On 9 November 1917, a significant milestone in cinematic history was achieved in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the premiere of "El Apóstol" – the world's first animated feature film. Directed by Italian-Argentine animator Quirino Cristiani, this silent film utilized groundbreaking techniques in animation and set the stage for the future of an entire industry.
"El Apóstol" was an impressive 70 minutes long and consisted of 58,000 frames of stop-motion caricature, all painstakingly crafted by Cristiani. The film used cardboard cutouts moving against glass backgrounds, a method that predates the cel animation technique commonly associated with classic animation studios.
The story in "El Apóstol" was a political satire where the protagonist, President Yrigoyen of Argentina, ascends to the heavens to utilize Jupiter’s thunderbolts to cleanse Buenos Aires of corruption and moral degradation, returning peace and honesty to the city. This creative narrative not only reflected Cristiani’s innovative animation techniques but also conveyed sharp commentary on the political climate of Argentina during that era.
Despite its historical significance, "El Apóstol" no longer exists in any known archives, having been lost in a fire in 1926 that destroyed producer Federico Valle's film studio. This tragic loss means that modern audiences and scholars are left with only descriptions of its content and its significance in animation history.
Quirino Cristiani's work on "El Apóstol" laid foundational techniques that would later be refined and enhanced by others in the animation industry. His pioneering efforts are a testament to the creativity and resilience of early filmmakers. Cristiani continued to innovate in the field, creating other animated films, including "Sin dejar rastros" in 1918, which also unfortunately succumbed to fire, and "Peludópolis" in 1931, which was the first animated feature film with sound, released four years before Disney’s "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".
While "El Apóstol" itself may have been lost to fire, its legacy endures as a hallmark of creativity and innovation in film, proving that animation could carry complex narratives and appeal to adult audiences, a concept that would take several more decades to be embraced globally in the film industry. Cristiano’s work opened a new realm of possibilities for storytelling through animation, cementing his place as a pioneering figure in the history of cinema.
