The first animated feature film is contested. Most consider Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937) to hold this honor, as it was the first to use cel-animation (now referred to as "traditional animation"). However, seven feature length animated films were created before this.
El Apóstol (1917), Sin dejar rastros (1918) and Peludópolis (1931), directed by Quirino Cristiani, were drawn in the style of political editorial Cartoons. All are considered lost films.
- The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), directed by Lotte Reiniger, was made using cardboard cutouts similar to Wayang shadow puppets. This is the oldest surviving animated film.
- The New Gulliver (1935), directed by Aleksandr Ptushko and A. Vanichkin, had some live action sequences but mostly used stop-motion puppets. These puppets had removable heads with pre-molded expressions (similar to stop-motion techniques used today).
- The Tale of the Fox (1937), directed by Irene and Wladyslaw Starevich, also used stop-motion puppetry. The film was actually completed in 1930 but was not released for seven years due to issues with the soundtrack.
- The Seven Ravens (1937), directed by Ferdinand and Hermann Diehl, was the third stop-motion animated film.
