timeline

1645 -Magic lantern is invented

1794 -Phantamagoria opens in Paris

1824 -The basis of animation, the Persistence of Vision is explained

1820s- Optical toys are invented Thaumatrope and Zoetrope

1877- Praxinoscope is invented

1882- Eastman Kodak invents celuloid film. Many artists start putting their character drawings onto the film

1892- The first Theatre Optique opens in Paris.

1896- Thomas Edison introduces the motion-picture projector.

1906- James S. Blackton makes the first animated film.

1914- Gertie the Dinosaur, the first film to use character animation, debuts.

1915-1917 -Winsor McCay invents the animation cel.

1928- Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie is the first sound cartoon.

1933 -Willis O'Brien animates King Kong.

1937- Walt Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1941-1945- The UPA studio begins a revolution in animation graphics.

1949- Crusader Rabbit is the first cartoon show made for TV.

1951-UPA's Gerald McBoing Boing receives the Oscar for best animated film.

1960- The Flinstones is the first animated TV show to be broadcast in prime time.

1966- The TV networks launch a full lineup of Saturday morning cartoons.

1968-Pixilation is used in stop-motion photography to make humans look like they can do impossible antics in The Yellow Submarine.

1982 -Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the first feature film to utilize computer animation extensively.

1990-The Simpsons, a prime-time TV cartoon show, attracts a large audience of both adults and children.

1990- Computers are used to create computer animated special effects for Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

1996- Toy Story, the first fully computer animated feature film is released by Pixar and Disney.