Early Animation – The Zoescope

Today, Google highlighted Muybridge’s The Horse in Motion for his 182nd birthday. This early motion picture was created using a device Muybridge created called a zoopraxiscope that paved the way for modern cinematography. I’d like to follow it with another cool early animation device called the zoetrope that I learned about in my recent trip to California. The following clip uses the characters familiar from Toy Story, one of Pixar’s earliest hit animations.

The audio narration (in the voice of Woody) explains how the Zoetrope works, using a quickly-flashing strobe light and a rotating display. Pretty sweet, I think.