Shrek". The terrible green ogre has turned into a cute and childishly naive giant, thanks to the love and care of his beloved. However, for more than a hundred years, the first cartoons did not look so spectacular at all.

We offer a look into the past of animation to find out how it all began, what is the oldest cartoon in the world watched not only by children, but also by their parents, and what contribution the legendary Walt Disney made to the development of animated films for children. What is the name of the first European black and white film for children? When was the first 3D cartoon in the world and in Russia released?

When did the world's first cartoon come out

The history of world animation begins before 1900. Stuart Blackton along with Thomas Edison made "moving pictures", and after that the resulting pictures were filmed.

American works

The first animated films began to be created in America. At the dawn of the twentieth century (in 1900), the world's first silent short cartoon is released. "Enchanted Drawing" Stuart Blackton. It is he who is considered the progenitor of American animation.

Animation followed. "Funny transitions of funny faces" released in 1906. She gathered in the cinema hall not only kids, but also adults, because it contained an interesting and even philosophical overtones. The show of the cartoon was accompanied by the pianist's playing, and entire orchestras played in the large halls of America.

The very first cartoons in the world had more in common with newspaper comics than with modern animation. One of the first works with a cartoon animal character was a twelve-minute tape about a female Hertidinosaur.

The first European cartoons

In 1908, the French cartoonist Emile Cole began to actively study graphic animation. It was during this period that he creates his first work, the title of which is - "Phantasmagoria". This tape became a landmark, as Emil was the first to create a cartoon with a clear plot. Also, a distinctive feature of the black and white tape was that the main character Fantosh was endowed with certain character traits.

This is interesting: to create his first two-minute cartoon, Emil needed to make about 700 drawings.

In honor of the centenary "Phantasmagoria" Serbian director Rastko Ciric released a remake of the cartoon, which had the same name. In the new work, not only hand-drawn, but also computer animation techniques were used.

Walt Disney's first cartoons

Remembering the colorful animated films of Disney immediately comes to mind "The Lion King" and a legend that is known in every corner of the globe - Mickey Mouse.

However, few people know that one of the very first works of Disney was a black and white cartoon. "Alice's Day at Sea". This picture, based on the events of the work "Alice in Wonderland", was released in 1924. The very first cartoon in Walt Disney's career was "Laughogram"(1921). The next work, which also remained unfamiliar to modern kids, is "Lucky Bunny Oswald".

Speaking about the first works of Walt Disney, one cannot fail to mention the animated film in which the world-famous mouse appeared for the first time. Mickey Mouse. The character flashed on the screens back in 1928 in a black and white cartoon "Crazy Plane". In the same year, Mickey became the hero of the first sound film for children - "Steamboat Willie". It was at that time that love for a cute and funny little mouse began to emerge in the kids of the whole world. By the way, originally they wanted to call it Mortimer.

Disney's first feature length cartoon "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"- came out at the end of 1937. It was he who brought his creator worldwide fame and success, and in addition, 8 million dollars.

Interesting fact: for this tape, Walt Disney received one big Oscar and seven small figurines (just the number of gnomes). Despite being released 80 years ago, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is still considered one of the best animated films ever made by Disney.

Animation, which is familiar to us, came to the USSR much later. At first she was a puppet. And the first Soviet children's cartoon is considered to be the work of choreographer Alexander Shiryaev, created in 1906. The primitive cartoon shows the audience 12 dancing figures who perform all kinds of ballet steps against the backdrop of motionless scenery.

This is interesting: for three months of creating the first Soviet puppet cartoon, Alexander Shiryaev rubbed a hole in the parquet with his feet.

Who would have thought that the first animated work of the times of the USSR was not intended at all for the entertainment of children. In 1924, documentary filmmaker David Abelevich Kaufman decided to create a cartoon film about the history of the formation of the Soviet Union. For 10 minutes, peasants, workers, Red Army soldiers, an impudent bourgeois and priests flash on the screen. Against the backdrop of constantly changing music, the plot of the cartoon develops. "Soviet toys", at the end of which the Red Army soldiers hang their enemies on the Christmas tree. In this animated film, the tree has become a symbol of the birth of a bright future.

This was followed by another series of animated films telling about the most important historical events in the life of the Soviet Union. However, Ivan Petrovich, who is considered the progenitor of domestic animation, departed from the topic of propaganda. He created a simple short film for children called "Ice rink". Its plot is very ordinary and, nevertheless, instructive. A young skater, escaping from a chase, accidentally becomes a champion.

