Animation

Animation refers to the process in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result. When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed at a speed of 16 or more frames per second, there is an illusion of continuous movement (due to the persistence of vision). Generating such a film is very labour intensive and tedious, though the development of computer animation has greatly sped up the process.

Anime is the common term used for Japanese Animation; the older term "Japanimation" has fallen out of favor.

The earliest animated film with synchronized sound was Steamboat Willie, featuring Mickey Mouse.