EmployeeAMillion
Season 13 Time!
Here's what I consider to be certain "eras" of animation history. Hitting the end of the 90s in my SpongeBob re-evaluation got me thinking about what makes the 90s different from the 2000s, and then my mind just went all over the place in animation history. Here's what I think.
Before the Moving Image- Pre-1800s. This was before humans had access to technology capable of showing multiple pictures moving simulating motion, but you can tell that they were trying to tell stories using cartoon drawings.
Advent of the Moving Image- Late 19th Century. The reason I include this as different from the Silent Era is because this was when more than two images in a sequence was still breathtaking for audiences.
The Silent Age- 1900-1928. This was a time when cartoons and animation were seen as more of a novelty than anything, mostly to keep an audience entertained before the actual feature presentation began. It's a shame that most of this era is lost, even if we don't need to see Felix the Cat a hundred times in this day and age.
The Golden Age- 1928-1960. Coinciding with Steamboat Willie, the first public Mickey Mouse short, and the first successful short with sound, this era saw most of the more famous and well-known cartoons come out, including Popeye, The Looney Toons, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry and Disney's first 16 animated features. What else can I say? It was the Golden Age.
The TV Age- 1960-1988. Starting with The Flintstones, most people just associated animation with TV. It wasn't until Roger Rabbit that audiences started seeing animation as more of a cinematic thing, as well as The Simpsons encouraging animators to start targeting an adult demographic the following year (although the characters debuted at the very end of this era on The Tracey Ullman Show). On the CGi side of things, I wouldn't end it any later, as this is where most computer animators gave up doing simple tech demos and actually tried to tell stories.
The Modern Age- 1988-present. I disagree with TV Tropes in that this era isn't split in two (the 80s-2000 and 2000-today), and even if it was, I'd say the second era started around 2009-2010, with the start of Illumination, the "Second Disney Renaissance", Disney X-D, The Hub and CN and Nick's modern eras. This is generally the point in which cartoons and animation have not only attracted adults, but most of the time, it tries to engage them. You see very few cartoons nowadays that are simply made to entertain kids (even for preschoolers), outside of a Breadwinners here and there.
Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts or even your own timeline down below.
Before the Moving Image- Pre-1800s. This was before humans had access to technology capable of showing multiple pictures moving simulating motion, but you can tell that they were trying to tell stories using cartoon drawings.
Advent of the Moving Image- Late 19th Century. The reason I include this as different from the Silent Era is because this was when more than two images in a sequence was still breathtaking for audiences.
The Silent Age- 1900-1928. This was a time when cartoons and animation were seen as more of a novelty than anything, mostly to keep an audience entertained before the actual feature presentation began. It's a shame that most of this era is lost, even if we don't need to see Felix the Cat a hundred times in this day and age.
The Golden Age- 1928-1960. Coinciding with Steamboat Willie, the first public Mickey Mouse short, and the first successful short with sound, this era saw most of the more famous and well-known cartoons come out, including Popeye, The Looney Toons, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry and Disney's first 16 animated features. What else can I say? It was the Golden Age.
The TV Age- 1960-1988. Starting with The Flintstones, most people just associated animation with TV. It wasn't until Roger Rabbit that audiences started seeing animation as more of a cinematic thing, as well as The Simpsons encouraging animators to start targeting an adult demographic the following year (although the characters debuted at the very end of this era on The Tracey Ullman Show). On the CGi side of things, I wouldn't end it any later, as this is where most computer animators gave up doing simple tech demos and actually tried to tell stories.
The Modern Age- 1988-present. I disagree with TV Tropes in that this era isn't split in two (the 80s-2000 and 2000-today), and even if it was, I'd say the second era started around 2009-2010, with the start of Illumination, the "Second Disney Renaissance", Disney X-D, The Hub and CN and Nick's modern eras. This is generally the point in which cartoons and animation have not only attracted adults, but most of the time, it tries to engage them. You see very few cartoons nowadays that are simply made to entertain kids (even for preschoolers), outside of a Breadwinners here and there.
Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts or even your own timeline down below.
