Gertie the Dinosaur is a 1914 American animated short film by Winsor McCay. One of the earliest animated cartoons, the film was originally created for McCay's Vaudeville performances. The novelty of the cartoon was that McCay would appear in a tuxedo and interact with the animated dinosaur Gertie with an almost circus-like act, tossing her an apple and finally climbing on top of her and riding off.