Abstract: Giannaberto Bendazzi, an Italian historian of animation, believes that Emile Cohl and his Fantasmagorie are the origins of animation art. Bendazzi’s view is problematic as he considered the origins of animation and film share the same genealogy, ignoring the significant differences on media basis. From the perspective of intermediality of art, Emile Reynaud’s Luminous Pantomimes presents the media difference between animation and film, representing a heterogeneous origin of animation in the modern era. Analyses of this origin will provide an insight into the ontology of animation, which is a cross-media art.

Key words: animation as art, cross-media, intermediality, Emile Reynaud