Color animation existed before Walt Disney's work. The first color animated film, "The Little Nemo," was released in 1911 using hand-painted cels. Other early color animation techniques included using tinted films or adding color by hand.
Walt Disney's contribution was not inventing color animation, but rather significantly advancing and popularizing it. He was a pioneer in using technicolor, a process that allowed for more vibrant and realistic colors, in his films. This led to a revolution in animation, making color animation more widespread and accessible to audiences.
Here's a timeline of color animation:
* 1911: "The Little Nemo" was the first color animated film using hand-painted cels.
* 1917: The first full-length color cartoon, "The Princess and the Goblin," was created using hand-painted cels.
* 1932: Walt Disney's "Flowers and Trees" was the first animated film to be released in Technicolor.
So, while Walt Disney played a vital role in popularizing color animation, he did not invent it.