Which work is considered the first commercial-cartoon release?

• A. Steamboat Willie
• B. Felix the Cat
• C. Gertie the Dinosaur
• D. Colonel Heeza Liar in Africa

Answer: (D)

The question tests when animation first became a commercially released product for theaters. Colonel Heeza Liar in Africa, released in 1915, is recognized as the first animated short packaged and distributed to multiple theaters for public, paid viewing. This marks the shift from animated pieces shown only in vaudeville acts or as demonstrations to a marketable product that studios could sell and show to a broad audience.

Gertie the Dinosaur is an important early achievement and showcased animation as a craft, but it originated as a stage demonstration rather than a widely distributed commercial short. Later works like Felix the Cat and Steamboat Willie helped expand distribution and add new features (like synchronized sound in Steamboat Willie), but they come after that initial commercial release. So the earliest, commercially released cartoon short is Colonel Heeza Liar in Africa.