Who owned the largest animation studio before World War I?

The largest animation studio before World War I was owned by John Bray. He played a significant role in the early development of the animation industry and established one of the first successful animation studios in the United States. Bray developed a system for producing cartoons that included the use of interchangeable backgrounds and methods to streamline the animation process, which allowed his studio to produce films more efficiently than others at the time.

Additionally, Bray was influential in the business side of animation; he was not only an animator but also a producer and an advocate for the rights of animation creators. His work laid the groundwork for the industry and allowed him to build a large scale operation that dominated the market before the war. This prominence is a key factor in recognizing his studio as the largest during that period.

The other options—Otto Messmer, Max Fleischer, and Chuck Jones—were indeed significant figures in animation but came into prominence after Bray's era. Messmer was associated with the popular Felix the Cat character, Fleischer is known for his innovations in the 1920s and 1930s with characters like Betty Boop and Popeye, while Chuck Jones became a leading director and animator of the Golden Age of American animation well after World War I. Their contributions,