2007 in animation
2007 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 4: American activist and animator Helen Hill is murdered by an unidentified intruder in her home.January 8: Qubo launches as a 24/7 channel.January 28: Season 11 of King of the Hill begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "The Peggy Horror Picture Show". The season's premiere was seen by over 7.2 million viewers that night.January 31: The Boston bomb scare occurs and the U.S. Coast Guard and Boston Police shut down parts of Interstate 93, two bridges, and a section of the Charles River after the discovery of suspicious devices placed around the city. However, said devices turned out to be not bombs but rather marketing tools for ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.''February
February 10: The final episode of Catscratch airs. Nickelodeon ceased reruns of the show without public explanation, putting it in obscurity ever since.February 19: Season 5 of SpongeBob SquarePants begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the episodes "Rise and Shine/Waiting" and "Sing a Song of Patrick". The season's premiere brought in a total of over 5 million viewers that night.February 23: After 8 years, Cartoon Network officially ends the Fridays block.February 25: 79th Academy Awards:- * Happy Feet by George Miller wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- * The Danish Poet by Torill Kove wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
March
March 5: The first episode of Shaun the Sheep airs.March 7: Season 11 of South Park begins on Comedy Central with the premiere of the episode "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", where Randy Marsh says the "N-word" uncensored.March 15: Alan Becker releases "Animator vs Animation II" on NewgroundsMarch 30:- * The film Meet the Robinsons, co-produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, is released.
- * The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy TV-movie "Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure" premieres on Cartoon Network.
April
April 20: The second season of Shorty McShorts' Shorts airs on Disney Channel. It only had a limited run before its conclusion.April 28: Ed, Edd n Eddy concludes its fifth season on Cartoon Network with the half-hour special "A Fistful of Ed". This episode was falsely advertised as the final episode of the series.May
May 4: Season 5 of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episode "Cheese a Go-Go". It is the first part of the Cartoon Network crossover event titled Invaded.May 5: Tom and Jerry Tales concludes its first season on the Kids' WB block on The CW with the episodes "Piranha Be Loved by You/Spook House Mouse/Abracadumb".May 6: Shrek the Third is released by DreamWorks. It was deemed controversial for some of its adult situations inserted in a children's film and plagiarism regarding a joke used from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.May 20:- * King of the Hill concludes its 11th season on Fox with the following episodes:
- ** "Bill, Bulk and the Body Buddies"
- ** "Lucky's Wedding Suit"
- * The Simpsons concludes its 18th season on Fox with the following episodes:
- ** "24 Minutes"
- ** "You Kent Always Say What You Want"
- *** Both episodes were watched by over 9.9 million viewers that night.
- *Family Guy concludes its fifth season on Fox with the episode "Meet the Quagmires". The episode was watched by over 9.1 million viewers that night. This was the final episode to have been directed by famed animator Dan Povenmire, as he left the show to go focus on production for his own series Phineas and Ferb.
- *American Dad! concludes its third season on Fox with the episode "Joint Custody". The episode was watched by over 7.6 million viewers that night.May 23: Vincent Paronnaud's Persepolis, based on Marjane Satrapi's eponymous graphic novel, is first released.May 29: Cartoon Network ended its "CN City/Yes!" era and began its "Summer 2007" era.
June
June 8: Ash Brannon and Chris Buck's Surf's Up is first released.June 22: Ratatouille, produced by Pixar and the Walt Disney Company, is first released.July
July 8: The Total Drama series premiered on Teletoon with its first season series Total Drama Island.July 21: The Simpsons Movie is first released. It gained much notoriety during the release owing to Bart Simpson's depicted nudity.July 24: The SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Squid Wood" premiered on Nickelodeon, thus concluding the fourth season of the show.August
August 13: American-Canadian animator Paul Boyd was shot and killed after wielding a bicycle chain at officers who came to respond to a disturbance involving him.August 17: The first episode of Phineas and Ferb airs as a sneak peek, following after the world premiere of the Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical 2. They both hold the record for being the most watched programs on Disney Channel, with the Phineas and Ferb episode being watched by over 10 million viewers.September
September 7: The Kim Possible series finale "Graduation" premiered on Disney Channel.September 14:- * Cartoon Network ended its "Summer 2007" era and began its "Fall" era.
