The Father of American Animation - J. Stuart Blackton
The first film with a bit of animation -- a so called "Trick Film" made in America was The Enchanted Drawing, made in 1900, by vaudeville performer J. Stuart Blackton, working with Thomas Edison. In 1906 he made a film called Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. You can see it and read about it at the Library of Congress.
