Some of the earliest cartoons were made with flipbooks, which contained images in sequence, flipped by the viewer to simulate movement. You can make a "cartoon" like this yourself by using a pad of paper and drawing a stick figure "walking" across the bottom edge of the paper. How are modern cartoons made that we see on television and the movies?
VIDEO CREDIT: Carlson, Wallace, animator and writer. "Dud Leaves Home," Bray Pictures Corp., 1919. Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress.