The rules this record holds itself to
Editorial Policy
This page sets out the standards applied to everything published on Frame by Frame. They are stricter than a general-interest site requires, because the value of a historical record depends entirely on whether it can be trusted.
1. Nothing is published without a source
Every event in the timeline carries at least two independent citations. Preference is given, in order, to: primary documents and archival holdings; the published research of museums, archives, national libraries and universities; established reference works with editorial oversight; and peer-reviewed scholarship. General web sources, wikis, fan compilations and unsourced articles are not used as authorities, though they are sometimes useful for locating a document that can then be verified.
Where a claim rests on a single account, particularly a recollection given decades after the fact, the entry says so.
2. Dates are stated as precisely as the evidence allows, and no more
A release date, a premiere date, a patent filing date and a patent grant date are different things, and this record distinguishes between them. Where an exact date is documented, it is given. Where only a month or year is established, only a month or year appears.
Disputed dates are reported as disputed
Some events in animation history have no settled date. Where historians disagree, the entry states the disagreement and the reason for it rather than selecting the more convenient version. An early British object-animation film is included in this record specifically because its dating remains contested, and it is labeled that way.
3. Firsts are qualified
Claims of the form "the first X" are among the least reliable statements in film history, because they usually depend on an unstated definition. This record qualifies them: the first animated film photographed on standard motion picture film, the first feature produced entirely with digital ink and paint, the first computer-animated film nominated for an Academy Award. Where a widely repeated "first" is inaccurate or misleading, the entry corrects it.
4. Interpretation is separated from fact
Each record keeps its structured facts, its account of historical context and its assessment of significance in separate fields. Significance is a judgment, it is presented as one, and it is open to challenge. Readers should be able to accept the facts and disagree with the analysis.
5. Historically offensive material is contextualised, not concealed
A number of works discussed here contain racial caricature, wartime propaganda or other content that was ordinary at the time of production and is not acceptable now. This record neither omits such works nor presents them without comment. It follows the practice of the major film archives: the work is described accurately, its content is named, and its historical context is given. Describing something is not endorsing it.
6. Copyright and attribution
No film frames, character designs, posters, promotional artwork or other copyrighted material appear on this site. All illustrations are original work produced for this project. Titles, studio names, character names and trademarks are used for identification and commentary only, and remain the property of their respective owners.
Quotations from source material, where used, are short, attributed and linked to the original.
7. Independence
Frame by Frame accepts no payment, product, access or consideration in exchange for coverage, placement or favourable treatment. No studio, distributor, archive or rights holder reviews or approves material before publication. If any commercial relationship affecting the site is ever established, it will be disclosed prominently on this page and on the pages it affects.
8. Revision and correction
Historical understanding changes as archives open and research advances. Entries are revised when better evidence appears. Substantive corrections are logged publicly under the corrections policy, and are never made silently.
9. Scope
Events are included when they changed what animation could do, how it was made, who it reached, or how it was understood. Commercial success alone is not a criterion, and neither is personal preference. Many significant and admired films are absent because they did not change the medium's direction, and this record does not treat absence as a judgment of quality.