As we continue down our road of history, let's take a look at the first full-length animated films of all time. Contrary to popular belief, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs actually was not the first animated movie. The first movie was El Apostol, an Argentinian film released in 1917. The film lasted at 70 minutes, but unfortunately does not exist now, as no copies of the film have been found, even after decades of searching.

<--The only surviving frame from El Apostol.

Ironically, the next animated film made is a lost film as well: Without a Trace, also from Argentina. Around this time, however, short films made from animation became popular. The first animated short film was Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, released in America in 1906. Although animated shorts were rudimentary at first, they rapidly became sophisticated to the point where classics such as Gertie the Dinosaur and Koko the Clown were being produced. Gertie the Dinosaur is widely regarded, truthfully, as the first animated film to feature a character with a distinct personality.

^Gertie the Dinosaur, the first animated character with a personality.^

In 1919, Otto Messmer invented the first cartoon superstar: Felix the Cat. This lovable black-and-white cat's cartoons soon became a favorite of moviegoers in the United States, to the point where people paid full price for a movie just to see the Felix short that was shown in front--and then left the theater after it was done.

In 1921, Walt Disney became an intern for Laugh-o-Gram Cartoons, which specialized in live-action/animation. He helped to produce the "Alice Comedies", which used revolutionary technology to make a young girl named Alice seem to blend in to an animated world, full of lions and trees. Disney later produced "Oswald the Rabbit" cartoons, but in 1928 left the studio to make his own business. He and his brother Roy Disney started "Disney Studios", and began production immediately...

^As Walt Disney later said, "It all began with a Mouse."^