Guest-edited by Jean-Baptiste Massuet

When we use the expression “animated drawing,” a certain image comes to mind immediately, drawing in large part on the industrial model descended from the work of Walt Disney. The technological logic underlying this model has a long history, one begun in large part in the United States in a context which it is worthwhile to examine. In the 1910s there was a series of hesitations and experiments aimed at conceiving animated drawings in a reduced amount of time in order to increase output, and thus profitability. In this sense, the cartoon industry’s establishment of methods based on the technical imaginary of the moving picture camera is less the result of a desire to incorporate dominant film forms than of an attempt to mechanise the production of moving images.