First cartoon. The very first cartoon in the world. The first Soviet cartoon

People have always been imaginative. They were able to revive inanimate objects (images) using special techniques for the first time more than a hundred years ago.

Modern animation includes several types, styles and methods of film creation. Each country has its own cartoon characters and its own unique story development of animated films.

In 1924 the first appears soviet cartoon, filmed by documentary director David Abelevich Kaufman (Dziga Vertov). This is not a children's entertainment cartoon. Shown here in 10 minutes with the help of a drawing that seems primitive at first glance is the history of the formation of the USSR. The title of the film is “Soviet Toys.” The film was shot at Goskino. What’s interesting is that at the end of the cartoon they offer to create an advertisement.

The main heroes of that time were the people, workers, peasants, Red Army soldiers, the proletariat and, of course, those with whom they had to fight. Well-fed, arrogant bourgeois, priests (church) and tavern entertainment (dancer). The musical background is constantly changing, conveying the change of events and mood in the cartoon. In the end, it all ended with a New Year tree and fireworks - this is a sign that it has begun new life. Instead of toys, the Red Army soldiers hung all their enemies on the Christmas tree.

The first Soviet cartoons had more political overtones, being a means of propaganda.

The very first cartoon in Russia for kids

The first surviving cartoon for children is "The Rink". The film was shot by the director, founder of the school of Soviet animation, Ivan Ivanov-Vano, based on Chukovsky’s fairy tale “Senka the African.”

This is also a silent, musical, hand-drawn film. The main plot is bold a little boy in Budenovka, who defeats the fat man “bourgeois” and rushes to the aid of the figure skater.

In 1913, Vladislav Starevich filmed a black-and-white, musical with subtitles, puppet cartoon “The Dragonfly and the Ant.” His grandiose global success took place in Russian Empire. This film was intended for both young and older viewers. The plot of Krylov's fable was taken as a basis; the duration of the cartoon was 4 minutes.

In Moscow, 1936 (June 10), the largest Russian studio “Soyuzdetmultfilm” was created and began its work. Children's animated films are beginning to be created. The first film was hand-drawn, black and white, released at the studio, it was in the genre of children's comedy and was called “It's Hot in Africa.” The adventure of the animals is described here.

Also in 1936, the first Russian color cartoon was released at the Mosfilm film studio, under the direction of director Sarra Mokil. This is a three-color puppet, musical, voice-over film-fairy tale “The Fox and the Wolf”, based on a Russian fairy tale. Duration 18 minutes.

Walt Disney's very first cartoon in America

In 1924 (March 1) - Disney presented its viewers with the cartoon “Alice's Day at Sea,” which subsequently opened a whole series of 56 episodes about Alice’s adventures.

But this is a slightly different story - “Alice in Animation Land”. The comedy genre was used here. Combining cinema and cartoon (Alice is a living character) - Walt places the heroine in a drawn world. The duration of the cartoon is 12 minutes. Little Alice and her dog friend decided to take a walk to the sea. There they met the captain, who told Alice about his sea adventures.

The tired girl decided to take a nap in empty boat, on the shore she dreamed that she was falling on the seabed. On her way, Alice meets many sea inhabitants who are cartoon characters. This is a light children's story in a cartoon with captions and music. He wasn't too popular. These were the first works of the great animator.

When did the oldest (anime) cartoon in the world come out?

Anime is a part of Japanese culture and is very popular among children, teenagers and adults in many countries around the world. Cartoons of this style are produced in different genres. Unfortunately, the author who created the oldest Japanese anime in 1907 has not been identified. It was assembled from hand-drawn pictures. The moving boy spells out the word “cinema” from hieroglyphs and takes off his hat to the audience. The duration of this anime is 3 seconds.

Manga is considered the predecessor of anime. This word appeared in 1814 thanks to the artist Katsushika Hokusai. These are black and white sketches drawn in ink. Stories in pictures, later comics. "Marumaru Timbun" - the magazine first published comics on Japanese with a European accent in 1877.

Many consider the pioneer in Japanese anime to be Dekoten Shimokawa, who in 1917 made sketches on a blackboard using chalk and tried to revive them by recording them on film. His works have not survived. The first films were no more than 1-5 minutes long; they were created by (single) artists, trying to apply the existing knowledge, experience and techniques of Western animators.

Namakura Gatana (created June 30, 1917) is considered one of the first black and white anime. This small, two-minute cartoon was created at the Japanese studio Kobayashi Shokai. The name is translated as “Dull Samurai Sword”. This film is about the incompetence of a samurai who bought a dull sword. Then, to avenge his humiliation, he returned to the seller to resolve the conflict.

