Charles-Emile Reynaud was a French inventor who created the first animated films projected for a public audience. He invented the Praxinoscope in 1877, which used mirrors to project animated images brighter and smoother than previous devices. Reynaud projected his first animated film "Pauvre Pierrot" at the Musee Grevin in Paris in 1892. He later opened the Theatre Optique, where he projected animated films of up to 15 minutes in length comprising around 500 pictures each. Unfortunately, Reynaud's work was commercially destroyed by 1910 due to the growing popularity of motion pictures, and he died in poverty in 1917.

1. Charles-Emile Reynaud
Inventor of the Praxinoscope

2. Biography
• Born 8 December1844 Charles-Emile Reynaud was a French
science teacher who became responsible for the first
projected animated cartoons.
• He projected his first animated film in public, Pauvre Pierrot at
the Musssee Grevilin In Paris.
• He later opened his own theatre, The Theatre Optique from
which he projected his animated moives.
• This theatre was a celebrated attraction between 1892 and
1900

3. The Praxinoscope
The Praxinoscope is the successor to the zoetrope it was inventing in
1877, it replaced the narrow slits on the zoetrope with a inner circle of
mirrors that made the picture brighter and smoother to watch.
Later editions of this could be projected (The two devices at the
bottom of the page could both project an unchanging back ground as
well as moving characters).
As well as this he advanced the mechanism to allow 15 minute films
to be played which compromised of around 500 pictures.

4. The films / Animations
Pauvre pierrot! -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKWNOeN5CQ as seen
in the photo on the last slide. 1892
Un bon bock 1892
Le clown et ses chiens 1892
Reve au coin du deu 1894
Le premier cigare 1896
Guillaume Tell 1896

5. Downfall and Legacy
• By 1910 however he had been commercially destroyed by the
Etiene-Jules Marey’s cinematograph and the Lemiere brothers
films. In a fit of rage he destroyed most of his irreplaceable
work and one of a kind machines by throwing them into the
Seine
• He died completely penniless 7 years later.
• His technique was the first use of film spools and sprocket
holes things that are still integral to analogue projection today.
• His remaining films are still recognised by scholars today as the
first animated films (He even has an IMDB account)