

Hand-drawn animation uses a series of minutely varying drawings instead of real objects to produce the same effect. The images are photographed, moved slightly, and then photographed again to produce the animation sequence.

Stop-motion animation uses images of actual objects. When the images are displayed in rapid succession, the objects appear to move. The objects in the images change slightly from image to image. Traditional animation relies on techniques that link together a series of still images. Filmmakers continued to develop new animation techniques throughout the century, ensuring that the genre remained consistently fresh and popular to the present day.

The earliest examples of film animation were created around the turn of the twentieth century. Film animation has been trying to achieve that feat for more than a century. The word "animation" means, essentially, the process of bringing a non-living thing to life.
