How Animated Cartoons Are Made: Watch a Short, Charming Primer from 1919

Wal­lace Carl­son, a pio­neer­ing ani­ma­tor who cre­at­ed films like Dreamy Dud: He Resolves Not to Smoke (1915), joined Bray Stu­dios in 1917, where, among oth­er things, he pro­duced a film called How Ani­mat­ed Car­toons Are Made. Accord­ing to Car­toon Research, a site ded­i­cat­ed to car­toon his­to­ry, the film offers per­haps the ear­li­est and truest look at how car­toons were made near­ly a cen­tu­ry ago. And it’s all done with some charm and wit. You can find the nine-minute short added to the Ani­ma­tion sec­tion of our col­lec­tion of 575 Free Movies Online. Mean­while, if old-time ani­ma­tion fas­ci­nates you, you’ll want to watch How Walt Dis­ney Car­toons Are Made, a 1939 pro­duc­tion that takes you inside the mak­ing of Snow White (1937).

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Relat­ed Con­tent:

Watch The Amaz­ing 1912 Ani­ma­tion of Stop-Motion Pio­neer Ladis­las Stare­vich, Star­ring Dead Bugs

Euro­pean Cave Art: Was It The Ear­li­est Form of Cin­e­ma?

The Dis­ney Car­toon That Intro­duced Mick­ey Mouse & Ani­ma­tion with Sound (1928)

How Walt Dis­ney Car­toons Are Made (1939)