1953 in animation
Events in 1953 in animation.
Events
January
January 3: Chuck Jones's Don't Give Up the Sheep premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, which marks the debuts of Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog.January 10: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short The Missing Mouse, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.January 17: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Snow Business premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny.January 31: Friz Freleng's Sylvester cartoon A Mouse Divided premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.February
February 5: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske's Peter Pan, produced by the Walt Disney Company, is first released. It marks the debut of Disney's version of Tinker Bell, who will later become one of their mascots.February 14: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Forward March Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.February 21:- * Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Jerry and Jumbo, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.
- * Chuck Jones' cartoon Kiss Me Cat premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Marc Antony and Pussyfoot.February 28: Chuck Jones' iconic Daffy Duck cartoon Duck Amuck premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs Bunny makes an appearance at the end of the short.
March
March 14: Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoon Upswept Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.March 19: 25th Academy Awards: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Johann Mouse, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. It is the seventh and final Tom and Jerry cartoon to win an Oscar. The animated short receives its official public premiere on 21 March.March 27: Karel Zeman's first animated feature Poklad ptačího ostrova premieres.March 28: Robert McKimson's cartoon A Peck o' Trouble premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Dodsworth the cat.April
April 4: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Fowl Weather premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny and Hector the Bulldog.April 8: Jiří Trnka's Old Czech Legends premieres.April 15–29: 1953 Cannes Film Festival:- * Walt Disney receives a Legion of Honour during the opening ceremony.
- * The Romance of Transportation in Canada by Colin Low wins the Short Film Palme d'Or.April 25: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short That's My Pup!, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.
May
May 2: Friz Freleng's short Southern Fried Rabbit premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.June
June 20: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon Hare Trimmed premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny.June 27: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Tom Tom Tomcat premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny. This short has rarely been aired on TV or re-released on home media due to its offensive stereotypes towards Native Americans.July
July 2: Carl Urbano's animated documentary film A Is for Atom received a theatrical release, opening at the Pantages and Hillstreet Theatres in Los Angeles on July 2, 1953. The distributor was Al O. Bondy, who made the short available for free. The short documentary, which is now in the public domain, explains what an atom is, how nuclear energy is released from certain kinds of atoms, the peacetime uses of nuclear power, and the by-products of nuclear fission. The film is Sutherland's most-decorated film of the film producer John Sutherland, having won numerous honors at film festivals.July 11: Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew cartoon Wild Over You premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.July 25: Chuck Jones' iconic cartoon Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century premieres; starring Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, & Marvin the Martian; produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.August
August 8: Chuck Jones' iconic cartoon Bully for Bugs premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. In the film, Bugs Bunny becomes a bullfighter.August 22: Robert McKimson's cartoon Plop Goes the Weasel premieres, produced Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg.August 29: Robert McKimson's Cat-Tails For Two is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It marks the prototype debut of Speedy Gonzales, the character's final design would be introduced 2 years later.September
September 5:- * Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon A Street Cat Named Sylvester premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny and Hector the Bulldog.
- * Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Just Ducky, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.September 10: Chuck Jones' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short Zipping Along premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.September 11: Jiří Trnka's Old Czech Legends premieres.
- September 23: The Unicorn in the Garden premieres, a United Productions of America production.September 25: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny short Lumber Jack-Rabbit premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, a cartoon made in 3D.
October
October 3: Chuck Jones' cartoon Duck! Rabbit, Duck! premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, the third & final short in the "hunting season" trilogy starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.October 10: Winky Dink and You, the first interactive television series which invites viewers to use a special crayon to draw on the screen, is first broadcast.October 17: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Two Little Indians, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.October 30: Jean Image's Bonjour Paris premieres.October 31: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Catty Cornered premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Rocky the gangster.November
November 10:- * Hamilton Luske's Ben and Me, produced by the Walt Disney Company, is first released, a cartoon about Benjamin Franklin. It was adapted from the book of the same name written by the author and illustrator Robert Lawson and first published in 1939. Though both book and film deal with the relationship between a mouse and American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, the book, with illustrations by Lawson, focused more heavily on actual historical events and personages, and included incidents from Franklin's French career at Versailles. This short was also notable for being the second release on the Buena Vista Distribution label, with the first being Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, released on the same day. On its release, Ben and Me was packaged with the feature-length True-Life Adventures nature documentary film The Living Desert. When Disney's regular distributor RKO Radio Pictures resisted Disney's idea of releasing a feature-length True-Life Adventures nature documentary film, Disney formed his own distribution company to handle future Disney releases.
