* Early animation was a rapidly evolving field: The earliest examples of animation were often short, experimental, and sometimes lost to time.
* There's no central authority: There wasn't a clear-cut "official" list or record-keeping system in the early days of animation.
However, some strong contenders for the title of "second cartoon" include:
* "The Haunted Hotel" (1907): This American animated short by J. Stuart Blackton is often cited as the first cartoon to feature a narrative. It predates "Fantasmagorie" by a few months, but some argue it wasn't truly "animated" in the same way.
* "The Humpty Dumpty Circus" (1908): This British animated short by Arthur Melbourne-Cooper is another early contender, known for its use of cut-out animation.
Ultimately, the "second cartoon" may never be definitively determined. The early history of animation is full of fascinating experiments and innovations, and the exact order of these works is often debated.