Motion Picture: Solution

By Greg Pliska
Animation by Kennedy Shine

Answer: FANTASMAGORIE

The animation shows various “firsts,” along with the enumeration of the desired answer—the person/place that is credited with the particular first. In video order, these are:

First	Answer	Year
Drive-in movie theater	CAMDEN, NJ	1933
Woman to swim the English Channel	Gertrude EDERLE	1926
Calculation of the circumference of the Earth	ERATOSTHENES	c. 240 BC
Person on the cover of People magazine	Mia FARROW	1974
(Non-sherpa) to summit Mt. Everest	Sir Edmund HILLARY	1953
Musical guest on Saturday Night Live	Janis IAN	1975
Person crowned Tsar of Russia	IVAN IV	1547
Animal to orbit the Earth	LAIKA	1957
Flying trapeze act	Jules LEOTARD	1859
Electronic cigarette (inventor of)	Hon LIK	2003
State to legalize same-sex marriage	MASSACHUSETTS	2004
Novel (author of)	MURASAKI	11th century
Parking meters	OKLAHOMA CITY	1935

Reordering these events chronologically, the first letters spell EMILE COHL FILM.

Emile Cohl created the first animated film, FANTASMAGORIE (which is the answer to this puzzle).

Acceptance Letter to MIT	Anger Management Book	Architect’s Compass	Bargaining Chips	Broken Twig	Burnt Sulfur Lugnut	Cardiac Devices	Denial of Service Attack Plan
Depression-Era Clothing	Domestic Avocado	Faded Sofa	Fancy Pocketwatch	Harlequin Doll	Iron Shovels	Leviticus Single	Lil’ String Bikini
Little Statue of Liberty	Lottery Numbers	Madman’s Jackal Mask	Mint-Flavored Salami	Mississippi Collectible	Nebular Gloves	Neural Blade	Officer’s Truncheons
Old Deuteronomy Sheet Music	Polyatomic Robot	Red Pinafore	Sega Genesis	Severe Beret	Shield of Judgment	Sienna Notebook	Soldierly Parasol
Sparkling Necklace	Super-Accurate Tri-Square	Tacky Jeweled Helm	Tamil Liqueur	Ultima III: Exodus	Ultrasonic Boots	Unsafe Mtorolite	Worn Loop of Gold
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