In 1906 the first ever animation was released as a silent short film involving chalk drawings coming to life with "funny faces" and boy have we come a long way since then! I'm a big fan of animation because it offers so much diversity, anything you can imagine and can draw can be animated and brung to life on the screen.
For more information, including the first animated film (Quicktime req'd) check out:
http://www.animationarchive.org/animation100
lol, ironic timing, I just posted a thread honouring one of the greatest animation works of art in modern history...
http://forums.righteouswrath.com/viewtopic.php?t=3182