Discover the story of humanity’s first cartoon, which completes today, the 17th, exactly 116 years since its release
On August 17, 1908, the first cartoon in history was shown at the Théatre du Gymanse Marie-Bell, a summer movie theater in northeast Paris. But do you know which cartoon it was?
The animated short “Fantasmagorie” is a little over 1 minute long, has no audio and was made by the French Emile Cohlwho became known as the father of cartoons.
The animation begins with the artist’s hand drawing a puppet that, throughout the story, goes through a series of crazy transformations, from a clown to a knight. And not only does he go through changes, but objects, plants and animals end up transforming, such as the elephant that turned into a house. Check out the drawing:
“Fantasmagorie” was created by combining 700 drawings and it took its creator about five months to produce and finalize all the material.
Cohl produced over 250 films between 1908 and 1923, but only 37 of these productions have remained intact over the years. In 2008, “Fantasmagorie” completed 100 years since its first showing, and so academics at the Belgrade University of Arts in Serbia remade the story in 3D. Watch:
Source: Recreio
