Title Highlight: Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons

Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons

1 volume: Acronyms & Abbreviations, Chronology, Appendix: Academy Award Winners, Bibliography, Illustrations (at end of book)

This short dictionary provides a look at the historical development of animation and cartoons in cinema, television and other media. The book’s lengthy introduction gives a good overview of the development of animation, which is defined as including not only cartoons in the Disney vein, but also Clay animation (Gumby, Wallace and Gromit), stop-motion using puppets(best exemplified by Ray Harryhausen and Tim Burton), and computer-generated imagery (CGI) first used in a feature film by Disney in Tron.

There are short biographies of animators, film studios, animation techniques, significant films and TV shows and even some well-known characters (including Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat and Bug Bunny). There is only a small section of illustrations at the end of the book and the articles do not include references; these are found in the bibliography at the end of the book. The book does not just cover American animation; entries on anime, manga and European animation and animators are also found.