An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn (or made with computers to look similar to something hand-drawn) film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot (even if it is a very short one). Cinemaaustraliajpg|thumb|A movie theater in Australia ]]A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre or cinema is a venue Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic This is distinct from the term "animation" or "animated film", as not all follow the definition. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames

Although cartoons can use many different types of animation, they all fall under the traditional animation category. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Traditional animation, also referred to as classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular

History

Main article: History of animation

Early examples of attempts to capture the phenomenon of motion into a still drawing can be found in paleolithic cave paintings, where animals are depicted with multiple legs in superimposed positions, clearly attempting to convey the perception of motion. A basic summary of animation past present and future The past Cave paintings Early examples of attempts to capture the phenomenon of motion into a In Physics, motion means a constant change in the location of a body The term Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic) (from Greek παλαιός palaios, " Old " and λίθος Lithos, "stone" Cave paintings are Paintings on Cave walls and ceilings and the term is used especially for those dating to Prehistoric times

The phenakistoscope, zoetrope and praxinoscope, as well as the common flip book, were early animation devices to produce movement from sequential drawings using technological means, but animation did not really develop much further until the advent of motion picture film. The phenakistoscope (also spelled phenakistiscope) was an early Animation device the predecessor of the Zoetrope. A zoetrope is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures The praxinoscope was an Animation device the successor to the Zoetrope. A flip book (sometimes especially in British English, flick book) is a Book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next so

The first animated cartoon (in the traditional sense, i. e. on film) was "Fantasmagorie" by the French director Émile Cohl. Émile Cohl ( January 4, 1857 – January 20, 1938) born Émile Eugène Jean Louis Courtet, was a French Caricaturist Released in 1908.

One of the very first successful animated cartoons was "Gertie the Dinosaur" by Winsor McCay. Gertie the Dinosaur is a 1914 short animated film by Winsor McCay that inspired many generations of animators to bring their cartoons to Winsor McCay ( September 26 1867 (? – July 26 1934) was an American Cartoonist and Animator. It is considered the first example of true character animation. Character animation is a specialized area of the Animation process concerning the animation of one or more characters featured in an animated work

Further information: Animation in the United States during the silent era

In the 1930s to 1960s, theatrical cartoons were produced in huge numbers, and usually shown before a feature film in a movie theater. Animated films in the United States date back to at least 1906 when Vitagraph released Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. In the Film industry, a feature film is a Film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening Cinemaaustraliajpg|thumb|A movie theater in Australia ]]A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre or cinema is a venue MGM, Disney, Paramount and Warner Brothers were the largest studios producing these 5 to 10-minute "shorts". Walt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company: Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner was established Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and

Further information: Hollywood Animation: The Golden Age

Competition from television drew audiences away from movie theaters in the late 1950s, and the theatrical cartoon began its decline. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Today, animated cartoons are produced mostly for television.

Technologies

A horse animated by rotoscoping from Edweard Muybridge's 19th century photos. Rotoscoping is an Animation technique in which Animators trace over live-action film movement frame by frame for use in Animated films Originally Eadweard J Muybridge ( April 9, 1830 &ndash May 8, 1904) was an English photographer, known primarily for his early use The animation consists of 8 drawings, which are "looped", i. e. repeated over and over.

The advent of film technology opened opportunities to develop the art of animation. The basic animation process is described in the article Animation, and the classic, hand-drawn technology in Traditional animation. Traditional animation, also referred to as classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular

At first, animated cartoons were black-and-white and silent. Black-and-white is a number of Monochrome forms in Visual arts. Felix the cat is a notable example. Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent-film era

The first cartoon with synchronized sound is often identified as Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie, starring Mickey Mouse in 1928, but Max Fleischer's 1926 My Old Kentucky Home is less popularly but more correctly credited with this innovation. A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image as opposed to a Silent film. Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter Steamboat Willie ( 1928) is an Animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse released on November 18, 1928. Mickey Mouse is a comic animal Cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. Max Fleischer ( July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was an important Austrian American pioneer in the development of the My Old Kentucky Home ( 1926) is a short animation film originally released on 13 April 1926, by Max and Dave Fleischer of Fleischer also patented rotoscoping, whereby animation could be traced from a live action film. Rotoscoping is an Animation technique in which Animators trace over live-action film movement frame by frame for use in Animated films Originally

With the advent of sound film, musical themes were often used. Animated characters usually performed the action in "loops", i. e. , drawings were repeated over and over, synchronized with the music.

