From ‘Trucfilm’ to ‘Animatiefilm’: How the Emergence of Animation as a New Artistic Form Is Reflected in Dutch Terminology

Abstract

Before 1940, the influence of foreign films, filmmakers and film networks on film culture in the Netherlands was substantial. This article investigates how various Dutch professionals within the fields of film production, distribution, exhibition and reception referred to animation film, in a period when this term was not part of the Dutch language. From early on, animation film was recognized as being ‘intrinsically different’ from live-action film and, along with the gradual emergence of this new artistic form, a corresponding language to support it evolved, influenced by language contacts in various contexts in the multilingual landscape in Europe. From the first singular appearances in 1913, a more form-specific terminology had gradually developed by 1940. During the same time, animation film steadily proceeded to occupy its permanent place in Dutch film culture.