Process and Production: Research 1: The Golden Age

The Golden age of animation was a period from approximately 1928 until the 1960's in which the animation industry really picked up in the mainstream media. Animation became incredibly popular and the techniques advanced faster than ever before. This era introduced a great many iconic characters and invented and refined the 12 principles of animation. 

The era started roughly with the release of 'Steamboat Willie' in 1928. This was a big deal in terms of mainstream animation innovation. This was very popular and was one of the first animations to include synced sound. Disney became one of the key driving forces of animation as a media. Many animated shots were made involving a wide range of new characters that have become staples of the animation genre in general. 

The first big feature film of this era, and possibly the main key event kicking off the golden age, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1938. This was an incredible achievement and started a long line of classic Disney films to come including Pinocchio, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and many more. These animated features took an awful long time to do, weren't cheap to make, and rarely made a profit but they are incredibly well loved films and have amazing animation skill with innovative use of techniques and processes.

The 12 principles of animation, while not officially stated until the 1981 book 'The Illusion of Life', were created and used by the 9 old men of Disney and have gone on to be the fundamental laws of physics within the animation industry. These terms are used between animators as a common language so everyone knows what to refer to when talking about the work. 


The golden age started to fizzle out when interest shifted towards live action films. The animation industry was becoming harder to sustain and much harder to break even on films. The era really took the biggest kick when Walt Disney died in 1966. The company really struggled to come back from this for a long time, making films that were rarely box office hits, though adored by fans and critics. This also had a rather big impact on the animation industry in general, with audience demand lessening. 

This era of animation produced some of the greatest animated classics ever. It was a time of incredible progress with the techniques used to create animation. Possibly the most prominent thing to come from this era are the 12 principles because they have been the guidelines for so much mainstream animation since.