Disney also produced the first full-color cartoon in Technicolor, "Flowers and Trees", in 1931, although other producers had earlier made films using inferior, 2-color processes instead of the 3-color process offered by Technicolor. Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation Flowers and Trees is a 1932 Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by Burt Gillett, and released

Later, other movie technologies were adapted for use in animation, such as multiplane cameras, stereophonic sound in Disney's Fantasia in 1941, and later, widescreen processes (e. Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of Sound, using two or more independent audio channels through a Symmetrical Fantasia is a 1940 Animated film produced by Walt Disney, and is the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. g. CinemaScope), and even 3D. CinemaScope was a Widescreen movie format used from 1953 to 1967 See also [[stereoscopy]] In film the term 3-D (or 3D) is used to describe any visual presentation system that attempts to maintain or recreate moving images

Today, animation is commonly produced with computers, giving the animator new tools not available in hand-drawn traditional animation. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. An animator is an Artist who creates multiple images called frames and Key frames that form an illusion of movement called Animation when rapidly displayed See Computer animation for further information of the specific technologies. Computer-generated imagery Computer animation is the art of creating moving images with the use of Computers It is a subfield of Computer graphics However, many types of animation cannot be called "cartoons", which implies something that resembles drawings. Most forms of 3D computer animation, as well as clay animation and other forms of stop motion filming, are not cartoons in the strict sense of the word. 3D computer graphics (in contrast to 2D computer graphics) are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer Clay animation is one of many forms of Stop motion animation Each animated piece either character or background is "deformable"&mdashmade of a malleable substance Stop motion (or frame-by-frame) animation is an Animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own

An animated cartoon created using Adobe Flash is sometimes called a webtoon. Adobe Flash (previously called Shockwave Flash and Macromedia Flash) is a set of Multimedia software created by Macromedia and currently A webtoon is a less common term used to describe an animated cartoon that is distributed via the internet which are often created by amateur creators

Feature films

The name "animated cartoon" is generally not used when referring to full-length animated productions, since the term more or less implies a "short". Huge numbers of animated feature films were, and are still produced; see List of animated feature-length films

Notable artists and producers of "shorts"

• Tex Avery
• Hanna-Barbera
• Walt Disney
• Max Fleischer
• Chuck Jones
• Matt Groening
• Walter Lantz
• Bob Clampett
• Fred Quimby
• Ub Iwerks

Further information: Animation

Television

American television animation of the 1950s featured quite limited animation styles, highlighted by the work of Jay Ward on Crusader Rabbit. This list of animated feature-length films compiles animated feature Films from around the world and is organized alphabetically under the year of release Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery ( February 26, 1908 &ndash August 26, 1980) was an American Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter Max Fleischer ( July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was an important Austrian American pioneer in the development of the Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones ( September 21, 1912 &ndash February 22, 2002) was an American Animator, Matthew Abram Groening (ˈɡreɪnɪŋ GRAY-ning) (born February 15 1954 is an American Cartoonist, television producer and writer from Portland Walter Benjamin Lantz ( April 27 1899 &ndash March 22 1994) was an American Cartoonist and Animator, best Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett ( May 8 1913 &mdash May 4 1984) was an American Animator, producer __forcetoc__ Frederick C "Fred" Quimby ( July 31, 1883 &ndash September 16 1965) was the producer in charge of the Ub Iwerks, ASC ( Ubbe Ert Iwwerks) ( 24 March 1901 &ndash 7 July 1971) was a two-time Academy Award winning The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Limited animation is a process of making Animated cartoons that do not follow a "realistic" approach J Troplong "Jay" Ward ( September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989) was an American creator and producer of animated Crusader Rabbit was the first American Animated series produced especially for Television. Chuck Jones coined the term "illustrated radio" to refer to the shoddy style of most television cartoons that depended more on their soundtracks than visuals. Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones ( September 21, 1912 &ndash February 22, 2002) was an American Animator, Other notable 1950s programs include UPA's Gerald McBoing Boing, Hanna-Barbera's Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw McGraw, and rebroadcast of many classic theatrical cartoons from Warner Brothers, MGM, and Disney

