ABSTRACT
The delight of animation comes of the experience of movement, and the art of animation is, above all, that of movement. Attempts to characterize animation, to gauge its marvels, usually speak about the magic of something inanimate coming to life, an object, a drawing, strips of paper, a lump of clay. The basic definitions of animation include both bringing to life and making something move (Crafton 2011). Thus, moving and coming to life appear synonymous in animation. This capacity of movement in animation implies a sort of ubiquitous power to bring the most inert, stable, and implausible objects to life. In the context of cel animation, which is the focus of this chapter, the cartoons of Walt Disney are a common point of reference, especially those of the 1930s such as the Silly Symphonies in which all manner of inanimate objects start to move, that is, spring to life.
