In Which Bridgette Succeeds in Keeping Things Short and Succinct as the History of Animation is Fascinating

I can’t remember if making themed blog posts is a class requirement or if I just decided it was a good idea on my own. Does it matter either way? I think not.

Anyhow the class I’m taking this month covers 3D modeling and animation so buckle up.

Today I wanted to, as briefly as I can, talk about the history of animation. Or a portion of it anyway. If I tried to cover all of it we’d be here for days.

It is generally considered, at least by those who believe all the lies Disney tells, that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first ever feature length animated film. It’s not! “Blasphemy!” You cry in outrage.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in 1937, but the first feature length animated film predates it by exactly 20 years. In 1917 the film El Apostol was released in Argentina, made by Quirino Cristiani. It was 70 minutes in length, ran at 14 frames per second, and used cutout animation. Cutout animation is essentially stop-motion using flat pieces of material for characters, props, and backgrounds.

The film was apparently a political satire about the President of Argentina. The film was unfortunately destroyed in a house fire and if there were any copies they have not survived either. I can’t say it’s necessarily a film I’d be dying to watch, but it makes me sad to think of how many films from that era have been lost or destroyed. There are probably an uncountable number of movies that were a huge part of film-making history that no one today will ever see.

And on that somber note, I must confess that I tried to lead you on. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs might not be the first ever feature length animated film, but it is still the first ever hand-drawn feature length animated film.

"It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish." J. R. R. Tolkien