- * Ward Kimball and Charles A. Nichols' Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, produced by the Walt Disney Company, premieres. It is the first Disney cartoon to be filmed and released in widescreen Cinemascope.Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom won the 1954 Oscar for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).November 14: Robert McKimson's cartoon Of Rice and Hen premieres, produced Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Foghorn Leghorn, Miss Prissy, and Barnyard Dawg.November 21: Hanna-Barbera's T
om and Jerry short Life with Tom, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres. The short features footage from the previous Tom and Jerry cartoons: Cat Fishin' , The Little Orphan, and Kitty Foiled.November 28: Robert McKimson's ''Sylvester and Hippety Hopper cartoon Cats A-Weigh!'' premieres, produced Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Sylvester Jr.
December
December 12: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoon Robot Rabbit premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.December 17: Ted Parmelee's The Tell-Tale Heart, produced by UPA, premieres. The film was the first cartoon to be rated X, indicating it was suitable only for adult audiences, by the British Board of Film Censors. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film but lost to Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom from Walt Disney Productions.December 19: Chuck Jones's cartoon Punch Trunk premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.December 21: Walter Lantz productions releases Chilly Willy, directed by Paul J. Smith which marks the debut of Chilly Willy the penguin.Films released
- February 5 - Peter Pan
- March 27 - The Treasure of Bird Island
- April 8 - Old Czech Legends
- October 30 - ''Bonjour Paris''
Television series
- October 10 - Winky Dink and You debuts on CBS.
Births
January
January 14: Bonita Pietila, American casting director and producer.January 17: Mark Jones, American director, screenwriter and producer,.January 20: Kent Butterworth, American animator, storyboard artist, lip sync artist, sheet timer, writer, producer and director.January 23: Robin Zander, American musician and member of Cheap Trick.January 24: Matthew Wilder, American musician.January 29: Paul Fusco, American puppeteer, actor, television producer, writer and director.January 30: Patricia Alice Albrecht, American actress, writer and poet,.February
February 8: Mary Steenburgen, American actress.February 9:- * Ciarán Hinds, Irish actor.
- * Liz Holzman, American animator, storyboard artist, character designer, prop designer, art director, writer, director and producer,.February 21: Christine Ebersole, American actress and singer.February 26: Michael Bolton, American singer and songwriter.
March
March 4: Kay Lenz, American actress.March 15: Frances Conroy, American actress.March 16:- * Micheline Charest, British-born Canadian television producer,.
- * Debby Hindman, American production manager and producer.March 23: Chaka Khan, American singer, songwriter and musician.March 24:
- * Louie Anderson, American actor, comedian, author and game show host,.
- * Heiki Ernits, Estonian animator, illustrator, and film director.March 27: John Saint Ryan, English actor,.March 30: Jeff Cesario, American actor, comedian, producer and writer.
April
April 5: Keiko Han, Japanese actress.April 11: Sizzle Ohtaka, Japanese singer,.April 15: Larry Latham, American storyboard director, animator, film producer and film director,.April 18: Rick Moranis, Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer, and producer.April 25:- * Ron Clements, American animator, screenwriter, film director, and producer.
- * Jeffrey Leigh Howard, American animator, storyboard artist, prop designer and sheet timer,.April 27: Linda Young, American actress.April 28: Kim Gordon, American musician and member of Sonic Youth.
May
May 9: Amy Hill, American actress and stand-up comedian.May 12: Lisa Raggio, American actress.May 16:- * Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor and film producer.