One of the first animes is a film - a fairy tale about a crab and a monkey, who are also fabulous samurai. The plot of the film is to take revenge on the vile monkey. The monkey betrayed the crab. The children of the killed crab take revenge and kill the monkey. This cartoon, called “How the Crab Got Revenge on the Monkey,” is based on an old Japanese fairy tale and has a certain meaning.

Every animator at the rise of Japanese cartoon culture contributed to the emergence of various directions and styles Japanese anime. Even the big eyes of Disney characters will later prevail over the characters of Japanese anime. Only since 1958 has anime been officially recognized in art.

If we talk not only about Japan, then there is a controversial opinion that the very first European cartoon was created and filmed using an Edison camera by Blackton in 1906 “Comic Phases of Funny Faces”.

Drawn by French cartoonist Emile Colas. It was called "Phantasmagoria". It took 700 drawings made on a white paper background with black lines. All this was reprinted onto the negative, giving the effect of a chalk drawing.

What is the first color cartoon in history?

In 1933, the first color hand-drawn animated film from the “Merry Symphonies” series of cartoons was created; this film was called “Flowers and Trees.” This is a bright three-color, emotional children's cartoon about the inhabitants of the forest, with synchronized musical scoring. Beautiful, melodic music was used famous composer Schubert.

The duration of the film is 7.5 minutes. This short film won an Oscar as the best cartoon of that time.

Wikipedia about the first cartoons in the world

All possible surviving information in the history of the development of world animation can be traced on Wikipedia. Here you will find a statement that primitive animation techniques were discovered in primitive era, thanks to wall images that were painted in a certain sequence. From the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, technology began to develop rapidly, allowing the quality of cartoons to quickly improve.

The Frenchman Emile Renault, an artist and inventor, the son of a watchmaker, was in constant search of improving the apparatus (zoetrope) for viewing moving pictures. And in 1877 in Paris he creates a praxinoscope. Using permanent picture backdrops for the first time and adding synchronized music, his pictures come to life in fluid action. He patented this device and therefore August 30, 1877 is considered the birthday of the first hand-drawn animation in the world.

The first animated heroes of cinematography were not endowed with special qualities. These were simply moving pictures that could attract the viewer's attention. In 1914, total animation was used for the cartoon Gertie the Dinosaur. The creator of graphic animation, cartoonist, artist - Winsor McCay, also an American citizen, was a man who created special trends and techniques that influenced the development of world animation. The dinosaur character he created using a drawing (contour) is for the first time endowed with emotions and character.

The history of cinema is truly interesting, because in our time, modern high-tech special effects work real miracles: films amaze with their believability so much that viewers literally feel themselves during the events of the film! However, this was not always the case, and in order to achieve the results that each of us sees in the cinema now, people in the arts have been striving for this for decades. We invite you to take a look at where it all began!

THE VERY FIRST FILM IN THE WORLD - 1895

The beginning of the era of cinematography was marked by this short documentary film, which was shot by the Lumiere brothers, called " Arrival of the train at La Ciotat station". Since then, Auguste Louis Marie Nicolas and Louis Jean have been considered the founders of cinema. Despite the simple plot, the picture shocked everyone, because before that people could not imagine that sitting in the room in front of them a real carriage train would pass.

French director Georges Méliès.

THE VERY FIRST HORROR FILM IN THE WORLD - 1896

Modern viewer It’s hard to surprise, let alone scare, but because he’s already spoiled. But there’s a first time for everything, just like the first “horror” movie on the planet. Of course, now the special effects of the 19th century look funny: people appear and disappear in clouds of smoke, and the bats suddenly flutter out from behind the edge of the scenery, but precisely "Devil's Castle" officially considered the world's number one horror story.

American cartoonist Stuart Blackton.

THE VERY FIRST CARTOON IN THE WORLD No. 1 - 1906

And two contenders are competing for the title of the very first cartoon in the world: Stuart Blackton and Emil Kolya. In general, the very first was precisely " Humorous phases of funny faces", where the characters come to life with the help of the artist’s hand - it was shown to the public already in 1906 in France.

THE VERY FIRST CARTOON IN THE WORLD No. 2 - 1908

Despite the top multimedia film, scientists recognized the painting " Phantasmagoria" the very first full-fledged hand-drawn cartoon in history. During the creation of a 1.5-minute cartoon, 700 drawings were required!

Directed by Alan Crosland. USA.