Hanna-Barbera's show, The Flintstones was the first successful primetime animated series in the United States, running from 1960-66 (and in reruns since). United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American Animation studio of the 1940s through present day beginning with industrial films Gerald McBoing-Boing is an animated short film produced by United Productions of America (UPA and given wide release by Columbia Pictures on January 25 Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character created and produced by Hanna-Barbera, and the star of the 1958 syndicated animated series Quick Draw McGraw is the anthropomorphic cartoon horse starring in The Quick Draw McGraw Show, the third cartoon television production created by Hanna-Barbera following Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and The Flintstones is an animated American television sitcom that ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC. Prime Time is the major News analysis current affairs and Politics programme broadcast on Radio Telefís Éireann in Ireland A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a Radio or Television broadcast. While many networks followed the show's success by scheduling other primetime cartoons in the early 1960s, including The Jetsons, Top Cat, and The Alvin Show, none of these programs survived more than a year in primetime. The Jetsons is a prime-time animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera Prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, The Alvin Show was the first American Animated television series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although However, networks found success by running these failed shows as Saturday morning cartoons, reaching smaller audiences with more demographic unity among children. A Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming which was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American Television animation for children flourished on Saturday morning, on cable channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, and in syndicated afternoon timeslots. Nickelodeon (commonly referred to as Nick) is an American Cable television network owned by Viacom International, founded in 1977 as Pinwheel

Primetime cartoons were virtually non-existent until 1990s hit The Simpsons ushered in a new era of adult animation. Adult animation is animation that is targeted at Adults For western audiences the primary reason for a program to be described as "adult animation" is adult humor

Commercial animation

A frame from an animated cartoon, a Finnish TV commercial for Raid

Animation has been very popular in television commercials, both due to its graphic appeal, and the humor it can provide. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Raid is the brand name of a line of Insecticides produced by SC Johnson, first launched in 1956. A television advertisement or television commercial (often just commercial or advert (US or ad (UK is a span of television programming produced Some animated characters in commercials have survived for decades, such as Snap, Crackle and Pop in advertisements for Kellogg's cereals. Snap Crackle and Pop! are the Cartoon Mascots of Kellogg's Breakfast cereal Rice Krispies (Rice Bubbles in Australia) Kellogg Company (often referred to as simply Kellogg or Kellogg's, or even more formally Kellogg's of Battle Creek) is an American multinational

The legendary animation director Tex Avery was the producer of the first Raid "Kills Bugs Dead" commercials in 1966, which were very successful for the company. Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery ( February 26, 1908 &ndash August 26, 1980) was an American Raid is the brand name of a line of Insecticides produced by SC Johnson, first launched in 1956. Raid is the brand name of a line of Insecticides produced by SC Johnson, first launched in 1956. The concept has been used in many countries since.

Genres of animated cartoons

Funny animals

The first animated cartoons often depicted funny animals in various adventures. Funny animal is a Cartooning term for the Genre of Comics and Animated cartoons in which the main characters are Humanoid or This was the mainstream genre in the United States from the early 1900s until the 1940s, and the backbone of Disney's series of cartoons. Mainstream is generally the common current of Thought of the Majority. A genre (ˈʒɑːnrə also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/ from French "kind" or "sort" from Latin: genus (stem gener-) is a loose set The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Zany humor

Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck of Warner Brothers, and the various films of Tex Avery at MGM introduced this popular form of animated cartoons. Clyde Rabbit (uncleMrs Bugs Bunny (wifePapa Bunny (fatherMama Bunny (motherRugs Bunny Daffy Duck is an Animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery ( February 26, 1908 &ndash August 26, 1980) was an American It usually involves surreal acts such as characters being crushed by massive boulders or going over the edge of a cliff but floating in mid air for a few seconds. Surreal humour is a form of humour, laughingly in a style related to the artistic ambitions of the surrealists, based on bizarre Juxtapositions absurd situations The Road Runner cartoons are great examples of these actions. The article Cartoon physics describes typical antics of zany cartoon characters. Cartoon physics is a joking reference to the fact that Animation allows regular laws of physics to be ignored in humorous ways for dramatic effects Disney has, to a lesser extent, applied this to some of their cartoons.

