Animation History Timeline: 1832 to Today
The big moments in animation, in order. Follow the links on Fantastic Cartoon for the full story behind each one.
Poster for the Pantomimes Lumineuses, 1892: Chéret, Jules, 1836-1932, artist; Reynaud, Charles Emile, 1844-1918.; Paulin, Ga, Public domain
- 1832
Phenakistiscope
Joseph Plateau in Belgium and Simon Stampfer in Austria create spinning discs that make drawings appear to move.
- 1834
Zoetrope
William George Horner describes a slotted drum, later sold widely as the zoetrope.
- 1877
Praxinoscope
Emile Reynaud replaces slits with mirrors for a brighter moving image.
- 1892
Theatre Optique
Reynaud projects hand-painted animated stories in Paris on 28 October, now International Animation Day.
- 1906
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces
J. Stuart Blackton animates chalk drawings frame by frame on film.
- 1908
Fantasmagorie
Emile Cohl's all-drawn film is often called the first fully animated cartoon.
- 1914
Gertie the Dinosaur and the cel patent
Winsor McCay presents Gertie, and Earl Hurd patents drawing characters on transparent celluloid sheets.
- 1917
Rotoscope and first features
Max Fleischer's rotoscope patent is granted; in Argentina, Quirino Cristiani makes the first known animated feature, now lost; the first Japanese animated films appear.
- 1926
Prince Achmed
Lotte Reiniger's silhouette film, the oldest surviving animated feature.
- 1928
Steamboat Willie
Disney's synchronized sound cartoon makes Mickey Mouse a star.
- 1932
Flowers and Trees
First cartoon in full three-strip Technicolor and first Oscar for an animated short.
- 1937
Snow White and the multiplane camera
Disney's first feature and The Old Mill show new depth and ambition.
- 1949
The Road Runner
Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese create Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
- 1960
Annecy and prime time
The Annecy festival begins, and The Flintstones becomes the first animated series in American prime-time television.
- 1963
Astro Boy
Osamu Tezuka's series launches weekly half-hour TV anime in Japan.
- 1972
Annie Awards
ASIFA-Hollywood starts the Annie Awards.
- 1985
Studio Ghibli
Miyazaki, Takahata and Suzuki found the studio in Tokyo.
- 1988
Tin Toy and Roger Rabbit
Pixar's Tin Toy and Richard Williams's work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit push animation in new directions.
- 1995
Toy Story
The first feature made entirely with computer animation.
- 2002
A new Oscar
The Academy presents its first Best Animated Feature award.
- 2003
Spirited Away
Miyazaki's film wins the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
- 2006
Wallace and Gromit
Aardman's Curse of the Were-Rabbit wins Best Animated Feature at the ceremony.
- 2024
The Boy and the Heron
Miyazaki wins his second Best Animated Feature Oscar.
- 2025
Flow
The dialogue-free Latvian film Flow wins the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, a landmark for independent animation.
Oscar dates are ceremony years. Early dates for optical toys refer to when inventors first described or patented them.
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- Wikipedia: History of animation
- ASIFA: International Animated Film Association
- Library of Congress: Pantomimes lumineuses poster, 1892
Facts on this page were checked against these sources (updated Oct 13, 2026). Spot an error? Email hello@fireempireshop.com.