early animation devices and modern

The earliest examples of "animation" come from Palaeolithic cave paintings and pottery/wall decorations from as far back as 5,200 years ago.

Around the Victorian Era, games such as the zoetrope, Thaunamatrope and flip book became popular. These were simple devices that, when moved in their individual way, would produce a basic animation.

Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer was an English photographer important for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion and in motion-picture projection.

William Horner was another animation pioneer, who created the zoetrope. He created the zoetrope in the year 1834.

ZOETROPE
A zoetrope is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession. It was basically a improvement on the phenkitascope. It lead to the praxinoscope being made and also lead to animation being viewed simpler.

In 1889 Emile Reynaud patents the praxioscope. This is a device that used mirrors to project a sequence of images onto a screen. The infinite tape length changed the medium of animation from a curiosity into entertainment.

In 1906 J. Stuart Blackton makes the first animated film which he called "Humorous phases of funny faces." His method was to draw comical faces on a blackboard and film them. This allowed the facial expressions to change before the viewers eye's.

In the 1914 Earl Hurd applies for a patent for the process of cel animation. This is the technique of drawing the animated portion of an animation on a clear celluliod sheet and later photographing it with its matching background.

1923 Walt and Roy Disney create Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.

In 1964 Ken Knowlton working at Bell Laboratories started developing computer techniques for producing animated movies. 

1976 The feature film Futureworld, sequel to the 1973 Westworld, is the first film to feature CGI by making use of a computer - generated hand and face created by then University of Utah graduate students Edwin Catmull and Fred Parke. Catmull wold eventually end up as one of the three founders of Pixar and is the current president of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar.

1986 The computer graphics division of George Lucas's company Lucasfilm, Ltd is purchased by Steve Jobs for $10 million and established along with Catmull and ex-Disney animator John Lasseter as Pixar Animation Films, a company that is famous for their CGI feature films and shorts to this day. 

Disney/ Pixars first film TOY STORY becomes the first feature length film to be made entirely of CGI in 1995.