Animation in the 1920’s

Animation in the 1920’s

As the science of technology rose into entertainment, not even Hollywood could compete with the new stars of animation. The first broadcast ever was in 1928 and the technology used for the broadcasts consisted of a turntable, which was solely used to be the base for the Felix the Cat figurine and propped him up for the shoot; studio lights, which helped transmit the picture and they also needed to be constant; an actor was needed and had to be impervious to heat, cheap, and also constant. In turn, the use of a Felix figurine was perfect for the job not only because of these reasons, but also because the picture was black and white, and Felix was a black and white cat. A scanning disk was also needed since it was the part of the equipment that actually made the broadcast, so was an electric kinescope receiver and a rotoscope. A rotoscope was needed to trace images of the characters on paper frame by frame and was invented by Max Fleischer in 1915. (Felixthecat.com) In the history of animation there were many directors and famous characters. The most famous of them were those of the 1920’s. This includes Otto Messmer and his character Felix the Cat, Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, and finally Grim Natwick and his character Betty Boop.

Felix the Cat was created by Otto Messmer, but didn’t start as a cartoon like i mentioned earlier on. Felix was first a 13” paper mache figure. His first appearance was as the first broadcast ever on television. When displayed on the screen Felix the 13” figure became Felix the 2” figure. His first broadcast lasted for two hours but he went on to become the official figure used in a decade of television experiments. When Felix made the transition into a cartoon he was drawn by the famous cartoonist, Pat Sullivan. In later years to come Joe Oriolo became his drafter and after Joe came his son Don Oriolo. Felix’s cartoon was printed and enjoyed by all people in 250 different newspaper companies across the world. When Felix the cat got big in the newspapers he later went on to be produced in his own shows, and his first show ever was made in the 1919. The first show was called “Feline Follies” and lasted the time period of four minutes and ten seconds. Not long after this Felix was chosen for a mascot in 1929 for the Lindberg Flight. With permission from the producers of Felix the Cat, Charles Lindberg had Felix emblazoned on the side of his plane, which was featured in the 1933 Macy’s Day Parade. Also, Felix was chosen as a mascot in 1923 for Chevrolet cars. The catch phrase being “Felix puts over a snappy one!” (www.FelixtheCat.com and Felix: The twisted Tale of the World’s Most Famous Cat.)

Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney at age 26. The idea of Mickey came to Walt over a trip back from a meeting. The first name he chose was Mortimer, but Disney’s wife concluded that it was too pompous and suggested Mickey. Walt Disney did the voice of Mickey until 1947 and then in 1977 was taken over by Wayne Allwine. Walt also continued to make more characters such as Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy, which in turn became a family of cartoons that everybody loved. Mickey’s first show was a silent film short by the name of “Plane Crazy,” but didn’t turn out to be a success. So Disney tried again with a film short full of sound called “Steamboat Willie” After his success with Steamboat Willie, Disney went on to add more detail in his films such as shape, music, dance, and speed, which are all shown in the shorts “Fantasia,” “Skeleton