Animation dates back to 1825 when John A. Paris made the first thaumatrope, a disc with one image on each side that spun on strings attached to each end (fig01). This was an optical toy that opened the doors to the future phenakistoscopes, zoetropes, and praxinoscopes (fig02). In the decades afterwards, animation maintained its roots in optical illusion, being seen as party amusements and entertainment for house guests. However, in the 1870s, people began to further market these illusions to a wider audience, thereby allowing new innovations and adding narrative to these animated images which in the remaining years developed into what we understand today as animated cinema and television.

In today’s society, animation has found many outlets. Seen as TV shows, films, advertisements, and gallery exhibitions, it has become diverse in its uses. It is used as a form of social commentary, a means of propaganda, of raising military morale, promoting morals, and for pure comedy. Each of these purposes rely on the psychological connection that iconic imagery and motion has with a viewer. As humans, we relate life to motion and we create identity through icons. By simplifying our recognition of characters and maintaining our belief that the motions are real, animation psychologically connects us in to its narrative.

In modern day, animators have analyzed this connection with the audience in their work, creating films and shorts which reflect the intangible qualities of the mind. Taking advantage of the techniques of animation, animators have been able to create works about psychology. This paper will analyze animations where psychology has become the topic.