Gertie the Dinosaur

Gertie the Dinosaur is the earliest animated film to feature a character with a distinct personality. Winsor McCay drew thousands of frames by hand, creating a friendly brontosaurus that eats, drinks, dances, and responds to his commands like a trained pet. Originally performed as a live stage act where McCay "interacted" with the projected dinosaur, the surviving print frames the animation with a live-action prologue. Gertie is a foundational work of character animation. The film is in the public domain in the United States as a pre-1930 work.