The first animation studio was opened in New York by Raul Barre around 1914 and short animation features soon became a mainstay in theaters throughout the country. In late 1914, Ed Hurd, an employee of the John Bray studio, invented the process of inking the animator’s drawings onto clear pieces of celluloid and then photographing them in succession on a single painted background. An animated film typically requires 24 cels to create one second of finished film. Animated cartoons became a favorite form of entertainment and over the following decades, production studios created some of the most beloved characters such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, The Flintstones, and many more.