THE VERY FIRST FILM IN THE WORLD WITH SOUND - 1927

Musical film "The Jazz Singer" became the first feature-length film in history with sound, which means that it was in 1927 that the era of silent films ended. 88 minutes long, its creation required a huge amount of money at that time, 422 thousand dollars.

Director: Dziga Vertov. THE USSR.

THE VERY FIRST CARTOON IN RUSSIA - 1924

The first animated film in Russia "Soviet toys", was created as propaganda for the Soviet system. The leading roles are played by an overeating and morally decaying bourgeois, whose belly is full of money, but in the end a happy ending awaits everyone: a Red Army soldier appears, and all the proletarians formed christmas tree, on which the enemies of Soviet society hung in the form of toys...

Armenian director Ruben Mamulyan.

OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED THE VERY FIRST COLOR FILM IN THE WORLD - 1935

Surprisingly, color cinema was invented by the Lumière brothers (they colored each frame by hand), then in 1902 the film “Traveling to the Moon” was released, where green and red tones appeared in several frames; in 1917 and 1922, the first films of Herbert Calamus, the founder of Technicolor company and the founder of color cinematography, 1925 USSR film "Battleship Potemkin" with splashes of red..

But apparently scientists found out about this too late, but because "Becky Sharp" 1935 is officially recognized as the very first color film in the world.

Walt Disney Company.

THE VERY FIRST DISNEY CARTOON - MARCH 1, 1924

The very first cartoon of the legendary and beloved Disney animation studio was the debut "Alice's Day at Sea", based on Lewis Carroll's book Alice in Wonderland. By the way, even now the picture is interesting to watch.

Cartoons have long ceased to be associated exclusively with children's entertainment. Adults enjoy visiting cinemas and spending free time watching exciting animated films – as they are commonly called today.

Considering the young age of this genre, it is difficult to imagine that the very first cartoons in some categories appeared relatively recently. Let's talk about them - it's always interesting to know who became a leader, a pioneer, or simply set a certain trend in the world of animated films.

The first cartoon in the world

Today, the right to be called the first is being challenged by several cartoons. This is natural: when animation was just emerging, there were no strict standards and precise definitions this genre, which is why different sources call different animated films.

The birthday of hand-drawn animation is considered to be August 30, 1877, but it was only in 1898 that the world’s first puppet cartoon, called “Circus of the Lilliputians,” was released, in which wooden toys were used. And Emil Kohl’s “Phantasmagoria” (1908) became a landmark for animated animation – it is here that the viewer is faced with a self-sufficient plot and a hero endowed with character.

The very first hand-drawn cartoon - “Phantasmagoria”

The first full-length cartoon in the world

To shoot a feature film animated film Argentine director Quirino Cristiani was the first to take the plunge. His “Apostle,” filmed back in 1917, touches on topics that are not childish at all - issues of corruption and immorality that were characteristic of Buenos Aires at that time.

About the cartoons of Quirino Cristiani

Duration animated film was a whopping 69 minutes! Not a single copy has survived to our time: their most They were used to make celluloid combs, and the latter burned down in a fire in 1926.

The first feature-length animated film to win an Oscar

Officially, the Oscars have been awarded for feature-length animation since 2002. It was then that the popularly beloved cartoon “Shrek”, created by the DreamWorks studio, received it. But in fact, the Academy has awarded an Oscar for cartoons (albeit with the “special” tag) before.

Screensaver of the first Oscar-winning cartoon - “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”

This happened for the first time in 1939 - then it was received by the fantasy cartoon “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” filmed two years earlier at Walt Disney Studios. The talented animator received eight statuettes for his creation, and they were presented to him by the rising film star Shirley Temple. One Oscar was awarded for the first official soundtrack to a cartoon.

The first Russian cartoon

In 1910, Vladislav Starevich decided to film documentary about stag beetles, but his idea failed at the implementation stage: under the lighting fixtures, the insects became passive and categorically refused to move.

The first Russian cartoon about the war between stags and barbels

Thanks to this property, the first silent cartoon with three-dimensional characters appeared, “Beautiful Lyukanida, or the War of the Long Barbels with the Horned Horns,” in which the beetles parodied the heroes of novels about brave knights. The first viewers did not always realize that what they saw on the screen were not real insects, but puppet dummies.

The first sound cartoon

The first sound cartoon was filmed in 1928 - it was “Steamboat Willie”. The animation was created by Walt Disney and leading role Mickey Mouse, already known from two previous issues, appeared. By the way, the latter has become one of the most popular and recognizable cartoon characters in the world.

The very first sound cartoon in the world - “Steamboat Willie”

At first, Disney had no intention of releasing sound cartoons at all, but everything changed after watching the first sound feature film, The Jazz Singer (1927). The animator was so impressed that he wanted to apply this experience to the cartoon.

