Animation: A World History

6Silent Europe

The Individualists

At the beginning of the century, Old Continent animation found expression not only through Émile Cohl and the avant-garde painters but also through the isolated artists who worked in Great Britain, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia. Almost without exception, animators worked either alone or in small groups: no industry, no market outlets, and no careers. In many countries lacking structure and know-how, animation was left to the enthusiasm and extravagance of a few isolated amateurs. Some nations with old cultural traditions, such as the Netherlands, Italy, Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, produced only occasional films. World War I boosted the market by creating demand for satirical patriotic propaganda ...