1990 in animation
1990 in animation is an overview of notable events, including notable awards, list of films released, television show debuts and endings, and notable deaths.
Events
January
January 14: The Simpsons episode "Bart the Genius" first airs featuring the signature title sequence with Bart's chalkboard gag and the family's couch gag. Bart Simpson also uses the phrase "Eat My Shorts" for the first time and the characters Edna Krabappel and Martin Prince first appear.January 21: The Simpsons episode "Homer's Odyssey" first airs with Otto Mann, Chief Wiggum, Waylon Smithers, Jasper Beardsley, Sherri and Terri making their debuts.January 28: The Simpsons episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home" first airs with the policemen Lou and Eddie making their debuts.February
February 4: The Simpsons episode "Bart the General" first airs with Nelson Muntz making his debut. February 11: The Simpsons episode "Moaning Lisa" first airs with Bleeding Gums Murphy making his debut.February 18: The Simpsons episode "The Call of the Simpsons" first airs. February 25: The Simpsons episode "The Telltale Head" first airs with Sideshow Bob, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Reverend Lovejoy, Jimbo Jones, Dolph Starbeam and Kearney Zzyzwicz making their debuts.March
March 7: The first episode of Pingu is broadcast.March 26: 62nd Academy Awards:- * Balance wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
- * Alan Menken's soundtrack for The Little Mermaid receives the Academy Award for Best Original Score, Menken and Howard Ashman win the Academy Award for Best Original Song for their song "Under the Sea". The song was performed by singer Samuel E. Wright, and influenced by the musical styles calypso and reggae.
April
April 21: The drug prevention TV cartoon Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue airs on four channels at once in the United States. It is notable for officially featuring cartoon characters from different animation studios all together in one film.May
May 13: The Simpsons concludes its first season on Fox with the episode "Some Enchanted Evening".July
July 6: Hanna-Barbera releases Jetsons: The Movie. This movie met negative attention during the release, including the lack of humor and the result of replacing Janet Waldo with then-pop singer Tiffany as the voice of Judy Jetson, as Waldo was dismayed about this. The Jetsons would retire from subsequent medias until 2017.August
August 3: DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, the adaptation to the animated Disney series, is first released, receiving mixed to positive reviews.August 8: The first episode of Moomin is broadcast.September
September 7: The first episode of TaleSpin, produced by the Walt Disney Company, airs.September 8:- * The first episode of Bobby's World is broadcast.
- * New Kids on the Block, a celebrity animated TV show based on the popularity of the boy band New Kids on the Block airs, but only lasts a season.
- * The first episode of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 airs. This second installment of Super Mario Bros. by DIC Entertainment hues closer to the NES game.
- * The first episode of Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates airs.
- * Following the success of Saved By the Bell, NBC begins airing independent animated programs for Saturday mornings, including Kid 'n Play and Gravedale High, alongside the sketch series Guys Next Door, which would gain interest to the young adult audiences, prior to the launch of the teen oriented block TNBC two years later. This was skipped out from the Fall 1991 season due to then-president George H. W. Bush signed a deal to air educational programs for children, known as the Children's Television Act, which ended the Saturday morning cartoons on the network quickly after regarding the experience as an overwhelmed disappointment.September 14: Warner Bros. Animation's first original television series Tiny Toon Adventures premieres on CBS.September 15:
- * The first episode of Captain Planet and the Planeteers airs.
- * Season 3 of Garfield and Friends begins on CBS with the premiere of the following episodes:
- ** "Skyway Robbery/The Bunny Rabbits is Coming!/Close Encounters of the Garfield Kind"
- ** "Astrocat/Cock-A-Doodle Duel/Cinderella Cat"September 13: Woody Woodpecker receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.September 25: The first episode of The Dreamstone airs.September 28: The Danish film War of the Birds is first released.September 29: The first episode of Widget airs.
October
October 7: The first episode of Mannetje & Mannetje is broadcast on TV, an adaptation of Hanco Kolk and Peter de Wit's photo comic of the same name. This marks the first time that computer techniques are used in Dutch animation.October 11: Season 2 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Bart Gets an "F"".October 19: Fantasia is added to the National Film Registry.October 25: The SimpsonsNovember
November 16: The Walt Disney Company releases The Rescuers Down Under, directed by Hendel Butoy and Mike Gabriel. It is the first animated Disney film to use the CAPS system, the first to fully use digital ink and paint, and the first to be produced without cameras. The same day, the film studio also releases The Prince and the Pauper by George Scribner.November 17: Garfield and Friends concludes its third season on CBS with the following episodes:- * "Mistakes Will Happen/The Well Dweller/The Wise Man"
- * "Star Struck/Election Daze/Dirty Business"November 29: Peter in Magicland premieres.