- * The first episode of Upin & Ipin
- * The first episode of Out of Jimmy's Head airs on Cartoon Network, the continuation of Re-Animated. Due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, only 20 episodes were produced. Cartoon Network consequently stopped airing the series on the channel and removed it from the website after its cancellation in 2008 as it met extremely negative reviews. It is declared a lost media as of 2023.
- September 21: The third & final season of Avatar: The Last Airbender begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the episode "The Awakening".
- September 22: The second & final season of Tom and Jerry Tales begins on the Kids' WB block on The CW with the premiere of the episodes "More Powers to You/Catch Me Though You Can't/Power Tom".
- September 23:
- *Season 19 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs", which guest stars Stephen Colbert and Lionel Richie. The episode was seen by over 9.5 million viewers that night.
- *Season 12 of King of the Hill begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Suite Smells of Excess". The episode was seen by over 7.8 million viewers that night.
- *Season 6 of Family Guy begins on Fox with the premiere of the first episode in the Star Wars trilogy parody "Blue Harvest". The episode was seen by just over 10.8 million viewers that night.
- September 28: The Phineas and Ferb episode "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" premieres on Disney Channel as another sneak peek, which marks the debut of the major characters: Buford Van Stomm & Stacy Hirano. This was the last episode to air before the show's official premiere in February 2008.
- September 30:
- *Family Guys 100th episode "Movin' Out (Brian's Song)" premiered on Fox, the episode featured a controversial gag about Quagmire r*ping Marge Simpson from The Simpsons and then shooting her & her entire family after Homer caught them having sex, this gag lead to the executives at Fox to order the crew members of the respective shows to stop feuding with each other.
- *Season 4 of American Dad! begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "The Vacation Goo". The episode was seen by over 6 million viewers that night.
October
October 2: Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale releases on DVD. This was the final installment in the Tom and Jerry franchise to be produced by the cartoon's co-creator Joseph Barbera, due to his death from the previous year.October 18: The Three Robbers, based on a children's book by Tomi Ungerer, is released by Hayo Freitag.October 20: The live-action film with animated sequences Enchanted premiers.October 21: The horror anthology film Fear(s) of the Dark is first released, featured animated sequences by several well-known comics artists.November
November 2:- * The first episode of Chowder airs on Cartoon Network.
- * Bee Movie by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner is first released.
- November 4: The Family Guy episode "Stewie Kills Lois" premieres on Fox; the episode features Stewie finally achieving his life-long dream of killing Lois once and for all, but the latter's revealed to still be alive at the end of the episode, thus leaving the show on a cliffhanger.
- November 9: The final episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy aired on Cartoon Network.
- November 11:
- *The Codename Kids Next Door & The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy half-hour crossover special, "The Grim Adventures of the KND" premiered on Cartoon Network.
- *The King of the Hill episode "Death Picks Cotton" premieres on Fox. As the episode's name implies, it marks the death of Hank Hill's father Cotton.
- *The Family Guy episode "Lois Kills Stewie" premieres on Fox, which follows up from the events of "Stewie Kills Lois". Stan Smith & Avery Bullock from American Dad! make a cameo appearance in this episode.November 12: The first SpongeBob SquarePants television film, Atlantis SquarePantis, premiered on Nickelodeon, attracting 8.8 million viewers.November 14: South Park concludes its 11th season on Comedy Central with the episode "The List".November 23: SpongeBob SquarePants
' 100th episodes "Banned in Bikini Bottom/Stanley S. SquarePants" premiere on Nickelodeon. Andrea Martin guest stars as Ms. Gristlepuss in the former episode while Christopher Guest guest stars as SpongeBob's cousin Stanley SquarePants in the latter episode.November 27: The film Futurama: Bender's Big Score is released.