First color cartoon

Once again, the record belongs to the creation of Walt Disney and his color cartoon “Flowers and Trees” (1932). This animated film was the first to use the three-color Technicolor process.

The very first color cartoon in the world

The first shots of the cartoon were shot in a standard two-color version, but later the director abandoned them. And for good reason: the colorful animation, which was warmly received by the audience, was brought by the creators Additional income from theatrical release in the United States.

First television animated series

Cartoons intended for broadcast on TV are now perceived as something ordinary, but this was not always the case. The first animated series appeared on television back in 1947. The animated film Crusader Rabbit, directed by Alex Andersen and Jay Bard, has been on television for over ten years.

Pilot of the 1947 animated series Crusader Rabbit

During this time, 455 episodes were shown, the very first of which were in black and white. After the appearance of this series, cartoon animation began to be widely used in television advertising.

The first animated series for adults

The editors of uznayvsyo.rf are sure: you have definitely heard about him. These are the famous "Flintstones", the production of which began in 1960. There were 6 television seasons (or 166 episodes) released on American television. The creator of the animation, William Hanna, used caricature techniques to show the life of American society from the inside. True, for this he had to transfer the cartoon characters to the Stone Age.

Episode of the animated series "The Flintstones"

Director Roman Davydov, between 1967 and 1971, shot five parts of the cartoon “Mowgli,” based on “The Jungle Book,” the world bestseller by Rudyard Kipling. Later, in 1973, these episodes were compiled into one feature film. It became no less popular than the animated series. By the way, in 1967, the Disney studio released an American film adaptation of the same book, but this is nothing more than a coincidence.

The famous Soviet animated series about Mowgli “The Jungle Book”

The first computer cartoon

Just imagine: the full-length cartoons you read about above were created without using computer graphics. It was first used in Toy Story, filmed in 1995 jointly by two major animation studios - Pixar and Disney.

Toy Story is the first animated film to be made entirely digitally.

The popularity of this project is evidenced by its achievements: the first Oscar nomination for “Best original script", the highest-grossing film of 1995, one of hundreds greatest films in the history of American cinema. Interestingly, Steve Jobs was invited to be the executive producer of the filming, and it took up to 13 hours to process each animated frame!

Cartoons have long become a full-fledged genre of cinema. And one of the most interesting is the subgenre of anime, Japanese animation. We, the editors of the site, have compiled a list of Japanese cartoons that you must watch in order to understand this nation.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen

Dedicated to International Animation Day!

Can't you and your children imagine life without cartoons? But just 100 years ago, kids didn’t even know what it was. Animation, although it appeared in the 19th century, began with very adult plots. And the first cartoons for children were made by the father of animation, Walt Disney himself. And in general, there is so much in the history of these “first” cartoons.

So we decided to tell you about them. The first color, the first plasticine, the first full-length cartoons - what were they like? We have already told you about many of these paintings in. But the topic is so vast that you can return to it and return, simply changing your point of view. So let's take a look at the pioneers in the world of animation from 1898 to the present day!

The first cartoon in the world

The first cartoon in the world is considered to be “The Humpty Dumpty Circus”, which was shown to a small circle of viewers in 1898. Its creators are John Stewart Blackton and Albert E. Smith. This cartoon was a puppet cartoon and used wooden toys. It was filmed in the simplest way: frame - rearrangement of toys - new frame.

Things that moved across the screen “on their own” were then a real miracle, capturing the imagination of inexperienced viewers. Let us remember that “Arrival of a Train” by the Lumiere brothers was released just 2 years earlier. Unfortunately, the recording of the cartoon “Circus of Lilliputians” has not survived to this day, only a photograph of the scenery.


The first cartoon drawn

In 1900, the same Blackton presented viewers with a two-minute video “Enchanted Drawing.” It’s hard to say whether it’s considered a cartoon or not. On the screen we see a man drawing a portrait. But the facial expression of the portrait changes independently by stitching together frames. In 1906, Blackton made another similar cartoon, Comic Phases of Funny Faces. But these cartoons had neither a hero nor a plot.

Source: Maxim Ikhsanov

Therefore, the first full-fledged cartoon is still considered “Phantasmagoria” by the French inventor Emile Cohl. This cartoon was shown in cinemas in 1908, it already had minimal plot development and its own hero, based on whose actions one can form an opinion about the character. The two-minute film made an impression on the audience, and the animation began its long journey.

