As is the case with any art, appreciating and studying the format is often best accomplished by merely observing the material firsthand. Being a form of popular art, a rather large sampling of milestone and otherwise noteworthy animated films is readily available on videocassette and DVD in video rental stores as well as libraries. The best titles for students of animated film, however, are anthology collections accompanied by narration or documentary productions.

• Origins of American Animation: 1900-1921. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. (UL Media Resources Center 65-V4725)
  This two-volume videocassette recording includes about two-dozen silent animated films (accompanied by piano music) that provide good examples of early experimentation with animated visual effects. While these films were primarily created for entertainment purposes, contemporary audiences may find these short films cute but probably not terribly funny. (Note that these films are also viewable online via the Library of Congress Web site, as indicated on the Web sites portion of this pathfinder.)

• Cartoons Go to War. New York: A&E Home Video, 1995. (UL Media Resources Center 65-V8631)
  A brief television documentary that includes clips of World War II-era propaganda and training films from leading Hollywood studios, along with artist, animator and film historian interviews.

• Walt Disney On the Front Lines. Burbank, Calif.: Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2004. (UL Media Resources Center 65-DVD1566)
  Although this recent DVD release is confined only to material distributed by the Walt Disney studio, this collection is worth a look for its inclusion of complete, uncut works that aimed to education wartime moviegoers and instruct soldiers. Instructional films like "Four Methods of Flush Riveting" and "Stop That Tank" illustrate how animation's immediate aesthetic appeal has been employed to educate audiences.