Interesting fact: many people who have seen foreign films for children as adults underestimate Soviet cartoons, preferring the colorful and magical works of Disney. However, the patriarch of Soyuzmultfilm, Leonid Shvartsmaan, is offended by this attitude. In one of his interviews, he says that Disney was his teacher. It was he who introduced the conveyor method of production, which was adopted by Soviet animators.

The first full-length cartoon of the USSR "New Gulliver" came out in 1935. This satirical animated picture by Alexander Ptushko was created based on the work of J. Swift "The Adventures of Gulliver". The film shows a classic picture of life in the times of the USSR: the working class of midgets is fighting against rotten capitalism in the face of the secret police and the puppet king.

The very first color works

And once again, everyone's favorite creator of the fairy-tale world, Disney, enters the arena. It was Walt Disney Studios that produced the world's first cartoon in color in 1932. It is noteworthy that initially the short film "Flowers and Trees" Shot in classic black and white.

However, Walt Disney decided to take a chance and remade the children's film using a three-color process - "Tricolor". This is a simple and at the same time touching story about a revived forest and its inhabitants. And the main character of the tape - young Maple - even modern children have a lot to learn.

The very first color cartoon in the world won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. After that, several more color cartoons were released in the Silly Symphonies series.

The first Russian color work "Fox and Wolf" saw the light in 1936. Few people know that the director was the artist of Jewish origin Sarra Mokil. Already from the name itself it becomes clear that the woman took the Russian folk tale of the same name as the basis for the plot.

The very first 3D cartoon in the world

The end of the era of 2D animation came in 2004, after the legendary Disney released his latest work in the usual format - "Don't hit with a hoof".

Now both adults and children are divided into two categories. Some recall their favorite cartoons with hand-drawn graphics with nostalgia, while others consider it a relic of the past and praise children's 3D films in every possible way. Well, the choice is made by each person independently. We want to tell you about the first 3D cartoon. Many naively believe that he appeared some 5-10 years ago.

Let's mentally fast-forward to 1984. It was at this time that a short cartoon from Pixar came out on the screens - "The Adventure of Andre and Wally the Bee"(but then the company was called Lucasfilm).

The first full-length animated 3D film was released in 1995. Probably, many people remember the cartoon, which has already become a classic - "Toy Story". With the support of Steve Jobs, Pixar set about creating a cult story. I must say that the workflow was very long and tedious. And the point is not only in technical difficulties, but also in the scrupulousness of the Pixar curator to the details. The expert did not hesitate to change the characters' characters and the line of relationships between them.

The use of computer animation allowed the creators of the legendary "Toy Stories" create shots that are difficult to shoot with traditional animation. For example, the imposition of complex shadows.

Did you know: after the release "Toy Stories" over 250 3D cartoons have been released.

In Russia, the first 3D cartoon was released in 2010. The Center for National Film Studio has created a fascinating story called "Belka and Strelka. Star Dogs». The animated film is dedicated to the "veterans" of outer space, who were accepted into the cosmonaut corps.

World animation has come a thorny path from primitive drawings to full-fledged animated 3D films. We are sure that in the near future there will be even more innovative technologies for creating cartoons that will allow young viewers to watch what is happening on the screen or monitor without taking their eyes off and holding their breath.

Information for writing material and photos were taken from free sources (including Wikipedia).

Examples of the first cartoons

Phantasmagoria (1908)

"Crazy Plane" - Mickey Mouse (1928)

The childhood of modern children is inextricably linked with cartoons. But there was a time when animation was only in its infancy. Today we will talk about the first cartoon in the world.

What cartoon was the first in the world?

It is not easy to answer this question. There are two contenders. The first - Stuart Blackton, in 1906 created the first such picture. These were drawings in motion, captured on film, the action was called "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces." In it, the viewer watches the characters drawn in chalk on a blackboard. Blackton got a taste of it and a year later presented "The Haunted Hotel" - a movie diluted with cartoon elements. His creations claimed the title of the very first cartoon in the world, but it was difficult to call them full-fledged.

This picture was created by another person - an artist from France, Emil Cohl. He released "Phantasmagoria" - a small short film lasting only one and a half minutes. However, she demanded effort from him - she had to draw more than seven hundred illustrations. When did this very first cartoon come out in the world? The audience saw it in 1908, and the picture looked good for those years.

