2008 in animation


2008 in animation is an overview of notable events, including notable awards, list of films released, television show debuts and endings, and notable deaths.

Events

February

February 1: Disney Channel holds a month-long event called "Phineas and Ferb-ruary" to celebrate the official premiere of its newest series Phineas and Ferb, starting with the episode "Flop Starz".February 4:

March

March 3: Season 6 of SpongeBob SquarePants begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the episode "Krabby Road". The season's premiere brought in a total of 4.7 million viewers that night.March 6: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends concludes its fifth season on Cartoon Network with the episode "Let Your Hare Down".March 8: Doraemon: Nobita and The Green Giant Legend is released.March 12: Season 12 of South Park begins on Comedy Central with the premiere of the episode "Tonsil Trouble". It was seen by over 3 million viewers that night.March 13: The 6th and final season of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episode "Jackie Khones and the Case of the Overdue Library Crook".March 14: Horton Hears a Who!, directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, produced by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox, is first released. It received favorable reviews as it hues closer to the original source material.March 22: The final episode of Tom and Jerry Tales premieres on the Kids' WB block on The CW.March 23: Futurama returns to the air on Comedy Central after being cancelled in 2003.

April

April 9: The South Park episode "Eek, a Penis!" premieres on Comedy Central. Ms. Garrison ends up getting another sex reassignment surgery operation in this episode, making her MR. Garrison once again.April 19: The Phineas and Ferb episode "Greece Lightning" premieres on Disney Channel, which marks the debut of Norm, Dr. Doofenshmirtz's robot assistant who would become a supporting character later on in the show.

May

May 4: Family Guy concludes its sixth season on Fox with the episode "Long John Peter". The episode was seen by just nearly 7.7 million viewers that night.May 15: During the Cannes Film Festival, Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir premieres.May 18:

June

June 5:

July

July 19:

August

August 26: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is released, which marks the final direct-to-video sequel based on one of the Disney canon films as releasing sequels on this format by other companies became extremely limited due to harmed sales over their theatrical predecessors, prior to their explicit return to theaters in 2018.

September

September 5: Season 2 of Upin & Ipin premiered on TV9.September 20: After 11 years, the Toonami block is officially cancelled by Cartoon Network.September 28:

October

October 2: Season 2 of Chowder begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episode "The Arborians".October 11: "Clash of the Pharoahs", the series finale of Tutenstein is released.October 12: The standalone Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy special "Underfist: Halloween Bash" premiered on Cartoon Network.
  • * This special was initially planned by Maxwell Atoms to be the backdoor pilot for a new spin-off series, but it was canned after Atoms was fired from Cartoon Network Inc. due to them believing that he ruined their brand.

November

November 13: 3-2-1 Penguins! airs its final episode on Qubo.November 19: South Park concludes its 12th season on Comedy Central with the episode "The Ungroundable". It was seen by just nearly 3.3 million viewers that night.November 21: The Walt Disney Company releases Bolt.November 28: The first episode of The Penguins of Madagascar airs on Nickelodeon as a sneak peek. The show would make its official premiere in March 2009.November 29: Total Drama Island airs its final episode on Teletoon, thus concluding the first season of the Total Drama series.

December

December 9: André 3000, the creator of Class of 3000, was sued for numerous production problems as the cartoon was cancelled last December. It was the victim of Cartoon Network’s regime change that was responsible for the infamous Boston Bomb Scare, which was perpetrated by former Vice-president Jim Samples about two year earlier. The cartoon was withdrawn from subsequent broadcast owing to this issue.December 22: The first episode of The Garfield Show airs.December 30: Free Radicals is added to the National Film Registry.

