The First Animated Feature Film Wasn’t Made By Disney
For generations, the conventional wisdom has placed Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) as the world's first animated feature film. This belief is so deeply ingrained in popular culture that it's almost cinematic gospel.
Indeed, Snow White was a monumental achievement, a dazzling spectacle that broke new ground in storytelling, character animation and commercial success, forever. But the idea that it was the first ever animated movie is a misconception.
Before the vibrant cel animation of Snow White captivated audiences, two earlier works had already laid claim to the title of feature-length animated films, each a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of early animators working with vastly different techniques and under very different circumstances.
'El Apóstol' was the World's First Animated Feature
The true trailblazer in animated features originated South America - Argentina, to be exact.
El Apóstol (The Apostle) was released in 1917, and it holds the title of being considered the world's first animated feature film. Conceived and directed by the visionary Quirino Cristiani, El Apóstol was far from the whimsical fairytale narratives that would later define animated cinema. Instead, it was a biting political satire, an audacious undertaking that used the burgeoning art form of animation to comment on contemporary society.
The film focused on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen, transforming him into a divine figure who ascends to heaven to purge Buenos Aires of its perceived immorality. Running for an impressive 60-70 minutes, it comfortably met the criteria for a feature-length film of its era.
Cristiani utilized cutout animation, a meticulous stop-motion technique where flat figures, cut from paper or cardboard, are incrementally moved and photographed frame by frame. While labor-intensive, this allowed for a fluidity that was remarkable for its time.
Tragically, despite its historical significance, El Apóstol is now lost. No known copies are believed to still exist, having been destroyed, lost, or simply succumbed to the ravages of time and neglect.
'The Adventures of Prince Achmed' is the Oldest Surviving Animated Feature
Nearly a decade after El Apóstol's debut, another animated feature emerged, this time from Germany. The Adventures of Prince Achmed, directed by Lotte Reiniger, premiered in 1926, and it stands as the oldest surviving animated feature film.
Reiniger's film was approximately 65 minutes long and was a masterful display of silhouette animation, a highly specialized and incredibly laborious form of cutout animation. Inspired by traditional Indonesian shadow puppetry, Reiniger crafted her characters and scenes from black cardboard, articulated with lead hinges. These delicate figures were then arranged on a backlighted plane and photographed frame by frame, creating an ethereal and elegant visual style unlike anything seen before or since.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed drew its inspiration from One Thousand and One Nights, transporting viewers into a world of magic lamps, flying horses and enchanting princesses. What makes Reiniger's achievement even more remarkable is that she personally designed and animated all the characters and backgrounds herself.
'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' Ushers in a New Era
It's against this backdrop of prior innovation that Walt Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.
While it may not have been the first animated feature film, its historical importance is nonetheless undeniable. Snow White was the first full-length feature film to be made using cel animation, which revolutionized the industry by allowing animators to draw and paint individual frames onto transparent sheets of celluloid, which could be layered over static backgrounds. This technique allowed for an unprecedented level of fluidity, detail, and richness in character movement and expression, setting a new standard for animation quality that would dominate the industry for decades.
Snow White was an unprecedented commercial success, breaking box office records with its earnings and proving definitively that animated features could not only entertain, but also be highly profitable ventures capable of competing with live-action films. Its global distribution and marketing were unparalleled, ensuring that Snow White's enchanting tale reached audiences worldwide and cemented its place as a cultural touchstone.
Why Does the Misconception Exist?
The persistence of the misconception that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first animated feature can be attributed to several factors. The status of El Apóstol as a lost film is perhaps the most significant. Without physical evidence, its historical claim becomes challenging to substantiate and widely disseminate. It exists largely as a footnote, rather than a celebrated landmark.
Secondly, the distinct animation techniques employed by these earlier films played a crucial role. Both El Apóstol's cutout animation and The Adventures of Prince Achmed's silhouette style were significantly different from the cel animation popularized by Disney. Disney's method became the industry standard and was widely adopted and emulated, leading many to mistakenly perceive it as the initial form of feature animation.
The aesthetic of cel animation also offered a level of realism and detail that appealed to broader audiences and shaped their understanding of what "animation" truly meant.
Thirdly, Disney's unparalleled commercial success and global distribution network created an overwhelming narrative. The company's massive marketing efforts, its ability to reach audiences in virtually every corner of the world and the sheer cultural impact of Snow White generated a powerful story of innovation that, inadvertently, overshadowed its predecessors. Earlier, less commercially robust works simply couldn't compete with the Disney marketing machine, leading them to fade into relative obscurity.
Finally, the nuances of qualification often get lost in simplified historical accounts. While El Apóstol was indeed the first animated feature, Prince Achmed was the first surviving one, and Snow White was the first cel-animated and commercially successful animated feature. These distinctions, though critical for historical accuracy, are often conflated or overlooked, leading to the convenient but incorrect generalization that Disney's Snow White was the absolute first.
You Now Have a Better Understanding of Animated Cinema
Ultimately, understanding the true lineage of animated feature films doesn't diminish the brilliance or importance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Instead, it enriches our appreciation for the diverse and challenging history of animation, highlighting the pioneering spirit of visionaries like Quirino Cristiani and Lotte Reiniger. Their daring experiments, often conducted with limited resources and against significant odds, paved the way for the cinematic wonders that followed.
Recognizing El Apóstol and The Adventures of Prince Achmed for their rightful place in history offers a more complete and accurate understanding of how this captivating art form evolved, demonstrating that the ambition to tell long-form stories through animation began much earlier than many widely believe, far before Disney's iconic princess ever took her first step onto the silver screen.