December
December 4: Animation studio Studio B Productions was acquired by DHX Media.December 27: Three Little Pigs is added to the National Film Registry.Awards
- Academy Award for Best Animated Feature: Happy Feet
- Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film: The Danish Poet
- Animation Kobe Feature Film Award: Paprika
- Annie Award for Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille
- Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film: 5 Centimeters Per Second
- BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film: Ratatouille
- César Award for Best Foreign Film: Waltz with Bashir
- Goya Award for Best Animated Film: Nocturna
- Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year: Tekkonkinkreet
- Japan Media Arts Festival Animation Grand Prize: Summer Days with Coo
- Mainichi Film Awards - Animation Grand Award: ''Summer Days with Coo''
Films released
- January 9 - Mosaic
- January 14 - Flatland the Film
- January 18 - Chicago 10
- January 19:
- * From the Sea
- * Land of the Child
- * We Are the Strange
- January 23 - The Invincible Iron Man
- January 25:
- * One Night in One City
- * Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox
- January 31 - Snow White: The Sequel
- February 2 - Branimals
- February 6:
- * Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
- * A Very Pony Place
- February 16 - Monica's Gang in an Adventure in Time
- February 17 - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
- February 23:
- * Elias and the Royal Yacht
- * Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition IV - The Cost of Freedom
- February 27 - Bratz Fashion Pixiez
- March 2 - Film Noir
- March 3:
- * 5 Centimeters Per Second
- * One Piece Movie: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta
- * Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Blossom Festival
- March 10:
- * Doraemon: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld – The Seven Magic Users
- * Hellboy: Blood and Iron
- March 13 - Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow
- March 14 - VeggieTales: Moe and the Big Exit
- March 22 - Mug Travel
- March 23 - TMNT
- March 30 - Meet the Robinsons
- April 13 - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
- April 21:
- * Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure
- * Shana of the Burning Eyes
- April 24 - Princess of the Sun
- May 10 - Two Times Lotte
- May 17 - Papelucho and the Martian
- May 18 - Shrek the Third
- May 25 - Going Nuts
- May 30 - Initial D: Battle Stage 2
- June 1 - The Big Fighting between Wukong and God Erlang
- June 5 - Highlander: The Search for Vengeance
- June 8:
- * Surf's Up
- * A Tale of Two Mozzies
- June 27 - Persepolis
- June 29 - Ratatouille
- July 5 - Noah's Ark
- July 6 - The Warrior
- July 7 - Genius Party
- July 10 - Minushi
- July 14 - Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai
- July 17 - Gladiformers - Transforming Gladiators
- July 19 - Isidoro, La Película
- July 21 - Piano no Mori: The Perfect World of Kai
- July 27 - The Simpsons Movie
- July 28 - Summer Days with Coo
- July 29 - Mazu
- July 31 - Bratz Kidz: Sleep-Over Adventure
- August 4:
- * Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!
- * Naruto Shippuden: the Movie
- August 14 - Doctor Strange
- August 28 - H. P. Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror and Other Stories
- September 1 - Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
- September 4:
- * Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
- * Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!
- September 15 - Clannad
- September 18:
- * Barbie as the Island Princess
- * Superman: Doomsday
- September 20 - The Little King Macius
- September 29 - Sword of the Stranger
- October 2:
- * Elf Bowling the Movie: The Great North Pole Elf Strike
- * Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale
- October 9:
- * Bratz: Super Babyz
- * VeggieTales: The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's
- October 11 - Nocturna
- October 13:
- * Budak Lapok
- * The Chosen One
- October 14 - Year of the Fish
- October 16 - Plan Bee
- October 18 - The Three Robbers
- October 19:
- * Appleseed Ex Machina
- * Christmas Is Here Again
- * Tengers
- * The Ten Commandments
- October 25 - Lissi and the Wild Emperor
- October 26 - Bal Ganesh
- October 30 - LeapFrog: A Tad of Christmas Cheer
- November 1 - Legend of Nahuala
- November 2 - Bee Movie
- November 8 - Martín Fierro, La Película
- November 9 - Welcome Back Pinocchio
- November 10 - Yes! Precure 5: Great Miraculous Adventure in the Mirror Kingdom!
