Why is animation important?
Eadweard Muybridge was the first man to ever use photos in sequence to create an animation like creation. It was at this moment that other inventors began experimenting with animation.
It was at this point that production studios of animation such as Warner Bros and Disney began it's early start in short animated films that would typically not last very long. Below is one of Walt Disney's first Laugh o grams produced at this time.
However it wasn't until Walt Disney's short Steam Boat WIllie that animation really kicked off due to the animation having sound to go with the animation.
This was the pinnacle point for animation as it kicked off into making full length feature films, it's first being Snow White
From this point on the game had been changed for the movie industry, no longer were films in real life, This opened a world to a new medium of film.