2020 in animation

Events

January

• * The League of 5 from Ánima Estudios became the first animated film to be released in the 2020s.
• * The first episode of The Owl House premiered on Disney Channel.January 11: Particular Crowd's Spycies premiered in Chinese theaters.January 12: Bless the Harts concludes its first season on Fox with the episode "Tying the Not". The season's finale was seen by over 2.6 million viewers that night.January 14: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is released on Netflix.January 17: Voice actor Hank Azaria announces he will no longer be voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on The Simpsons, unless, as stated by him, the show's producers find "some way to transition it or something."January 25: 47th Annie Awards.January 31: The second half of the final season of BoJack Horseman is released on Netflix.

February

• * Toy Story 4, directed by Josh Cooley, Jonas Rivera, and Mark Nielsen, and produced by Pixar and the Walt Disney Company, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
• * Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.February 14: The live-action/animated film adaptation of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, from Paramount Pictures, is released.February 16: The first episode of Duncanville, simply titled "Pilot", premiered on Fox. The show's premiere was seen by over 1.5 million viewers that night.February 21: Glitch Techs premiered on Netflix.February 22: The final episodes of 101 Dalmatian Street are broadcast.February 27: The music video for "Magnum Bullets" by Night Runner, featuring Dan Avidan, was released on the Game Grumps' YouTube channel.February 29: Shirobako: The Movie is released in theaters in Japan.

March

April

May

• * The Simpsons concludes its 31st season on Fox with the episode "The Way of the Dog", featuring guest stars Cate Blanchett & Michael York. The season's finale was seen by just nearly 1.9 million viewers that night.
• * Duncanville concludes its first season on Fox with the episode "Classless President". The season's finale was seen by just over 1.2 million viewers that night.
• * Bob's Burgers concludes its tenth season on Fox with the episode "Prank You for Being a Friend". The season's finale was seen by over 1.2 million viewers that night.
• * Family Guy concludes its 18th season on Fox with the episode "Movin' In ". The season's finale was seen by just over 1.5 million viewers that night.May 27: Looney Tunes Cartoons premieres on HBO Max as a tie-in to the app's launch.

June

• * Kristen Bell announces she will no longer voice the multiracial character Molly on Central Park.
• * Jenny Slate announces she will no longer voice African-American character Missy Foreman-Greenwald on Big Mouth.June 27: As a result of the George Floyd protests:
• * It is announced that all non-white characters in The Simpsons will no longer be voiced by white voice actors, as the entertainment industry and others take action in response to rekindled calls for racial equality.
• * Mike Henry announces he will no longer voice African-American character Cleveland Brown from Family Guy, due to feeling that an actual African-American actor would be more qualified to do so.
• * Actress Alison Brie expresses public regret for having voiced Asian character Diane Nguyen in BoJack Horseman.

July

August

• * Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur, the 40th film in the Doraemon franchise, was released in Japanese cinemas by Toho. This movie is a special project made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doraemon and is a sequel to the 2006 movie Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur.
• * A24 Films LLC picks up the Hazbin Hotel pilot for its own full-length series.August 8:
• * The Owl House episode "Enchanting Grom Fright" is released to universal critical acclaim as well as praise for having Disney's first LGBTQ protagonist.
• * The Amphibia episode "Wax Museum" premieres to positive reviews, featuring easter eggs from Gravity Falls. Additionally, the latter's series creator, Alex Hirsch, guest stars in this episode.August 10:
• * The second series of Bluey premieres to universal critical acclaim.
• * Bluey began streaming internationally on Disney+ to universal critical acclaim from American critics and audiences.August 14: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run initially premiered in theaters in Canada.August 17: The second and final season of Glitch Techs premiered on Netflix.August 21: Elena of Avalor airs its final episode.August 27: Unikitty! airs its final episode.August 28: Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe is released on Disney+.August 29: The first-season finale of The Owl House titled "Young Blood, Old Souls" is broadcast.August 30: The 2020 reboot of Animaniacs announced its release date to be November 20, 2020. A behind-the-scenes video of Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, Jess Harnell, and Maurice LaMarche was released on YouTube to celebrate the news.