The plot is strange, it is not easy for the average viewer to understand it. The protagonist Fantosh is sitting in the theater, a fat woman in a headdress with feathers sits in front of him. This hinders him, Fantosh first pulls out the feathers, then throws out his hat, and in the final - sets fire to the lady's hair. The plot changes - Fantosh is trying to steal something from a man, he is detained by the police. Further, the hero continues to fall into various interesting situations.

An interesting fact: in 2008, Phantasmagoria was re-shot, and in the new version, the old character meets his modern version. Although the animated film was made using computer technology, fragments of the forerunner remained in it.

Who was the first in Russia?

The very first cartoon in Russia, which was shown in the world, was the picture "The Beautiful Lucanida, or the Struggle of the Mustaches with the Stags". It was directed by Vladislav Starevich. The main characters are beetles, the plot is a battle between two males for a female. The author was a biologist, which influenced his choice. The tape aroused the surprise of the audience - both Russian and foreign.

For those who want to know the name of the very first Soviet cartoon in the world, we will answer: “Soviet toys”. Photographed by David Kaufman. Like the subsequent animated developments of those years, this picture had a propaganda plot: the proletariat and the Red Army were defeating the bourgeois and priests in every way. Everything ends with fireworks and the image of a New Year tree, on which enemies of the people are hung. Note that propaganda motives persisted in Soviet animation for quite a long time - even in the animated adaptation of Gulliver's Adventures in 1935, the main character wore a pioneer tie.

Pioneer in color

The world's first color animated film was a representative of the series "Merry Symphonies" and it was called "Flowers and Trees". It was tri-color, bright and beautiful, in this creation of the Disney studio, Schubert's music played. Short - the duration of the film was 7.5 minutes. That was enough to win an Oscar. Soviet colleagues belatedly responded - a three-color puppet animated film "The Fox and the Wolf" was released in 1936. The tape was also musical, but the duration was longer than that of Western competitors, viewing took 18 minutes.

First 3D cartoon

The world's first 3D cartoon - "The Adventures of Andre and Wally the Bee", filmed in 1984. It was a computer animation with three-dimensional graphics, duration - 2 minutes. The main characters are a man and a bee, who walk through the morning forest. It was three-dimensional thanks to animator John Lasseter, who was greatly impressed by the film Tron. Later, this person will create the Pixar studio and will direct the cartoon - Toy Story. It will be the first full-length animated film with three-dimensional graphics.

Ancestor of anime

The Japanese have been making anime for a long time, the genre is firmly established in their culture and has achieved popularity in other countries of the world. Animated films in this style are produced in different genres. The first such was created in 1907, the author is unknown. Very short - the duration is only three seconds. The boy in motion lays out the word cinema in hieroglyphs and takes off his hat. Later, others began to appear, the duration of which ranged from 1 to 5 minutes. The name of the world's first memorable two-minute anime-style cartoon is "Dumb Samurai Sword". It is about a rustic hero who bought defective weapons.

Now you know a little more about the first cartoons in the world. Progress continues and technology improves, but these films will remain in history as the first steps of people in the field of animation.

The history of cinema is truly interesting, because in our time, modern high-tech special effects work real miracles: films amaze with their plausibility so much that viewers literally feel like they are in the course of the events of the film! However, this was not always the case, and in order to achieve the results that each of us sees in the cinema now, artists have been striving for this for decades. We offer a glimpse of where it all began!

THE VERY FIRST FILM IN THE WORLD - 1895

The beginning of the era of cinema was laid precisely by this documentary short film, which was shot by the Lumiere brothers, called " Train arriving at La Ciotat station. Since then, Auguste Louis Marie Nicolas and Louis Jean are considered the founders of cinema. Despite the uncomplicated plot, the picture shocked everyone, because before that people could not imagine that sitting in the room in front of them would pass a real wagon train.

French director Georges Méliès.

THE VERY FIRST HORROR FILM IN THE WORLD - 1896

It is difficult to surprise the modern viewer, and even more so to scare, but because he has already been spoiled. But everything happens for the first time, like the first "horror" on the planet. Sure, the 19th century special effects look funny now, with people appearing and disappearing in clouds of smoke, and bats suddenly fluttering out from behind the edge of the set, but "Devil's Castle" officially considered the world's first horror story.

American cartoonist Stuart Blackton.

