Animation
Animation is the art of creating the illusion of movement by displaying a rapid sequence of still images, whether drawn, physically manipulated, or generated by computer. The illusion of motion began with the phenakistoscope, a Victorian-era optical toy that spun and tricked the eye into seeing moving images, and the principle of rapid sequential imagery has underlain every technique since.[^c1]
The medium has a history that spans more than a century. After the first animated films of the early twentieth century, animation matured through the studio era, when the great Hollywood studios built the character-driven cartoon and the feature-length animated film, then adapted to television through cost-saving limited animation, and finally transformed itself with the rise of computer-generated imagery, whose commercial viability triggered a rapid industry-wide shift.[^c3]
Animation is a deeply collaborative craft. A single production draws together a large team of specialized artists, technicians, and managers — see [[industry/production-pipeline]] for the full list of roles.[^c2] The techniques involved range from hand-drawn cel animation and stop-motion claymation to 3D computer graphics, each with its own pipeline, tools, and aesthetic.
Around the world, animation developed distinctive national traditions. Anime grew from humble beginnings in early 1900s Japan into a global phenomenon beloved by millions, carried to worldwide audiences by studios such as Toei Animation and Studio Ghibli and by filmmakers including Hayao Miyazaki.[^c4] In the 2020s the industry consolidated around streaming distribution, most dramatically in anime, where the platform Crunchyroll was acquired by Sony for $1.175 billion in 2021,[^c5] and generative artificial intelligence began entering production, with the first 95-minute AI-generated feature film premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2026.[^c6] Today animation spans theatrical features, television series, streaming, advertising, and interactive media, and it is both a major entertainment industry and a respected art form.