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1st Animated Film

A frame from "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces", released in 1906
A frame from "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces", released in 1906

Historical Context

On April 6, 1906, the first ever animated film recorded on standard picture film was released, named Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. Running at 3 minutes long, the silent short was created by British-American film pioneer J. Stuart Blackton.

A series of scenes are depicted including a dog jumping through a hoop and a man playing with a hat. At first, the artists' hands appear on-screen to begin drawing the characters, before they complete and move without the artist present.

Humorous Phases of Funny Faces is generally regarded as the first animated film, or the first animated film recorded on standard picture film. It used cut-out animation and stop-motion photography. The first traditionally animated movie - that is, each frame is drawn on paper then shot onto negative film - belongs to the French 1908 film Fantasmagorie.

Photo Info

Photographer: J. Stuart Blackton
Location taken: USA
Source: Dr Grob's Animation Review

Related Events

  • 1906-04-06 World's first animated cartoon is released, "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" by J. Stuart Blackton


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