Animation Before Walt Disney
Before Walt Disney's work, animation was growing very popular in the early 1900's. Comic-strip animator and sketch artist Winsor McCay was the first to establish the technical method of animation graphics. His first attempt at animation used popular characters from his comic strip with Little Nemo In Slumberland in 1911, using 4,000 hand drawn frames. It was followed by How A Mosquito Operates in 1912, using 6,000 hand drawn frames. McCay's first successful and realistic cartoon character was a brontosaurus named Gertie in Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914. This animation used 10,000 hand drawn frames, along with backgrounds.
The first animated character to become successful was Felix the Cat. Created by Otto Mesmer, Felix the Cat's first animated feature was Feline Follies in 1919. The Felix animations was distributed by Paramount Pictures, and then by M.J. Winkler (who also distributed some of Disney's first animations). Mesmer made more than 175 Felix cartoons in the years 1919 through 1929. Felix the Cat was the first character to be widely distributed. 1928's The Last Life was the last Felix the Cat cartoon due to the success of Mickey Mouse.
The first animated character to become successful was Felix the Cat. Created by Otto Mesmer, Felix the Cat's first animated feature was Feline Follies in 1919. The Felix animations was distributed by Paramount Pictures, and then by M.J. Winkler (who also distributed some of Disney's first animations). Mesmer made more than 175 Felix cartoons in the years 1919 through 1929. Felix the Cat was the first character to be widely distributed. 1928's The Last Life was the last Felix the Cat cartoon due to the success of Mickey Mouse.