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History of Animation - 3: Disney

      With the creation of Gertie The Dinosaur in 1914, the world was shown that animated motion pictures were capable of creating believable characters who seem to have a life all their own. Up until this point, animated pictures were little more than a spectacle to be admired, solely because the images appeared to move. Now, animated pictures could create thoughts and emotion in their viewers. It is in these early golden days of early animation where Disney finds its roots.
      When one thinks of Disney's early animated films, they think of Steamboat Willie (1928). This was not Walt Disney's first character. His first character, whom he would modify slightly to make Mickey Mouse, was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Disney would lose the rights to this character after a dispute with the character Felix, as he is basically the same. However, Disney's Steamboat Willie was very revolutionary at the time as it was the first animated film to incorporate synchronized sound. The ability to record sound had been around since 1899, however, films up until this point generally had a song playing in the background that would fit with the style and emotion the film was trying to portray. But none of the films would have sound elements in them other than the background music. With Steamboat Willie, the character would be seen whistling and turning the wheel of his boat, and to the audiences amazement, they heard him whistling and the wheel turning as the character preformed these actions. Audiences around the world fell in love with the little mouse and would bring the era of silent animated films to an end, and launch Disney into a very powerful, and magical, position all in one stroke. 
      With the success of Steamboat Willie Disney would continue to revolutionize the industry in new and meaningful ways. In 1929, Disney would add synchronized music to The Skeleton Dance. This film was one of the first films to be entirely musically themed and timed, with the skeletons appearing to dance in time with the music. This film was drawn by almost entirely Ub Iwerks, who would work on many of these hand drawn films. The film still stands up with the passage of time, with color being added in 1937.
      After The Skeleton Dance would come three strip technicolor in Flowers and Trees in 1932. This technique would allow for more colors to be added to the film. Through the films use of color and appealing characters, despite having a relatively simple story, would win the first academy award for Animated Short-Subjects. 
      Then would come The Old Mill in 1937, which used a multi-camera system to give the animation a feeling of depth, an early 3D film. All of these animated films would give Disney animations that sense of magic that the company is known for today. They experimented in new technologies that would bring their stories and characters to life in ways that other studios could only dream of, but that did not stop them from trying. 


Sources: 
https://www.britannica.com/art/animation
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/walt-disney-ub-iwerks-steamboat-willie-1928/
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/TheSkeletonDance
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/FlowersAndTrees
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Disney/TheOldMill
http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-old-mill-celebrates-80th-anniversary/
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