September

• * Season 32 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Undercover Burns", featuring the guest stars David Harbour and Philip Rosenthal. The season's premiere was seen by over 4.4 million viewers that night.
• * Season 2 of Bless the Harts begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Violet's Secret". The season's premiere was seen by over 2 million viewers that night.
• * Season 11 of Bob's Burgers begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Dream a Little Bob of Bob". The season's premiere was seen by over 1.7 million viewers that night.
• * Season 19 of Family Guy begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Stewie's First Word". The season's premiere was seen by over 1.8 million viewers that night.September 30:
• * Vivienne Medrano's animated short film "Bad Luck Jack," which is based on her ZooPhobia webcomics, was released on YouTube.
• * Season 24 of South Park begins on Comedy Central with the hour-long special titled "The Pandemic Special", which satirizes the COVID-19 pandemic and other current events in 2020. It is also broadcast on MTV and MTV2.

October

• * The third and final season of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is released on Netflix.
• * Disney Channel greenlights Hamster & Gretel, a brand new series by Phineas and Ferb & Milo Murphy's Law co-creator, Dan Povenmire.October 16: Season 2 of Meta Runner premiered on YouTube and has moved from the channel over to Glitch Productions' own YouTube channel, . The episode that premiered is titled "Hard Reset".October 17: Pearl Studio's Over the Moon made its world premiere at the Montclair Film Festival in California ahead of its simultaneous October 23 debut in theaters and on Netflix.October 19: Apple TV+ will be the new home for Peanuts specials instead of airing them on television.October 23: The Frozen short, Once Upon a Snowman, premiered on Disney+, which follows Olaf's origin story during the first film.October 30: The entire first season of The Owl House released on Disney+, just 2 months after the season concluded.October 31: The first official episode of Vivienne Medrano's independent web series Helluva Boss, titled "Murder Family", was released on YouTube.

November

December

• * Hilda releases its second season on Netflix to critical acclaim. A third season is in production, while the 85-minute movie special, Hilda and The Mountain King, premiered on December 30, 2021, serving as a continuation of the season 2 finale.
• * Shrek is added to the National Film Registry.December 18: The Meta Runner Season two finale "Fatal Error" premiered on YouTube on the channel.December 21: American Dad! concludes its 17th season on TBS with the premiere of its 300th episode "Yule. Tide. Repeat." The season's finale was watched by only 550 thousand viewers that night, marking another low in the show's viewership.December 25: Pixar's Soul premieres on Disney+.

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 4
• Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film: Hair Love
• American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 4
• Annecy International Animated Film Festival Cristal du long métrage: I Lost My Body
• Annie Award for Best Animated Feature: Klaus
• Annie Award for Best Animated Feature — Independent: I Lost My Body
• Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film: Weathering with You
• BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film: Klaus
• Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Animated Film: I Lost My Body
• César Award for Best Animated Film: Dilili in Paris
• Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film: Toy Story 4
• Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 4
• Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Animated Series: BoJack Horseman
• Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film: Toy Story 4
• European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film: Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles
• Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film: I Lost My Body
• Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film: Missing Link
• Golden Reel Awards: Toy Story 4
• Goya Award for Best Animated Film: Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles
• Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation of the Year: Weathering with You
• Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Animated Movie: Frozen II
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film: I Lost My Body
• Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film: Children of the Sea
• National Board of Review Award for Best Animated Film: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
• New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film: I Lost My Body
• Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Animated Film: Toy Story 4
• Producers Guild of America Award for Best Animated Motion Picture: Toy Story 4
• San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Animated Film: I Lost My Body
• San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Feature: I Lost My Body
• Saturn Award for Best Animated Film: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
• Seattle Film Critics Society Award for Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 4
• St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film: Toy Story 4
• Tokyo Anime Award: Weathering with You
• Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film: Missing Link
• Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature: Missing Link
• Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature: ''Toy Story 4''