- November 16 - Beowulf
- November 20 - Garfield Gets Real
- November 21 - Enchanted
- November 22 - Donkey Xote
- November 27:
- * Futurama: Bender's Big Score
- * The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
- November 29 - Egon & Dönci
- November 30 - Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom
- December 5:
- * Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure
- * The Life of Buddha
- December 8 - RH+, The Vampire of Seville
- December 14 - Quest for a Heart
- December 20 - Cat City 2: The Cat of Satan
- December 21 - Amazon Jack
- December 22 - Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion
- December 27 - Pulentos: The Movie
- December 28:
- * Ilya and the Robber
- * Return of Hanuman
- Specific date unknown:
- * Alice in Wonderland: What's the Matter With Hatter?
- * Cosmic Boy
- * Friends Forever
- * Jungle Book: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi to the Rescue
- * The Prince and the Pauper: Double Trouble
- * Ramses
- * Ratatoing
- * Ségou Fanga
- * ''The Three Musketeers: Saving The Crown''
Television series debuts
| Date | Title | Channel | Year |
| January 5 | Starveillance | E! | 2007 |
| January 8 | Ellen's Acres | Cartoon Network | 2007 |
| January 12 | Hidamari Sketch | TBS | 2007 |
| March 3 | El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera | Nickelodeon | 2007–2008 |
| March 5 | The Land Before Time | Cartoon Network | 2007–2008 |
| April 16 | Wilbur | Discovery Kids | 2007–2008 |
| April 20 | Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl | Cartoon Network | 2007–2008 |
| April 25 | The Nutshack | Myx TV | 2007–2011 |
| May 12 | My Friends Tigger & Pooh | Playhouse Disney | 2007–2010 |
| June 4 | Creature Comforts America | CBS | 2007 |
| June 13 | Lil' Bush | Comedy Central | 2007–2008 |
| June 24 | Friday: The Animated Series | MTV2 | 2007 |
| July 10 | Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World | Logo | 2007–2009 |
| July 11 | Code Monkeys | G4 | 2007–2008 |
| August 13 | Slacker Cats | ABC Family | 2007 |
| August 17 | Phineas and Ferb | Disney Channel | 2007–2015; 2025–present |
| August 20 | Yo Gabba Gabba! | Nickelodeon | 2007–2015 |
| August 31 | Tak and the Power of Juju | Nickelodeon | 2007–2009 |
| September 3 | Super Why! | PBS Kids | 2007–2016 |
| September 3 | WordWorld | PBS Kids | 2007–2011 |
| September 3 | WordGirl | PBS Kids Go! | 2007–2015 |
| September 8 | Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies | PBS Kids | 2007–2008 |
| September 9 | Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil | Adult Swim | 2007 |
| September 15 | Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot | CBS | 2007–2008 |
| September 23 | Shorts in a Bunch | Nicktoons Network | 2007 |
| September 29 | Back at the Barnyard | Nickelodeon | 2007–2011 |
| October 1 | Happy Monster Band | Playhouse Disney | 2007–2008 |
| October 7 | Edgar & Ellen | Nicktoons Network | 2007–2008 |
| October 13 | The Future Is Wild | Discovery Kids | 2007–2008 |
| November 2 | Chowder | Cartoon Network | 2007–2010 |
| November 3 | DinoSquad | CBS | 2007–2008 |
| November 3 | Sushi Pack | CBS | 2007–2009 |
| November 4 | Xavier: Renegade Angel | Adult Swim | 2007–2009 |
| December 21 | George of the Jungle | Cartoon Network | 2007–2008 |
| December 26 | Transformers Animated | Cartoon Network | 2007–2009 |
| Specific date unknown | Pet Alien | Kabillion | 2007 |
Births
January
January 31: Tex Hammond, American artist, former actor and son of Grey DeLisle.February
February 23: Leah Mei Gold, American actress.April
April 8: Hadley Gannaway, American actress.April 20: Terrence Little Gardenhigh, American actor.April 26: Presley Williams, American actress.May
May 9: Lily Sanfelippo, American actress.August
August 16: Seth Carr, American actor.August 27: Ariana Greenblatt, American actress.August 29: Jaiden Klein, American actress.August 31: Jason Maybaum, American actor.October
October 22: Izaac Wang, American actor.November
November 8: Micah Abbey, American actor.December
December 4: Scarlett Estevez, American actress.Deaths
January
January 4:- * Helen Hill, American activist, writer, teacher, film director and animator, is murdered at age 36.
