Golden age of American animation

The golden age of American animation was a period that began with the popularization of sound synchronized cartoons in 1928 starting with Steamboat Willie, and gradually ended throughout the 1960s when theatrical animated cartoon film shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medium of television. Animated media from after the golden age, especially on television, were produced on cheaper budgets and with more limited techniques starting in the late 1950s.

Multiple highly popular animated cartoon characters emerged from this period, including:

Over the course of these four decades, the quality of the media released throughout the golden age has often been debated. The peak of this era is usually cited as during the 1930s and 1940s, attributed to the theatrical run of studios including Walt Disney Animation Studios, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoons, Paramount Cartoon Studios, Walter Lantz Productions, Terrytoons, and Fleischer Studios. In later decades, namely between the 1950s and 1960s, the era is sometimes divided into a "silver age" due to the emergence of studios such as UPA, DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, and Jay Ward Productions; these companies' presence in the industry grew significantly with the rise of television following the golden age's conclusion. Furthermore, the history of animation became very important artistically in the United States.

Feature-length animation began during this period, most notably with Disney's "Walt-era" films, spanning from 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and 1940's Pinocchio to 1967's The Jungle Book and 1970's The Aristocats (last animated films produced before Walt Disney's death in 1966). During this period, several live-action films incorporated animation, such as Saludos Amigos (1942), Anchors Aweigh (1945), Song of the South (1946), Dangerous When Wet (1953), Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). In addition, stop motion and special effects were also developed, with films such as King Kong (1933), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), The War of the Worlds (1953), Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy (1954), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Forbidden Planet (1956), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

Animation also began on television during this period with Crusader Rabbit (the first animated series broadcast in 1948) and early versions of Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959), both from Jay Ward Productions. The rise of television animation is often considered to be a factor that hastened the golden age's end. However, various authors include Hanna-Barbera's earliest animated series through 1962 as part of the golden age, with shows like Ruff and Reddy (1957), Huckleberry Hound (1958), Quick Draw McGraw (1959), The Flintstones (1960), Yogi Bear (1961), Top Cat (1961), Wally Gator (1962) and The Jetsons (1962), including the theatrical cartoons released by Columbia Pictures such as Loopy De Loop (1959) and the feature films released between 1964 and 1966. Huckleberry Hound became the first animated television series to win an Emmy Award (for Outstanding Children's Program).

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