December
December 6: The Simpsons episode "Bart the Daredevil" is first broadcast, featuring the classic scene where Homer Simpson skateboards over a gorge. After the episode, the animated music video Do the Bartman, starring The Simpsons and co-written by Bryan Loren and Michael Jackson, is first broadcast.December 20: The Simpsons episode "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is first broadcast.Specific date unknown
- Milan Blažeković' The Magician's Hat premieres, which is the sequel to The Elm-Chanted Forest. This is Blažeković's second film produced from Croatia Film and the only one to be released exclusively in Croatia.
- JoWonder's The Brooch Pin and the Sinful Clasp premieres.
Films released
- January 1 - The Mind's Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey
- January 3 - The Murtal Master and 108 Youkai
- January 16 - The Trace Leads to the Silver Lake
- February 3 - The Murder Ticket Is Heart-Colored
- February 24 - Ojisan Kaizō Kōza
- February 25 - An Idol at Will
- March 1:
- * The Curse of Kazuo Umezu
- * Gdleen
- March 10:
- * Doraemon: Nobita and the Animal Planet
- * Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest
- March 21:
- * Carol: A Day in a Girl's Life
- * Like the Clouds, Like the Wind
- March 23 - I skog och mark
- March 31 - Maroko
- April 3 - Obatarian
- April 14 - Heavy
- April 25 - Onimaru – Five Youths Running on the Battlefield
- April 28 - Flight of the White Wolf
- June 1 - How the Shoemakers Raised a War for a Red Skirt
- June 4 - Summer with Kuro
- June 12 - Black Bento
- June 23 - Gude Crest – The Emblem of Gude
- July 6 - Jetsons: The Movie
- July 7 - Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might
- July 14 - Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman no Gyakushuu
- July 20 - Lupin III: The Hemingway Papers
- July 21 - Project A-Ko Versus Battle 1: Gray Side
- July 28 - Robot Taekwon V 90
- August 3 - DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
- August 19 - The Magician's Hat
- August 21 - Project A-Ko Versus Battle 2: Blue Side
- August 24 - Riki-Oh 2: Child of Destruction
- August 25:
- * City Hunter: Bay City Wars
- * City Hunter: Million Dollar Conspiracy
- * "Eiji"
- * Marina the Manga Artist Goes to Camelot
- August 26 - Soreike! Anpanman: Minami no Umi o Sukue!
- September 14 - The Fine Feathered Friend Movie
- September 15 - Kobo-chan Special: Filled with Autumn!!
- September 22 - Tenjōhen – Utsunomiko
- September 28 - War of the Birds
- October 1 - Aries: Shinwa no Seiza Miya
- October 17 - Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku
- November 1 - New Karate Hell Weird: Blood Apocalypse
- November 16 - The Rescuers Down Under
- November 21 - The Nutcracker Prince &
- November 29:
- * Peter in Magicland
- * Werner – Beinhart!
