Post-1930s-2: Animation

The 1930's were marked by the increased popularity of animated cartoons. The History of Animation parallels the History of Film. While artists had been producing the predecessors of cartoons from the start of experimentation with moving pictures (example: the Phenakistoscope), cartoons benefited from the sound technology of the 1930s. Below you'll find an early silent cartoon by Winsor McCay, Gertie the Dinosaur (1914).


Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie (1928) lead the genre in introducing sound to the medium. The cartoon short was very popular and it introduced the world to Mickey Mouse. In 1937 the Disney Company would produce the first animated feature length film, Snow White. Below you'll find clips from both Steamboat Willie and Snow White.