Zoetrope works on the same principle as its predecessor, the phenakistoscope, but is more convenient and allows the animation to be viewed by several people at the same time.

The phenàkistope is also a success and The From the late 19th century, devices working on similar principles have been developed, named analogously as linear zoetropes and 3D zoetropes, with traditional zoetropes referred to as 'cylindrical zoetropes' if distinction is needed. The scanning of the slits keeps the pictures from simply blurring together, and the user sees a rapid succession of images, producing the illusion of motion. As the cylinder spins, the user looks through the cuts at the pictures across. On the inner surface of the cylinder is a band with images from a set of sequenced pictures. The zoetrope consists of a cylinder with cuts vertically in the sides.

The term was coined by inventor William E. The name zoetrope was composed from the Greek root words ζωή zoe, 'life' and τρόπος tropos, 'turning' as a translation of 'wheel of life'. The definitive version, with easily replaceable picture strips, was introduced as a toy by Milton Bradley in 1866 and became very successful. It was basically a cylindrical variation of the phénakisticope, suggested almost immediately after the stroboscopic discs were introduced in 1833. A zoetrope is one of several pre-film animation devices that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion.

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