Animation

The crux of Leonard Maltin's "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons" is the art of animation. Maltin begins with the first animated shorts produced worldwide. Although the book revolves around American contributions to the art, Maltin pays homage to the creators of the genre.

The history of animation is often attributed to a "flipbook," a series of images that create moving pictures. The flipbook was often a child's toy. Each page would contain one picture, each changing movement slightly. When the pages were flipped quickly, the image appeared to move. Early animators decided that if the flipbook could work so effectively, then pictures presented quickly one after the other would also work.

Without a doubt, Walt Disney was one of the premier experts in animation. What Disney didn't know, he would learn or create. The innovation from Walt Disney Studios is legendary.

Early animated...