- * Steve Krantz, American film producer and writer, dies at age 83.January 8: Iwao Takamoto, American animator, film director, television producer and character designer, dies at age 81 from a heart attack.January 14: Harvey Cohen, American composer and orchestrator, dies at age 55.January 26: Emanuele Luzzati, Italian painter, illustrator, animator and film director, dies at age 85.
February
February 12: Warren Batchelder, American animator, dies at age 89.February 14:- * Ryan Larkin, Canadian animator dies at age 63 from lung cancer.
- * Willy Moese, German comics artist and animator, dies at age 79.February 15: Walker Edmiston, American voice actor, dies at age 81.
March
March 3: Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist, dies at age 87.March 10: Richard Jeni, American comedian and actor, commits suicide at age 49.March 15: Natatcha Estébanez, Puerto Rican-born American television producer, dies from sarcoma at age 45.March 20: John P. Ryan, American actor, dies at age 70.March 22: Elbert Tuganov, Estonian animator and film director, dies at age 87.March 27: Maxwell Becraft, Canadian animator, dies at age 62.April
April 11: Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor, dies at age 84.April 14: Jim Thurman, American actor, writer, director, cartoonist, and producer, dies at age 72.April 30: Tom Poston, American actor, dies from respiratory failure at age 85.May
May 6:- * Oscar Blotta, Argentine comics artist and animator, dies at age 88.
- * Reiko Okuyama, Japanese animator, dies at age 70.May 22: Art Stevens, American animator and film director, dies at age 92.
- May 25: Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher, dies from pneumonia at age 76.
June
June 4: Ray Erlenborn, American actor, and sound effects artist, dies at age 92.July
July 4: James Street, American child actor, dies at age 13.July 5: David Hilberman, American animator, film director and producer, dies at age 95.July 9: Charles Lane, American actor, dies at age 102.July 22: Alexander Tatarsky, Russian film director, animator, and producer, dies at age 56.August
August 11: Roberto Gavioli, Italian animator, dies at age 81.August 13: Paul Boyd, American-Canadian animator, dies at age 39.September
September 5: Jack Valenti, American political advisor, lobbyist and president of the Motion Picture Association, dies from a stroke at age 85.September 6:- * George Crenshaw, American comics artist and animator, dies at age 89.September 7: Lee Ae-jung, Korean voice actress, dies from brain cancer at age 20.September 21: Alice Ghostley, American actress, dies at age 84.September 24: Hiroshi Ōsaka, Japanese animator, film director and producer, character designer and illustrator, dies at age 44.
October
October 5: John Rice, American animator and overseas supervisor, dies at an unknown age.October 12: Noel Coleman, English actor, dies at age 87.October 30: Robert Goulet, American singer and actor, dies from pulmonary fibrosis at age 73.November
November 8: Motosuke Takahashi, Japanese film director, animator, character designer and storyboard artist, dies at age 66.November 25: Roberto Del Giudice, Italian voice actor, dies at age 67.November 28: Donyo Donev, Bulgarian cartoonist, caricaturist, animator and comics artist, Chetirmata Glupaci, Umno Selo, dies at age 78.December
December 5: Peter Orton, English media entrepreneur and television producer, dies from cancer at age 64.December 6: Ken Southworth, English animator, dies at age 89.December 17:- * Jack Zander, American animator, dies at age 99.
- * Mel Leven, American composer and lyricist, dies at age 93.
Specific date unknown
- Juraj Korda, Australian animator, dies at age 46.