The History of U.S. Animation
When you think of animation, you likely think of a genre of children’s cartoons such as SpongeBob SquarePants, or Bluey or Pixar and DreamWorks movies. However, there is much more to Animation. Animation takes something static and brings it to life with movement. With 2D animation, it’s done by taking still frames of static images with slight differentiations on each frame and showing them in succession to give an illusion of movement. This is done for cartoons and anime. With 3D animation, it’s done by creating models in a computer and using a process known as rigging to establish movement. This is done with 3D animated movies and video games. For stop motion, like Aardman’s movies, it’s done by taking puppets or constructed models and taking pictures of them with a new pose in each frame. Animation is even implemented into live action films such as Marvel movies, as green screen video, visual effects. and CGI are created with digital effects during filming. Animation is increasingly popular and undergoing significant changes, as Jorge Gutierrez explained to us.
Early Animation
The first U.S. animated film to be shot using hand-drawn animation dates to 1908 a short film, Fantasmagorie, which was created by Emile Cohl. To make the film, Cohl placed each drawing on an illuminated glass plate and then traced the next drawing variations on top until he had around 700 animated drawings (Museum of World Treasures, 2021).
The first U.S. animated icons debuted in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s in the forms of Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer’s Felix the Cat, and Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie. Both were introduced through a series of shorts and the latter eventually became Mickey Mouse, one of the most iconic cartoon characters of all time and would establish Disney as an animation giant (Museum of World Treasures, 2021). Felix the Cat is currently owned by DreamWorks Animation.
Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes created iconic characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. The first Looney Tunes short ever created was in 1930 called “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub” starring a more obscure character named Bosko (Precious Collectibles, 2019).
Primetime Animation
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s animation studio, Hanna-Barbera is known for cartoons such as The Jetsons, Yogi Bear (Norman Rockwell Museum, 2020) and Tom & Jerry, which is considered a separate project from the rest of their works (MAAC, 2024). It also co-created some of the first Cartoon Network cartoons such as Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo and The Powerpuff Girls. Their biggest accomplishment, however is making the very first prime time animated series, The Flintstones (Nguyen, 2021) - a comedy series about a modern stone age family living in the town of Bedrock, which was first broadcast in April 1966 and became a massive success and spawned two movies and tons of licensed merchandise like a brand of multivitamins and the Cocoa Pebbles cereal brand.
Without a doubt however, the biggest animated series to hit prime time U.S. television is The Simpsons. It started as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, before becoming its own series in Christmas of 1989 (Nguyen, 2021). The Simpsons became a massive cultural hit around the world and to this day, is the longest running animated series, currently in 2024 in its 36th season.
The Simpsons’ cultural impact likely became the spark that ignited several animated series to hit prime time including Batman: The Animated Series, Family Guy, Futurama, American Dad!, King of the Hill and Bob’s Burgers. Bob’s Burgers is an animated comedy series created by Loren Bouchard for the FOX network and is animated by Bento Box Entertainment. It focuses on the daily adventures of the Belcher family consisting of Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene and Louise as they make a living working in a hamburger restaurant on a shore town that’s across the street from Bob’s rival, Jimmy Pesto, who owns a pizza restaurant. The restaurant only has two loyal customers in the form of handyman Teddy and owner of the crematorium next door, Mort. It first aired in January 9, 2011 and as of November 2024, the show is on its 15th season at 281 episodes and has had a theatrically released film. Bento Box Entertainment have been in operation for over 25 years with over 500 artists and production staff including in studios in Los Angeles and Atlanta. They produce animated series for broadcast, cable and streaming networks as well as producing music videos, commercials, branded content and motion graphics for major brands and artists (Bento Box Entertainment, 2022).
Brooke Keesling
Brooke Keesling is the Head of Animation Talent Development at Bento Box Entertainment. She has worked in VFX on films including Inception, Hugo, The Dark Knight and The Aviator (The Org), and in the animation industry recruited animation talent for Cartoon Network, Disney, Warner Bros., and now Bento Box. Ms. Keesling is the Vice President of ASIFA-Hollywood, a member of Women in Animation and the BRIC Foundation, is on the advisory board of the GLAS Animation Festival, and teaches in the Character Animation Department at CalArts (BRIC Foundation).
Ms. Keesling explained how she became interested in animation as a career, and told us about her teaching at CalArts.
As the Head of Animation Talent Development at Bento Box, Ms. Keesling is looking for fresh voices and animators who will pitch shows to Bento Box.
She shared with us her thoughts on the current and future state of animation, including the potential influence of AI.
Ms. Keesling told us about her career highlights, starting with going to school at CalArts, her student film Meatclown, and working at places like Cartoon Network and Disney.
References:
(2021, January 28) Quick History: Early Animation Museum of World Treasures https://worldtreasures.org/blog/quick-history-early-animation
(2019) Looney Tunes: An Introduction Precious Collectables https://precious-collectibles.com/looney-tunes-an-introduction/?srsltid=AfmBOorRm8ybmZQ6-OPkU80zO60Xjm_w1KGpjnsqvlin2Pz1bq1ICCCO
(2020) Illustration History Hanna-Barbera Norman Rockwell Museum https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/hanna-barbera
(2024) The Evolution of Tom and Jerry Maya Academy of Advanced Creativity https://www.maacindia.com/blog/tom-jerry/
Nguyen, Jojo (2021, September 14) The first animated series on prime time and the series marking animation shows as mainstream on prime time Animost https://animost.com/ideas-inspirations/the-first-animated-series-on-prime-time-and-the-series-mark-animation-shows-as-mainstream-on-prime-time/
(2022) Bento Box Entertainment https://www.bentoboxent.com/about-bento-box
BRIC Foundation https://www.bricfoundation.org/profile/brooke-keesling
The Org https://theorg.com/org/bento-box-entertainment-llc/org-chart/brooke-keesling