Source: classiccartoon

“Beautiful Lyukanida, or the War of the Horned Men with the Barbels” was created by Vladislav Starevich in 1912. By the way, this is also the first animated satire! Starevich made his cartoon a parody of the dominance of pseudo-historical stories from aristocratic life in the cinema of that time.

At the center of the plot - love triangle, against the backdrop of which the same battle between stags and barbels takes place. The beetles' legs and arms were made of wire and attached to the bodies with wax. By the way, not everyone understood that beetles are not alive. Many newspapers admired the hard work of the “bug” trainer.


The first plasticine cartoon

Around the same time, the first plasticine cartoons were created, the American Willis H. O’Brien worked on them. It’s difficult to name the first plasticine cartoon, but the most famous work O'Brien's film "10,000 BC" e", published in 1916. This is a story about a treacherous postman who, deciding to discredit his competitor, forged a message to a girl. And instead of declarations of love, she received insults. The opponent, having learned about this, brutally punishes the offender with the help of a dinosaur (guess how). Excellent work, but, unfortunately, plasticine animation was much more expensive than hand-drawn animation, and therefore its development stopped right up until the 50s.


First full-length cartoon

The first “big” cartoon was created in 1917 in Argentina, directed by Quirino Cristiani. It was also not for children; animation was then a way to amuse an adult audience. The cartoon "Apostle" was satirical story about the President of Argentina, who went to heaven, wanted to save the city from immorality, but instead destroyed it. The cartoon ran for 69 minutes at a speed of 14 frames per second. Cristiani filmed on the roof of his house, using building models and the relocation method in his work. It is a pity that the only copy of the film burned in a fire almost 100 years ago. By the way, Cristiani is also responsible for the first sound full-length cartoon “Peludopolis” from 1931, which also has not survived.


Disney's first cartoon

Walt Disney's black-and-white silent film "Alice at Sea" can be called the studio's first cartoon. It featured a combination of the actress’s performance and drawn inserts. Alice on the Sea was released in March 1924, six months after the studio itself opened. And Mickey the mouse will appear at Disney only 4 years later in the short film “Airplane Crazy.”


The first sound cartoon

Disney's Steamboat Willie (1928) was the first cartoon to feature synchronized sound. Before this, music and sometimes sounds were added to cartoons, but practically speaking the characters... Walt Disney was the pioneer here. By the way, the first sound film (“The Jazz Singer”) was created just a year earlier!

Source: Cinemania Y.T.


The first full-length puppet cartoon

In 1931, “Reinecke the Fox” by Vladislav Starevich, already known to us, was released. It was black and white, silent, but was later dubbed into German (1937) and French (1941). The film ran for 65 minutes and told several stories about the sly fox. For example, the familiar “Catch, fish, big and small!” The cartoon is still considered a classic of puppet animation. Look, it's really impressive.

Source: slonique


First color cartoon

The first color cartoon was released, of course, at the Disney studio. The cartoon “Flowers and Trees” appeared in the cinema in 1932, it was shown before the film “Strange Break”. The cartoon became the first Oscar winner in the short cartoon category, striking the Academy with its brightness and novelty. It was originally shot in black and white, but Walt Disney, having discovered the possibilities of the three-color Technicolor process, ordered the cartoon to be reshot in color. And for good reason. And the first color film was released only in 1934. So viewers were introduced to bright animation earlier than color cinema.

Source: kids life show


The first cartoon of the Soyuzmultfilm studio

Once upon a time, “Soyuzmultfilm” was also called “Soyuzdetmultfilm”. And in 1936, the studio’s first cartoon was released, “It’s Hot in Africa.” A short cartoon about how animals in Africa are languishing in the heat and want ice cream. The style of the cartoon is reminiscent of Disney of that time, which is not surprising. Then this was the only example of how to make children's cartoons.


The first feature-length cartoon to win an Oscar

Well, you know... Of course, Walt Disney left the stage with the treasured statuette in 1937. More precisely, with one large figurine and seven small ones, since the award was won by the cartoon. This cartoon was a landmark for the development of animation - color, sound, plot, full-length... Previously, all these things were not combined in one picture. So the Oscar is for “innovation and outstanding achievements in the field of animation" was well deserved!

Source: Tekusa.ru


First television animated series

In 1950, the animated series “Crusader Rabbit” appeared on television. This was the first animated series created specifically for television. It was shown on the channels of the American television network DuMont. The episodes lasted only 5 minutes, but there were as many as 455 of them!

The first episodes, published from 50 to 52, were black and white, then the series began to be colored. Cartoon told short stories about a crusader rabbit who befriends a good-natured tiger. The rabbit constantly runs into other animals on the way and gets into various funny situations.