August 17, 1908: Fantasmagorie is released.
This French animated film is widely considered the first animated cartoon, and it is one of the oldest examples of traditional animation. It was created by Émile Cohl, a Parisian cartoonist who made 700 drawings in total for his (relatively short) animation, and it screened for the first time in Paris’s Théâtre du Gymnase. Fantasmagorie lacked any sort of coherent narrative structure, consisting mostly of surreal images (meant to resemble chalkboard drawings) melting and morphing into each other - but it was a milestone in animation history.
The name Fantasmagorie refers to the form of theatre popular in the 19th century known as phantasmagoria.