When people hear the word “animation”, the first thing that comes to their mind would be cartoons. While this is partly the correct answer, what many people don't realize is that without the history of animation, many things we take for granted today would not exist. Many inventions and innovations in the animation industry would have prevented the film, gaming, graphics and even computer industries from becoming almost non-existent. The history of animation is far from their famous fairy tales and colorful worlds, in fact, many animated films and short films are too dark or sexual for children to even watch. From the mainstream to the avant-garde, history is filled with hundreds of companies around the world rising and falling from fame, animators and directors working for years on films then destroying them in their fall . It may be a little surprising to discover that this massive and complex story began more than 29 years before Disney was even born. When people hear the word “Animation”, the first thing that comes to their mind is cartoon. While this is partly the correct answer, what many people don't realize is that without the history of animation, many things we take for granted today would not exist. Many inventions and innovations in the animation industry would have prevented the film, gaming, graphics and even computer industries from becoming almost non-existent. The history of animation is far from their famous fairy tales and colorful worlds, in fact, many animated films and short films are too dark or sexual for children to even watch. From the mainstream to the avant-garde, history is filled with hundreds of companies around the world that rise and fall from fame, animators and straight to film...... middle of paper... ...in the public domain. Most of them have been restored and released on DVD for collectors and animation and cinema enthusiasts. Works Cited Cavalier, Stephen. The world history of animation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2011. Print. Solomon, Charles. Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation. New York: Knopf, 1989. Print. Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Cartoons. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980. Print. Beckerman, Howard. Animation: the whole story. New York: Allworth, 2003. Print. "Big Cartoon DataBase's Directory of Animated Films and TV Series Episode Guides." » Large RSS database of cartoons. Np, and Web. April 2, 2014. “The oldest animation discovered in Iran. » Animation magazine RSS. Np, and Web. April 2, 2014. “The history of animation. » The history of animation. Np, and Web. April 2. 2014.