- December - Desperta Ferro
- December 15 - Chibi Maruko-chan
- December 20 - Dragon and Slippers
- December 21 - New Karate Hell Weird: Blood War Gate
- December 22 - A Wind Named Amnesia
- December 28 - Sword for Truth
- December 29 - The Adventures of Lotty
- Specific date unknown:
- * The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
- * From Tale to Tale
- * ''Naksitrallid''
Television series
| Date | Title | Channel | Year |
| January 1 | Maya the Bee | Nickelodeon | 1990 |
| September 1 | Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone | Syndication | 1990 |
| September 1 | The New Adventures of He-Man | Syndication | 1990 |
| September 7 | TaleSpin | The Disney Channel, Syndication | 1990–1991 |
| September 8 | Attack of the Killer Tomatoes | Fox Kids | 1990–1991 |
| September 8 | Bobby's World | Fox Kids | 1990–1998 |
| September 8 | Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates | Fox Kids | 1990–1991 |
| September 8 | Zazoo U | Fox Kids | 1990 |
| September 8 | New Kids on the Block | ABC | 1990 |
| September 8 | Little Rosey | ABC | 1990–1991 |
| September 8 | The Wizard of Oz | ABC | 1990 |
| September 8 | The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 | NBC | 1990 |
| September 8 | Tom & Jerry Kids | Fox Kids | 1990–1993 |
| September 8 | Gravedale High | NBC | 1990 |
| September 8 | Kid 'n Play | NBC | 1990 |
| September 14 | Tiny Toon Adventures | Syndication, Fox Kids | 1990–1992 |
| September 15 | Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures | CBS, Fox Kids | 1990–1991 |
| September 15 | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | TBS | 1990–1996 |
| September 15 | Piggsburg Pigs! | Fox Kids | 1990 |
| September 16 | The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda | Syndication | 1990–1991 |
| September 17 | Wake, Rattle, and Roll | Syndication | 1990–1991 |
| September 29 | Widget | Syndication | 1990–1991 |
Births
January
January 4: Spencer Rothbell, American television writer and voice actor.January 6: Natalie Palamides, American actress, comedian and writer.January 30: Jake Thomas, American actor and director.February
February 3: Ryan Bartley, American voice actress.February 16: The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer.March
March 1: Aaron Long, Canadian animator, filmmaker and writer.March 4: Andrea Bowen, American actress and singer.March 30: Cassie Scerbo, American actress, singer and dancer.March 31: Landon McDonald, American actor.April
April 10: Alex Pettyfer, English actor.April 15: Emma Watson, English actress.April 18: Britt Robertson, American actress.April 23: Dev Patel, English actor.May
May 3: Harvey Guillén, American actor.May 13: Monica Ray, American actress.May 16:- *Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English actor.
- *Marc John Jefferies, American actor.May 17: Ross Butler, American actor.May 31: Phillipa Soo, American actress and singer.
June
June 15: Denzel Whitaker, American actor.June 19: Ashly Burch, American voice actress and singer, and writer.June 21: Sean Chiplock, American voice actor.July
July 6: Jeremy Suarez, American actor.July 12: Rachel Brosnahan, American actress.July 19: Jeannie Tirado, American voice actress.July 20: Iris Menas, American actor.July 24: Daveigh Chase, American actress, singer and model.August
August 2: Saki Nitta, Japanese voice actress,.August 9: Emily Tennant, Canadian actress.August 23: Wesley Singerman, American guitarist, record producer, songwriter and former child actor.August 29: Erika Harlacher, American voice actress.September
September 5: Max Mittelman, American voice actor.October
October 4: Arryn Zech, American voice actress.October 15: Michael Cusack, Australian voice actor, photographer, animator, storyboard artist writer and director.October 18: Hamish Steele, British animation director, comic-book artist and writer.November
November 6: Bowen Yang, Australian-American actor, comedian, and writer.November 13: Kathleen Herles, American voice actress.November 24: Sarah Hyland, American actress.November 25: Stephanie Hsu, American actress.November 26: Rita Ora, English singer and songwriter.November 27: Shane Haboucha, American actor.December
December 8: Dana Terrace, American animator, writer, producer, and storyboard artist.December 9: SungWon Cho, American YouTuber and actor.December 29: Nathaniel Curtis, British actor.Deaths
January
January 2: Alan Hale Jr., American actor, dies at age 68.January 8: Terry-Thomas, English actor and comedian, dies at age 78.January 19: Tommy Luske, American actor, dies at age 42.January 24: Gerry Johnson, American actress, dies at age 71.February
February 16: Tadanari Okamoto, Japanese animated film director and producer, dies at age 58.March
March 18: Robin Harris, American comedian and actor, dies from a heart attack at age 36.April
April 7: Dick Lundy, American animator and film director and producer, dies at age 82.May
May 2: David Rappaport, English actor, commits suicide at age 38.May 16:- * Jim Henson, American puppeteer and animator, dies at age 53.
- * Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, dancer, actor, comedian film producer and television director, dies at age 64.May 25: Vic Tayback, American actor, dies at age 60.May 31: William Timym, Austrian-English animator and comics artist, dies at age 87.
June
June 21: Margaret J. Winkler, American animation producer and film distributor, credited as the first woman to produce and distribute animated films, and wife of Charles Mintz, dies at age 95.July
July 17:- *George Waiss, American animator and comics artist, dies at age 83.
- *Bernard Cowan, Canadian actor, dies at age 68.July 25: Nikolai Prilutskiy, Soviet and Russian sound operator and director of audiography, worked primarily in Soviet animated sound films, dies at age 81.