Awards

Films released

Television series debuts

DateTitleChannelYear
January 5AnimaliaPBS Kids Go!2008–2009
January 12Betsy's Kindergarten AdventuresPBS Kids2008
February 4The Mr. Men ShowCartoon Network2008–2009
February 7Ni Hao, Kai-LanNick Jr.2008–2011
March 8The Spectacular Spider-ManTheCW4Kids, Disney XD2008–2009
March 15World of QuestKids' WB2008–2009
April 12Pokémon: DP Battle DimensionCartoon Network2008–2009
April 18Ben 10: Alien ForceCartoon Network2008–2010
April 26The Mighty B!Nickelodeon2008–2011
April 27Speed Racer: The Next GenerationNicktoons Network2008–2013
June 5The Marvelous Misadventures of FlapjackCartoon Network2008–2010
June 5Total DramaCartoon Network2008–2014
June 21Can You Teach My Alligator Manners?Playhouse Disney2008–2009
June 27Three DeliveryNicktoons Network2008–2009
July 9Click and Clack's As the Wrench TurnsPBS2008
September 1Martha SpeaksPBS Kids2008–2014
September 1Sid the Science KidPBS Kids2008–2013
September 7Wunderkind Little AmadeusPBS Kids2008–2009
September 28The Life & Times of TimHBO2008–2012
September 28Superjail!Adult Swim2008–2014
October 3The Secret SaturdaysCartoon Network2008–2010
October 3Star Wars: The Clone WarsCartoon Network2008–2014
October 4Making FiendsNicktoons Network2008
October 4Turbo DogsQubo2008–2011
October 27Cars ToonsDisney Channel2008–2014
November 3Sammy's Story ShopQubo2008
November 8Tasty Time with ZeFronkPlayhouse Disney2008–2010
November 14Batman: The Brave and the BoldCartoon Network2008–2011
November 16Toot & PuddleNoggin2008–2009
November 21Spaceballs: The Animated SeriesG42008–2009
November 23The Drinky Crow ShowAdult Swim2008–2009
November 28The Penguins of MadagascarNickelodeon2008–2015
December 6Random! CartoonsNicktoons Network2008–2009

Births

March

March 14: Abby Ryder Fortson, American actress.

July

July 15: Iain Armitage, American child actor.

August

August 1: Emma Berman, American actress.

November

November 2: Sunny Sandler, American child actress.

December

December 22: Madeleine McGraw, American child actress.

Deaths

January

January 2:

February

February 2: Gus Arriola, Mexican-American comics artist and animator, dies at age 90.February 6:

March

March 3: Taichirō Hirokawa, Japanese actor, dies at age 68.March 4: Gary Gygax, American game designer and author, dies from abdominal aortic aneurysm at age 69.
  • March 8: Franco Paludetti, Italian animator and comic artist, dies at age 83.March 11: Dave Stevens, American illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 52.March 18: Justin Wright, American animator, dies from a heart attack at age 27.March 21: Raymond Leblanc, Belgian comics publisher, film producer and film director, dies at age 92.

April

April 5: Charlton Heston, American actor, dies at age 84.April 11: Andy Knight, Canadian animator and film and television director, dies at age 46.April 14: Ollie Johnston, American animator, dies at age 95.

May

  • May 3: Ted Key, American animator/screenwriter and comics artist, dies at age 95.May 11: Dick Sutcliffe, American animator, dies at age 90.May 13: Len Maxwell, American actor, dies at 77.May 16: David Mitton, English television and film director and producer, model maker and special effects technician, dies at age 69.May 29: Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian, dies at age 81.

June

June 8: Vladimiro Missaglia, Italian comics artist and animator, dies at age 75.June 12: Leah Ryan, American television writer, dies at age 44.June 22:
  • * Dody Goodman, American actress, dies at age 93.
  • * George Carlin, American actor, comedian, author and social critic, dies from heart failure at age 71.

July

July 3: Larry Harmon, American clown, dies at age 83.July 22:

August

August 5: Gary Mooney, Canadian-American animator, dies from cancer at age 78.August 7: Bernie Brillstein, American film producer and talent agent, dies from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at age 77.August 9: Bernie Mac, American actor and comedian, dies from pneumonia at age 50.August 10:

September

September 1: Don LaFontaine, American voice actor, dies from complications from a pneumothorax at age 68.September 2: Bill Melendez, American animator, film director and actor, dies at age 91.September 26:
  • * Paul Newman, American actor, film director, race car driver and entrepreneur, dies from lung cancer at age 83.
  • * Walter Bien, American film producer, dies at age 85.

October

October 17: Levi Stubbs, American baritone singer, dies at age 72.October 27: Ray Ellis, American record producer, arranger, conductor and composer, dies from melanoma at age 85.

December

December 8: Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer and TV writer, co-founder of Smallfilms, dies at age 83.December 11: Madeleine Blaustein, American voice actress and comic book writer, dies at age 48.December 18: Majel Barrett, American actress, dies at age 76.December 25: Eartha Kitt, American singer, actress, comedian, dancer and activist, dies from colon cancer at age 81.