Television series debuts

Deaths

January

• * Denise Blakely Fuller, American background artist and matte painter, dies at age 52.
• * Blair Kitchen, Canadian animator and storyboard artist, dies at age 43.January 9: Yūji Yamaguchi, Japanese animator, dies at an unknown age.January 14: Jacques Toll, French animator and comics artist, dies at an unknown age.January 21: Terry Jones, Welsh-English actor, comedian, writer and film director, dies at age 77.January 23:
• * Marsha Kramer, American actress, dies at age 74.
• * Zsolt Richly, Hungarian comic artist and animator, dies at age 78.January 25: Horst Alisch, German illustrator, comics artist and animator, dies at age 94.January 26: Kobe Bryant, American professional basketball player, dies at age 41.January 27: Jack Burns, American comedian and actor, dies at age 86.January 30: Fred Silverman, American television executive and producer, dies from cancer at age 82.

February

• * Zoe Caldwell, Australian-American actress, dies at age 86.
• * Jason Davis, American actor, dies at age 35.
• * Maureen Mlynarczyk, American animation timer, dies at age 47.February 17: Ja'Net DuBois, American actress and singer, dies from cardiac arrest at age 74.February 21:
• * Nicola Cuti, American comic book artist, animator, art director and background artist, dies at age 75.
• * Hisashi Katsuta, Japanese actor, dies at age 92.February 22: Kazuhiko Kishino, Japanese actor, dies at age 86.February 29:
• * Luis Alfonso Mendoza, Mexican actor, was murdered at age 55.
• * Alfred Budnick, American animator and background artist, dies at age 81.

March

• * Juan Padrón, Cuban comics artist and animator, dies at age 73.
• * Albert Uderzo, French comics artist, dies from a heart attack at age 92.
• * William Dufris, American actor and audiobook narrator, dies from cancer at age 62.March 29: Ken Shimura, Japanese comedian, dies from COVID-19 at age 70.March 31:
• * Julie Bennett, American actress, dies from COVID-19 at age 88.
• * Vincent Marzello, American actor, dies at age 68.

April

• * Adam Schlesinger, American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer, dies from COVID-19 at age 52.
• * Carl Banas, Canadian radio personality and actor, dies at age 91.April 2: Pamela Ross, American production manager and producer, dies at age 55.April 11: Paul Haddad, Canadian actor, dies at age 56.April 12:
• * Keiji Fujiwara, Japanese actor, dies at age 55.
• * Danny Goldman, American actor and casting director, dies from complications of two strokes at age 80.April 13:
• * Ann Sullivan, American animator, dies from COVID-19 at age 91.
• * Kevin Kocvar, Canadian film editor, dies at age 56.April 15: Brian Dennehy, American actor, dies at age 81.April 16: Gene Deitch, American comics artist, animator and film director, dies at age 95.April 19: Ian Whitcomb, English entertainer, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor, dies from a stroke at age 78.April 20: Nick Rijgersberg, Canadian animator, storyboard artist, overseas supervisor and director, dies at age 60.April 24: Rob Gibbs, American animator, storyboard artist, writer and director, dies at age 55.April 29: Irrfan Khan, Indian actor, dies from cancer at age 53.

May

• * Little Richard, American rock musician, dies at age 87.
• * Richard Sala, American comics artist, illustrator and animator, dies at age 61.May 10: Martin Pasko, Canadian-American comics writer and animation writer, dies at age 65.May 11: Jerry Stiller, American actor and comedian, dies at age 92.May 14: Dominic Orlando, American animator and storyboard artist, dies at an unknown age.May 15: Fred Willard, American actor and comedian, dies at age 86.May 22: Mike Laubach, American animator, dies at age 45.May 28: Bob Kulick, American guitarist and record producer, dies from heart disease at age 70.May 30: Michael Angelis, English actor, dies from a heart attack at age 76.May 31: Jim Finch, animation producer, dies at an unknown age.

