diff --git a/plotly/offline/offline.py b/plotly/offline/offline.py
index 4317febdeb..01c08acf10 100644
--- a/plotly/offline/offline.py
+++ b/plotly/offline/offline.py
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ def init_notebook_mode(connected=False):
 
 
 def _plot_html(figure_or_data, config, validate, default_width,
-               default_height, global_requirejs):
+               default_height, global_requirejs, auto_play):
 
     figure = tools.return_figure_from_figure_or_data(figure_or_data, validate)
 
@@ -348,13 +348,20 @@ def _plot_html(figure_or_data, config, validate, default_width,
                                                          'https://plot.ly')
 
     if jframes:
+        if auto_play:
+            animate = (".then(function(){" +
+                       "Plotly.animate('{id}');".format(id=plotdivid) +
+                       "})")
+        else:
+            animate = ''
+
         script = '''
         Plotly.plot(
             '{id}',
             {data},
             {layout},
             {config}
-        ).then(function () {add_frames}).then(function(){animate})
+        ).then(function () {add_frames}){animate}
         '''.format(
             id=plotdivid,
             data=jdata,
@@ -363,7 +370,7 @@ def _plot_html(figure_or_data, config, validate, default_width,
             add_frames="{" + "return Plotly.addFrames('{id}',{frames}".format(
                 id=plotdivid, frames=jframes
             ) + ");}",
-            animate="{" + "Plotly.animate('{id}');".format(id=plotdivid) + "}"
+            animate=animate
         )
     else:
         script = 'Plotly.newPlot("{id}", {data}, {layout}, {config})'.format(
@@ -397,7 +404,7 @@ def _plot_html(figure_or_data, config, validate, default_width,
 
 def iplot(figure_or_data, show_link=False, link_text='Export to plot.ly',
           validate=True, image=None, filename='plot_image', image_width=800,
-          image_height=600, config=None):
+          image_height=600, config=None, auto_play=True):
     """
     Draw plotly graphs inside an IPython or Jupyter notebook without
     connecting to an external server.
@@ -433,6 +440,9 @@ def iplot(figure_or_data, show_link=False, link_text='Export to plot.ly',
     config (default=None) -- Plot view options dictionary. Keyword arguments
         `show_link` and `link_text` set the associated options in this
         dictionary if it doesn't contain them already.
+    auto_play (default=True) -- Whether to automatically start the animation
+        sequence if the figure contains frames. Has no effect if the figure
+        does not contain frames.
 
     Example:
     ```
@@ -473,8 +483,7 @@ def iplot(figure_or_data, show_link=False, link_text='Export to plot.ly',
 
     if __PLOTLY_OFFLINE_INITIALIZED:
         plot_html, plotdivid, width, height = _plot_html(
-            figure_or_data, config, validate, '100%', 525, True
-        )
+            figure_or_data, config, validate, '100%', 525, True, auto_play)
         resize_script = ''
         if width == '100%' or height == '100%':
             resize_script = _build_resize_script(
@@ -515,7 +524,7 @@ def plot(figure_or_data, show_link=False, link_text='Export to plot.ly',
          validate=True, output_type='file', include_plotlyjs=True,
          filename='temp-plot.html', auto_open=True, image=None,
          image_filename='plot_image', image_width=800, image_height=600,
-         config=None, include_mathjax=False):
+         config=None, include_mathjax=False, auto_play=True):
     """ Create a plotly graph locally as an HTML document or string.
 
     Example:
@@ -625,6 +634,9 @@ def plot(figure_or_data, show_link=False, link_text='Export to plot.ly',
         If a string that ends in '.js', a script tag is included that
         references the specified path. This approach can be used to point the
         resulting HTML file to an alternative CDN.
+    auto_play (default=True) -- Whether to automatically start the animation
+        sequence on page load if the figure contains frames. Has no effect if
+        the figure does not contain frames.
     """
     if output_type not in ['div', 'file']:
         raise ValueError(
@@ -642,7 +654,7 @@ def plot(figure_or_data, show_link=False, link_text='Export to plot.ly',
 
     plot_html, plotdivid, width, height = _plot_html(
         figure_or_data, config, validate,
-        '100%', '100%', global_requirejs=False)
+        '100%', '100%', global_requirejs=False, auto_play=auto_play)
 
     # Build resize_script
     resize_script = ''
diff --git a/plotly/tests/test_core/test_offline/test_offline.py b/plotly/tests/test_core/test_offline/test_offline.py
index 6607b38dc8..8fb3499180 100644
--- a/plotly/tests/test_core/test_offline/test_offline.py
+++ b/plotly/tests/test_core/test_offline/test_offline.py
@@ -23,6 +23,18 @@
     )
 }
 
+fig_frames = {
+    'data': [
+        plotly.graph_objs.Scatter(x=[1, 2, 3], y=[10, 20, 30])
+    ],
+    'layout': plotly.graph_objs.Layout(
+        title='offline plot'
+    ),
+    'frames': [
+        {'layout': {'title': 'frame 1'}}
+    ]
+}
+
 
 resize_code_strings = [
             'window.addEventListener("resize", ',
@@ -52,6 +64,9 @@
 
 mathjax_font = 'STIX-Web'
 
+add_frames = 'Plotly.addFrames'
+
+do_auto_play = 'Plotly.animate'
 
 class PlotlyOfflineBaseTestCase(TestCase):
     def tearDown(self):
@@ -396,3 +411,13 @@ def test_include_mathjax_path_div(self):
         self.assertNotIn(mathjax_cdn_script, html)
         self.assertIn(other_cdn+mathjax_config_str, html)
         self.assertIn(mathjax_font, html)
+
+    def test_auto_play(self):
+        html = plotly.offline.plot(fig_frames, output_type='div')
+        self.assertIn(add_frames, html)
+        self.assertIn(do_auto_play, html)
+
+    def test_no_auto_play(self):
+        html = plotly.offline.plot(fig_frames, output_type='div', auto_play=False)
+        self.assertIn(add_frames, html)
+        self.assertNotIn(do_auto_play, html)