THE VERY FIRST CARTOON IN THE WORLD #1 - 1906

And for the title of the very first cartoon in the world, 2 contenders are fighting at once: Stuart Blackton and Emil Kolya. In fact, the very first was " Humorous phases of funny faces", where the characters come to life with the help of the artist's hand - it was shown to the public already in 1906 in France.

THE VERY FIRST CARTOON IN THE WORLD #2 - 1908

Despite the top multimedia film, scientists recognized the picture " Phantasmagoria" the very first full-fledged hand-drawn cartoons in history. During the creation of a 1.5 minute cartoon, 700 drawings were required!

Directed by Alan Crosland. USA.

THE VERY FIRST FILM IN THE WORLD WITH SOUND - 1927

musical film "Jazz Singer" became the first full-length movie with sound in history, which means that it was in 1927 that the silent film era ended. 88 minutes long, it took huge money for that time, 422 thousand dollars, to create it.

Director: Dziga Vertov. THE USSR.

THE VERY FIRST CARTOON IN RUSSIA - 1924

The first animated film in Russia "Soviet toys", was created as propaganda for the Soviet system. The main roles are played by a greedy and morally decaying bourgeois, whose belly is full of money, but at the end there is a happy ending for everyone: a Red Army soldier appears, and all the proletarians formed a New Year tree, on which the enemies of Soviet society hung in the form of toys ...

Armenian director Ruben Mamulyan.

OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED THE VERY FIRST COLOR FILM IN THE WORLD - 1935

Surprisingly, the Lumiere brothers came up with color cinema (they painted each frame by hand), then in 1902 the film "Journey to the Moon" was released, where green and red tones appeared in several frames, in 1917 and 1922 the first films of Herbert Calamus - the founder company "Technicolor" and the founder of color cinematography, 1925 film of the USSR "Battleship Potemkin" with splashes of red..

But apparently scientists found out about this too late, but because "Becky Sharp" 1935 is officially recognized as the very first color film in the world.

The Walt Disney Company.

THE FIRST DISNEY CARTOON - MARCH 1, 1924

The very first cartoon of the legendary and beloved Disney animation studio was the debut "Alice's Day at Sea" based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. By the way, even now the picture is interesting to watch.

Dedicated to International Animation Day!

Can you and your children imagine life without cartoons? But just 100 years ago, kids did not know what it was. Animation, although it appeared in the 19th century, began with very adult stories. And the father of animation Walt Disney himself took up the first cartoons for children. And in general, so much in the history of these "first" cartoons.

So we decided to tell you about them. The first color, the first plasticine, the first full-length cartoons - what were they like? We have already told you about many of these paintings in. But the topic is so vast that you can return to it and return to it, simply by changing the angle of view. So let's take a look at the pioneers in the world of animation from 1898 to the present day!

The first cartoon in the world

The first cartoon in the world is considered to be The Humpty Dumpty Circus, which was shown to a small circle of viewers in 1898. Its creators are John Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith. This cartoon was a puppet cartoon, it used wooden toys. It was filmed in the simplest way: a frame - a rearrangement of toys - a new frame.

Things that moved on the screen "independently" then were a real miracle, striking the imagination of inexperienced viewers. Recall that the "Arrival of the Train" by the Lumiere brothers was released just 2 years before. Unfortunately, the recording of the cartoon "Lilliputian Circus" has not survived to this day, only a photograph of the scenery.

First cartoon drawn

In 1900, the same Blackton presented the audience with a two-minute video entitled "The Enchanted Drawing". It's hard to say whether it's a cartoon or not. On the screen, we see a person who draws a portrait. But the facial expression of the portrait changes on its own with the help of gluing frames. In 1906, Blackton made another similar cartoon, The Comic Phases of Funny Faces. But in these cartoons there was neither a hero nor a plot.

Source: Maxim Ikhsanov

Therefore, the first full-fledged cartoon is still considered "Phantasmagoria" by the French inventor Emile Cohl. This cartoon was shown in cinemas in 1908, it already had a minimal development of the plot and its own hero, whose actions can form an opinion about the character. The two-minute tape made an impression on the audience, the animation began its long journey.

Source: classiccartoon

"The Beautiful Lucanida, or the War of the Horned Bears" was created by Vladislav Starevich in 1912. By the way, this is also the first animated satire! Starevich made his cartoon a parody of the dominance of pseudo-historical plots from aristocratic life in the cinema of that time.