Sophistication

As the medium matured, more sophistication was introduced, albeit keeping the humorous touch. Classical music was often spoofed, a notable example is "What's Opera, Doc" by Chuck Jones. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music What's Opera Doc? is a 1957 Animated cartoon short in the Merrie Melodies series directed by Chuck Jones for Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones ( September 21, 1912 &ndash February 22, 2002) was an American Animator, European animation sometimes followed a very different path from American animation. In the Soviet Union, the late 1930s saw the enforcement of socialist realism in animation, a style which lasted throughout the Stalinist era. Socialist realism is a teleologically -oriented style of realistic art which has as its purpose the furtherance of the goals of Socialism and Communism Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party The animations themselves were mostly for kids, and based on traditional fairy tales.

Limited animation

In the 1950s, UPA and other studios refined the art aspects of animation, by using extremely limited animation as a means of expression. United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American Animation studio of the 1940s through present day beginning with industrial films Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Limited animation is a process of making Animated cartoons that do not follow a "realistic" approach

Modernism

Graphic styles continued to change in the late 1950s and 1960s. At this point, the design of the characters became more angular, while the quality of the character animation declined.

Animated music videos and bands

Popular with the advent of MTV and similar music channels, music videos often contain animation, sometimes rotoscoped (see: Take on Me), i. MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics Rotoscoping is an Animation technique in which Animators trace over live-action film movement frame by frame for use in Animated films Originally " Take on Me " is a song by the Norwegian band A-ha. The song is a track from a-ha's first album Hunting High and Low, released e. , based on live action performers. Cartoons animated to music go at least as far back as Disney's 1929 The Skeleton Dance. The Skeleton Dance is a 1929 Silly Symphonies Animated Short subject produced and directed by Walt Disney and These are now popular with the animated bands Gorillaz and Dethklok, which the latter is based around a television show about the band(Metalocalypse). Gorillaz is a Virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn of alternative rock band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the Comic Dethklok is both a virtual Death metal band and originally a band featured in the Adult Swim animated program Metalocalypse, created Metalocalypse is an American Animated television series on Adult Swim created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha.

Anime

Main article: Anime

Anime is traditionally hand drawn, but computer-assisted techniques (such as cel-shaded animation) have become quite common in recent years. (anime in Japanese, (anime in Japanese, Cel-shaded animation (also called cel-shading or toon shading) is a type of Non-photorealistic rendering designed to make Computer graphics appear The subjects of anime represent most major genres of fiction, and anime is available in most motion-picture media ranging from television broadcast to literature.

Computer Animation

Beginning in the 1990s, with the rise of computer animation, some cartoons implemented CGI and a few were done entirely in computer animation. Computer-generated imagery Computer animation is the art of creating moving images with the use of Computers It is a subfield of Computer graphics Beast Wars and Reboot were done entirely in CGI whereas Silver Surfer only partially implemented CGI. Beast Wars Transformers ( Beasties on YTV, due to YTV discomfort over the name is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro ReBoot is a Canadian CGI - animated action-adventure Television series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001 Donkey Kong Country also used CGI to make it look like the SNES game. CGI is common today, whether obvious such as in Tak and the Power of Juju or made to look two-dimensional such as in Speed Racer X. Tak and the Power of Juju is a Video game for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and the Game Boy Advance. Speed Racer X, known in Japan as, is a Remake of the original 1967 series produced by Tatsunoko Productions, the same studio

See also

• Anime
• Animation
• Cartoon
• Hayao Miyazaki
• Multi-Sketch
• Traditional animation
• Computer animation
• Stop-motion animation
• Pinscreen animation
• Walt Disney
• The Simpsons

References

Bibliography

External links

• The making of an animated cartoon
• Chronology of animation
• Complete list of Soviet animated cartoons (in English, with descriptions. Also includes cartoons from all of the countries that the Soviet Union split up into)