Have you ever wondered about the magic behind cartoons? Let’s dive into the fun world of animation and learn how it all started!
Imagine waking up on a Saturday morning, excited to watch your favorite cartoons. That’s how it was for many kids before the internet. Cartoons like “Ghostbusters” and “Thundercats” were the stars of the weekend!
One day, a curious person named Azan asked, “What was the first cartoon?” To find the answer, we reached out to Britney Thoreson, a talented animator at Disney Animation.
Before we had TVs and video games, people tried to make pictures move. Long ago, our ancestors drew animals on cave walls, hoping to make them look alive. Later, shadow puppet shows became popular in places like China, India, and Iran. But these weren’t quite cartoons yet.
Then came a clever invention called the phenakistiscope. It was a spinning toy that made drawings look like they were moving. This was the beginning of animation!
The phenakistiscope was cool, but only one person could watch at a time. So, inventors created the praxinoscope, which allowed more people to enjoy the show. Soon, animations were projected onto screens for even bigger audiences.
One day, an animator had a brilliant idea. He thought, “What if I could bring a dinosaur to life?” This idea led to “Gertie the Dinosaur,” the world’s first cartoon with a story and character. Gertie was a shy dinosaur who captured everyone’s imagination.
After Gertie, more characters like Felix the Cat and a famous mouse appeared. Cartoons grew longer and turned into the animated movies we love today. Did you know it took about one million drawings to create “The Lion King”? Thankfully, new technology helps animators work faster now.
From simple toys to amazing animated movies, animation has come a long way. But one thing remains the same: we all love watching characters come to life!
Now it’s your turn to create! Try animating your own drawing with a fun activity. You can do it alone or with friends. Have fun and stay curious!
After learning about cartoons, you can help choose the next topic. Would you like to know how icicles form, who invented ice skates, or how polar animals survive the cold? Vote for your favorite question and keep exploring the mysteries around us. Stay curious, and see you next time!
Create Your Own Phenakistiscope: Gather some paper, scissors, and markers. Draw a series of simple images in a circle on a piece of paper, each slightly different from the last. Cut out the circle and poke a pencil through the center. Spin the circle and look through the slits to see your drawings come to life! Discuss with your friends or family how this simple toy was a big step in the history of animation.
Story Time with Gertie: Imagine you are an animator like the one who created “Gertie the Dinosaur.” Write a short story about a new cartoon character you would like to bring to life. What kind of adventures would they have? Share your story with your classmates and draw a picture of your character. Think about how your character could be animated to move and express emotions.
Cartoon Observation Walk: Take a walk around your home or neighborhood and observe things that could be turned into cartoon characters. It could be a playful dog, a swaying tree, or even a bouncing ball. Draw a picture of what you see and imagine how it would move if it were in a cartoon. Discuss with a friend or family member how everyday objects can inspire animated stories.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(phone rings) – Hi, it’s Doug. When I was a kid, Saturday mornings were always my favorite. You know why? Because that’s when all the best cartoons were on TV. I was a big fan of cartoons like “Ghostbusters” and “Thundercats.” You might not have heard of those, but before the internet, Saturday mornings were the time for cartoons on television.
Someone named Azan has a question about cartoons. Let’s give Azan a call now. (phone rings) – Hi, Doug. – Hi, Azan. – I have a question for you. What was the first cartoon? – That’s a great question, and I know the perfect person to answer it. Her name is Britney Thoreson. She makes cartoons at Disney Animation. Let’s give her a call now. (phone rings) – Hi, Britney. – Hey, Doug. I heard you had a question for me. – I do, and it’s a good one. Azan wants to know, what was the very first cartoon? – Ooh, that’s an interesting one. I’d be happy to help. Like a lot of you, I love cartoons, so I became an animator. An animator is someone who takes the cartoons that you watch every day and brings them to life. At my job, I get to work on a lot of different animated shows and movies, and a few of them you might recognize.
Now, what about the first cartoon? What was that? Well, before video games and TVs and phones, many people didn’t know how to animate, and they tried to make pictures move. Some of our ancestors drew pictures of animals on cave walls and tried to make it look like they were moving. Later on, people started to use shadows to tell stories. These shadow puppet shows were especially popular in places like China, India, and Iran. But cave drawings and shadow puppet shows weren’t really cartoons. People just didn’t know how to animate their drawings because it hadn’t been invented yet.
Then this happened. See how the horse seems to be running? This was a new invention called the phenakistiscope, and when it first came out, people were amazed. The phenakistiscope means to trick the eye, and that’s exactly what this toy does. It’s spinning so fast that it tricks you into thinking you’re only looking at one drawing, and since each drawing is a little different, you think that it’s one drawing that’s moving.
Now, the phenakistiscope was cool, but only one person could watch at a time. So inventors started thinking of new machines that could make animation even better. Check out this one. It’s called a praxinoscope. Since it was bigger, two or three people could watch at a time. Soon, inventors figured out ways to project animation onto a screen. Now 10, 20, or even 50 people could watch at one time.
These moving drawings of dogs jumping through hoops and clowns playing with hats were pretty amazing, but they were also kind of random and sometimes not that interesting. Animators wanted to make their drawings even more exciting. One animator had an idea. While walking through a museum and looking at dinosaur skeletons, he thought, dinosaurs are extinct. No one has ever seen a living dinosaur. All we have are their fossils, but animation could bring a dinosaur back to life. And better yet, what if I could tell a story about that dinosaur? His idea became “Gertie the Dinosaur,” the world’s first cartoon, and the first time anyone saw a dinosaur come to life.
“Gertie the Dinosaur” tells the story of a shy museum dinosaur, and just like today’s cartoons, it had a character and a story. “Gertie the Dinosaur” was made in the same way cartoons are made today, by drawing thousands of pictures and then flipping through them quickly. Now that Gertie had come to life, many other cartoon characters followed, like Felix the Cat, and a famous mouse you may recognize. Pretty soon, cartoons became longer and longer, turning into the animated movies you see today.
But here’s the thing. The longer the cartoon is, the harder it is to make. It took about one million drawings to animate “The Lion King.” Luckily, we have new technology to help us work more efficiently, like drawing some of the main pictures on a tablet and having a computer move the rest. In fact, a lot of cartoons you see today are made entirely on a computer, which helps me do my job even better.
Animation has come a long way, from the animated toys that trick your eyes, to “Gertie the Dinosaur,” to all the great cartoons that you watch today. It’s amazing to see how things have changed. Even so, one thing has pretty much stayed the same: we all love watching characters come to life through animation.
And that’s all for this week’s question. Thank you so much, Azan, for asking it. – Now, after this video is done playing, my friends and I here at Mystery Science have created a special activity where you’ll animate your own drawing. You can do this in a group or by yourself. I hope you’ll try it. Have fun and stay curious.
Now, for the next episode, I reached into my question jar and picked out three questions sent in to me that I’m thinking about answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from: how do icicles form? Who invented ice skates? Or, how do polar animals survive the cold? So submit your vote when the video is over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week.
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This version removes any informal or potentially distracting elements while maintaining the core content.
