History Pioneers of Animation Dr Midori Kitagawa University

History: Pioneers of Animation Dr. Midori Kitagawa University of Texas at Dallas Arts and Technology Program

History: Pioneers of animation �J. Stuart Blackton (1875 -1941) �Winsor Mc. Cay (1867 -1934) �John Bray (1874 -1978) �Max Fleischer (1883 -1972) �Walt Disney (1901 -1966)

J. Stuart Blackton (1875 -1941) Father of animation �In 1896 as a reporter/artist for the New York Evening World newspaper, Blackton interviewed Thomas Edison �Became a "rapid-drawing cartoonist" for a series of Edison shorts.

J. Stuart Blackton (1875 -1941) Combined stop motion, puppetry, and live action �Enchanted Drawing, 1900 �Humorous Phases of Fanny Faces, 1906

Winsor Mc. Cay (1867 -1934) Father of character animation �Already well known for his newspaper cartoons “Little Nemo”, 1905 -1914

Winsor Mc. Cay (1867 -1934) Gave believability and personality to his hand -drawn characters �Gertie the Dinosaur, 1914 �Sinking of Lusitania, 1916

John Randolph Bray (1874 -1978) Founder of the animation industry �Reporter for the Detroit Evening News, 1901�In 1914 Bray’s partner Earl Hurd patented the use of clear cels over background �Hurd and Bray formed the Hurd and Bray Patent Company in 1914

John Randolph Bray (1874 -1978) Turned artistic work into an assembly-line production �With additional patents obtained by Bray, the company monopolized the animation process �The patents expired in 1932 �Much of what Bray claimed to have invented have been credited to Mc. Cay and others. �Colonel Heeza Liar’s, 1913

Max Fleischer (1883 -1972) Inventor of the rotoscope �A cartoonist and photographer for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle �Art director for the magazine Popular Science �Worked at Bray’s studio

Max Fleischer (1883 -1972) Rotoscope �Traces the movement of live actors, frame by frame

Max Fleischer (1883 -1972) Produced the first animation with a synchronized sound track in 1924 �Fleischer studio produced Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman cartoon series �Affected by the Hays Code in 1934 1933 1935 �Tantalizing Fly, 1919

Walt Disney (1901 -1966) Inventor of the family entertainment �Film producer, director, screen writer, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur �Greatly influenced 20 th century American culture

Walt Disney (1901 -1966) Father of Mickey Mouse �Steamboat Willie (1928) was not the first Mickey Mouse cartoon produced or released �Not the first sound cartoon either �The first sound cartoon that achieved wide commercial success

History: Pioneers of animation �“Disney’s memory belongs to the public; Max’s to those who remember him by choice. ” (Heraldson, 1975)

Midori Kitagawa, Ph. D. midori@utdallas. edu