June

• * Milton Glaser, American graphic designer, dies at age 91.
• * Kelly Asbury, American storyboard artist, screenwriter, actor, author/illustrator and film director, dies at age 60.June 29: Carl Reiner, American actor, comedian, film director, and screenwriter, dies at age 98.

July

• *Ennio Morricone, Italian composer, dies at age 91.
• *Charlie Daniels, American country singer, dies at age 83.July 7: Mike Kricfalusi, American actor and father of John Kricfalusi, dies at age 90.July 8: Naya Rivera, American actress, singer and model, drowns at age 33.July 12: Nurhasanah Iskandar, Indonesian actress, dies at age 62.July 16: Danilo Tolentino, American animator, storyboard artist and background artist, dies at an unknown age.July 17: John Lewis, American politician and civil rights activist, dies from pancreatic cancer at age 80.July 22: Robert Smith, Canadian actor, dies at age 55.July 24: Regis Philbin, American television presenter, dies at age 88.July 30: Michael Yama, American actor, dies at age 76.

August

September

October

November

• * Elsa Raven, American actress, dies at age 91.
• * Tony Eastman, American animator, storyboard artist and director, dies at age 77.November 4: Sergio Matteucci, Italian actor and radio presenter, dies at age 89.November 5: Hana Kukal, Slovak-born Canadian animator, storyboard artist and director, dies from cancer at age 59.November 6: Ken Spears, American animation writer, sound editor and producer, dies at age 82.November 7: Norm Crosby, American actor and comedian, dies from heart failure at age 93.November 8: Alex Trebek, Canadian-American game show host and television personality, dies from pancreatic cancer at age 80.November 9: Ro Marcenaro, Italian animator and comics artist, dies at age 83.November 14: Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Soviet, Armenian and Russian actor, dies at age 85.November 15: Hikari Yoko, Japanese actress, dies at age 46.November 16: David Hemblen, English-born Canadian actor, dies at age 79.November 18:
• * Jonas Rodrigues de Mello, Brazilian actor, dies at age 83.
• * Kirby Morrow, Canadian actor, writer and comedian, dies at age 47.
• * Michel Robin, French actor, dies from COVID-19 at age 90.November 21: Malcolm Marmorstein, American film director and screenwriter, dies from cancer at age 92.November 22: Changiz Jalilvand, Iranian actor, dies from COVID-19 at age 80.November 30: Enrico Bertorelli, Italian actor, dies at age 78.
• Specific date unknown: Alan Short, British animator, dies at age 62.

December

• * Richard Corben, American animator, illustrator, comics writer, comics artist and colorist, dies at age 80.
• * Lester Pourier, American animator and layout artist, dies at age 89.
• * Cullen Blaine, American animator, storyboard artist, sheet timer, writer, producer and director, dies at age 85.December 4: David Lander, American actor and comedian, dies at age 73.December 10: Tommy Lister Jr., American actor and professional wrestler, dies at age 62.December 12: Bob Kaliban, American actor, singer, and musician, dies at age 87.December 14: Alan Decker, American re-recording mixer, dies at age 69.December 16: Emil Cadkin, American composer, dies at age 100.December 17: Doug Crane, American comics artist and animator, dies at age 85.December 20: Chad Stuart, English singer and actor, dies at age 80.December 21: Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Soviet and Russian animation screenwriter and author, dies at age 82.December 22: Tuck Tucker, American animator, storyboard artist, sheet timer, writer and director, dies at age 59.December 29: Claude Bolling, French composer, dies at age 90.December 30:
• * Brenda Banks, American animator, dies at age 72.
• * Dawn Wells, American actress, dies at age 82.December 31: Taran Kootenhayoo, Canadian actor, dies of leukemia cancer at age 27.