In the center of the plot is a love triangle, against which the same battle of stags with barbels takes place. The legs and arms of the beetles were made of wire and attached to the bodies with wax. By the way, not everyone understood that the beetles are not alive. Many newspapers admired the diligence of the "bug" trainer.

First plasticine cartoon

Around the same time, the first plasticine cartoons were created, the American Willis H. O'Brien worked on them. It is difficult to name the first plasticine cartoon, but O'Brien's most famous work was the tape "10,000 years BC. e, published in 1916. This is a story about an insidious postman who, having decided to discredit his competitor, forged a message to a girl. And instead of declarations of love, she received insults. The opponent, having learned about this, severely punishes the offender with the help of a dinosaur (guess how). Excellent work, but, unfortunately, plasticine animation was much more expensive than hand-drawn animation, and therefore its development stopped right up to the 50s.

First feature-length cartoon

The first "big" cartoon was created in 1917 in Argentina, directed by Quirino Cristiani. It was also not for children, animation was then a way to amuse the adult audience. The cartoon "Apostle" was a satirical story about the President of Argentina, who went to heaven, wanted to save the city from immorality, but instead destroyed it. The cartoon ran for 69 minutes at 14 frames per second. He filmed Cristiani on the roof of his house, used building models and the relocation method in his work. It is unfortunate that the only copy of the film was burned in a fire almost 100 years ago. By the way, on account of Christiani and the first full-length sound cartoon "Reludopolis" in 1931, which also has not been preserved.

Disney's first cartoon

Walt Disney's black-and-white silent film Alice at Sea can be called the studio's first cartoon. It was a combination of the acting of the actress and drawn inserts. Alice at Sea was released in March 1924, six months after the studio itself opened. And the mouse Mickey will appear at Disney only after 4 years in the short film Crazy Airplane.

First sound cartoon

Disney's Steamboat Willie (1928) was the first cartoon to have sound synchronized with the action. Before that, music was added to cartoons, sometimes sounds, but practically voiced characters ... Walt Disney was a pioneer here. By the way, the first sound film (“The Jazz Singer”) was created just a year before!

Source: Cinemania YT

First full-length puppet cartoon

In 1931, Reinecke the Fox, already known to us by Vladislav Starevich, appeared on the screens. It was black and white, silent, but was later dubbed into German (1937) and French (1941). The film ran for 65 minutes and told several stories about a cunning fox. For example, the familiar to us "Catch, fish, big and small!". The cartoon is still considered a classic of puppet animation. Look, it's really impressive.

Source: elephant

First color cartoon

The first color cartoon came out, of course, at Disney Studios. The cartoon "Flowers and Trees" appeared in the cinema in 1932, it was shown before the film "The Strange Break". The cartoon became the first winner of the "Oscar" award in the category of short cartoons, hitting the film academy with its brightness and novelty. It was originally filmed in black and white, but Walt Disney, having discovered the possibilities of the three-color Technicolor process, ordered the cartoon to be re-shot in color. And not in vain. And the first color film was released only in 1934. So the audience got acquainted with bright animation earlier than with color cinema.

Source: kids life show

The first cartoon of the Soyuzmultfilm studio

Once upon a time, Soyuzmultfilm was also called Soyuzdetmultfilm. And in 1936 the first cartoon of the studio was released - "It's hot in Africa." A short cartoon about how animals in Africa are languishing in the heat and want ice cream. The style of the cartoon reminds Disney of that time, which is not surprising. Then it was the only example of how to make children's cartoons.

First feature film to win an Oscar

Well, you know... Of course, Walt Disney left the stage in 1937 with the coveted statuette. More precisely, with one large figurine and seven small ones, since the cartoon won the award. This cartoon was a landmark for the development of animation - color, sound, plot, full-length ... Previously, all these things were not combined in one picture. So the Oscar for "innovation and excellence in animation" was well deserved!

Source: Tekusa.ru

First television animated series

In 1950, the animated series "Rabbit Crusader" appeared on television. It was the first animated series created specifically for television. He walked on the TV channels of the American television network DuMont. The episodes lasted only 5 minutes, but there were as many as 455 of them!

The first series, which came out from 50 to 52, were black and white, then the series began to be painted. The cartoon told short stories about a crusader rabbit who befriends a good-natured tiger. The rabbit constantly collides with other animals on the way and gets into various funny situations.