- * Peter Onorati, American actor.May 18: Alan Kupperberg, American comics artist and animator,.May 24: Alfred Molina, English actor.May 27:
- * Louis Scarborough Jr., American animator and storyboard artist,.
- * George Chialtas, American animator, storyboard artist, sheet timer, lip sync artist and director.May 29:
- * Danny Elfman, American composer, singer and songwriter.
- * Karla DeVito, American singer and actress.
- May 30: Colm Meaney, Irish actor.
June
June 1: Tim Bentinck, English actor and writer.June 5: Kathleen Kennedy, American film producer.June 12: Michael Donovan, Canadian voice actor.June 13: Tim Allen, American actor and comedian.June 17: John H. Williams, American film producer.June 22: Cyndi Lauper, American musician and actress.June 26: Robert Davi, American actor.June 27: Nizo Yamamoto, Japanese art director,.July
July 11: Mindy Sterling, American actress.July 15: Michaël Dudok de Wit, Dutch animator, director and illustrator.July 16: Philece Sampler, American actress,.July 29: Tim Gunn, American author, academic, and television personality.July 31: Tōru Furuya, Japanese actor.August
August 1: Mark Dailey, American-born Canadian actor, television journalist and announcer,.August 2: Butch Patrick, American actor and musician.August 4: Richard White, American actor and opera singer.August 8:- * Jim Jinkins, American animator.
- * Don Most, American actor and singer.August 10:
- * Yoni Chen, Israeli actor,.
- * Brian Scully, American television writer and producer.August 11: Hulk Hogan, American professional wrestler,.August 14: James Horner, American composer and conductor,.August 16: Kathie Lee Gifford, American actress.August 27: Peter Stormare, Swedish actor.August 28: Bob Tzudiker, American film writer.
- August 29:
- * Doña Croll, British actress.
- * Dee Dee Rescher, American actress.August 30: Robin Harris, American comedian and actor,.
September
September 7: Enzo D'Alò, Italian animator and director.September 10: Amy Irving, American actress and singer.September 20: Doug Preis, American actor.October
October 5: Bever-Leigh Banfield, American actress.October 6: Denis M. Hannigan, American music editor and composer.October 9: Tony Shalhoub, American actor.October 13: Melodee Spevack, American voice actress.October 15: Larry Miller, American comedian and actor.October 27:- * Peter Firth, English actor.
- * Robert Picardo, American actor.October 28: Keith Scott, Australian actor and animation historian.
November
November 4: Peter Lord, English animator, director and producer.November 7: Lynne Naylor, Canadian designer, animator, artist, director, and producer.November 8: John Musker, American animator, film director, screenwriter and film producer.November 18:- * Kevin Nealon, American comedian and actor.
- * Kath Soucie, American voice actress.
- * Alan Moore, English author.
- November 19: Robert Beltran, American actor.November 21: Larry Hochman, American orchestrator and composer.November 23:
- * Ric Heitzman, American actor, storyboard artist and director.
- * George DelHoyo, Uruguayan-American actor. November 27:
- * Curtis Armstrong, American actor and singer.
- * Richard Stone, American composer,.November 28: Pamela Hayden, American actress.
December
December 6:- * Tom Hulce, American actor and producer.
- * Kin Shriner, American actor.
- * Masami Kurumada, Japanese manga artist and writer.December 7: Buzz Dixon, American television writer.December 8:
- * Kim Basinger, American actress.
- * Roy Firestone, American sports commentator and journalist.
- December 9: John Malkovich, American actor.December 12: Marc Graue, American voice actor and recording engineer.December 13:
- * Gail Matthius, American actress and comedian.
- * Ruben A. Aquino, Japanese-born Filipino-American animator.December 15: J. M. DeMatteis, American writer.December 16:
- * Rebecca Forstadt, American voice actress and television writer.
- * Babi Floyd, American actor and singer,.December 31: James Remar, American actor.
Specific date unknown
- Neil Affleck, Canadian actor, animator, sheet timer and director.