1978 in animation

Years in animation:	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Years:	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981

The year 1978 in animation involved some events.

Events

March

• March 1: Karel Zeman's Krabat - The Sorcerer's Apprentice premiers.[1]
• March 11: Masami Hata's Chirin no Suzu (Ringing Bell) premiers, the first animated feature produced by Sanrio to be aimed more at young adults, with a remarkable shift in brutal tone in the second half of the film.[2][3]
• March 27: Jannik Hastrup's Danish animated feature Trællene / The Thralls is first released in theaters.[4]

April

• April 2: The first episode of Starzinger premiers.[5]
• April 3: 50th Academy Awards: The Sand Castle by Co Hoedeman wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.[6]

May

• May 12: Hisayuki Toriumi's Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Movie premiers.
• May 16–30: Jean-François Laguionie's Rowing Across the Atlantic premiers during the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. It will later win a Short Film Palme d'Or.[7]

June

• June 3: The first episode of Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern is broadcast.[8]
• June 16: The film Grease premiers, which has an animated opening sequence created by John David Wilson.[9][10]
• June 23: Lionel Jeffries' The Water Babies, which combines animation and live-action, is first released.

July

• July 6: The first episode of the French animated TV series Wattoo Wattoo Super Bird premiers.[11]
• July 14: Leiji Matsumoto's Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato is released.[12]

September

• The first episode of the Italian animated TV series Quaq Quao premiers.[13]
• September 30: The first episode of Il était une fois... l'Homme (Once Upon a Time... Man), the first series in the Once Upon a Time... franchise by Albert Barillé, is broadcast.[14]

October

• October 19: Martin Rosen's animated feature film, Watership Down, an adaptation of Richard Adams' novel Watership Down, premiers.[15]
• October 22: Nelvana releases its first animated Halloween special, The Devil and Daniel Mouse.[16]
• October 24: René Goscinny and Morris' second animated feature film based on the Lucky Luke series, La Ballade des Dalton, premiers in France.[17]

November

• November 2: Takashi Masunaga's anthology film Metamorphoses premiers, a retelling of Metamorphoses by Roman poet Ovid set to music by Joan Baez and Mick Jagger.[18]
• November 6: Eunice Macaulay and John Weldon's Livraison Spéciale (Special Delivery is released.[19]
• November 13: To celebrate the character's 50th anniversary Mickey Mouse receives a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is the first animated character, and general fictional character, to receive this honour.[20]
• November 15: Ralph Bakshi releases his animated film adaptation of the Ring trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings.[21]

December

• December 16:
  • Soji Yoshikawa's The Mystery of Mamo is released, the first animated film in the Lupin III franchise.[22]
  • Don Bluth's The Small One is released, produced by Walt Disney Productions.[23]

Specific date unknown

• Ishu Patel's animated short Afterlife premiers.[24]
• Robert Awad, André Leduc and Tim Reid's L'Affaire Bronswik (The Bronswik Affair) premiers, an animated mockumentary.[25]
• Yefim Gamburg's Ograblenie po... (Robbery Style...) premiers.[26]
• Janet Perlman and Derek Lamb's Why Me? premiers.[27]

Films released

Main article: List of animated feature films of 1978

Television series

Main article: List of animated television series of 1978

Deaths

January

• January 18:
  • Clark Haas, American comics artist, animator and animation producer (Clutch Cargo, Hanna-Barbera), dies at age 58.[28]
  • Junius Matthews, American actor (voice of Archimedes the owl in The Sword in the Stone and Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh), dies at age 87.[29]

April

• April 3: Winston Sharples, American composer (Van Beuren Studios, Fleischer Brothers, Paramount), dies at age 69.[30]
• April 19: Joe Dougherty, American voice actor (original voice of Porky Pig), dies at age 79.[31]

June

• June 1: John W. Burton, American animated film producer (head of Warner Bros. Animation (1958-1960)) and cinematographer, dies at age 71.[32]

August

• August 22: Steve Gravers, American actor (voice of Blackwolf in Wizards), dies at age 56 from lung cancer.[33]
• August 24: Louis Prima, American jazz singer, bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and voice actor (voice of King Louie in The Jungle Book), dies at age 67.[34]

September

• September 30: Edgar Bergen, American actor, comedian and puppeteer (the narrator in the Mickey and the Beanstalk segment in Fun and Fancy Free), dies at age 75.[35]

October

• October 8: Karl Swenson, American actor (voice of Merlin in The Sword in the Stone), dies at age 70.[36]
• October 10: J.R. Bray, American animator, film producer and director (Colonel Heeza Liar), dies at the age of 99.[37]

December

• December 4: Brian Lewis, British illustrator, comics artist and animator (worked on Yellow Submarine), dies at age 49.[38]
• December 28: Władysław Nehrebecki, Polish animator and TV director (Bolek and Lolek), dies at age 55.[39]

See also

• 1978 in anime

Sources

1. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
2. "Chirin no suzu (Ringing Bell) (1978)". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
3. ""Ringing Bell" (1978) and "One Stormy Night" (2005) |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
4. "Trællene | Danish Film Institute". www.dfi.dk. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
5. "Science Fiction Saiyuki Starzinger (TV) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
6. "The 50th Academy Awards (1978) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
7. "La Traversée de l'Atlantique à la rame - Fiche Film - La Cinémathèque française". cinema.encyclopedie.films.bifi.fr. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
8. "Smart-san (TV) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
9. "Grease (1978) - IMDb". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
10. "Grease credits animator Wilson dies". BBC News. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
11. "Planète Jeunesse - Wattoo Wattoo Super Bird". www.planete-jeunesse.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
12. "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato (movie) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
13. "AntonioGenna.net presenta: IL MONDO DEI DOPPIATORI - ZONA ANIMAZIONE: "Quaq Quao"". www.antoniogenna.net. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
14. "Once Upon a Time... Man". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
15. "Watership Down". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
16. The Big Cartoon DataBase. "The Devil And Daniel Mouse (Nelvana Limited)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved May 20, 2020.
17. "Lucky Luke: Ballad of the Daltons (1978) - IMDb". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
18. "Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 1, 1978 · Page 25". Newspapers.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
19. Canada, National Film Board of. "Livraison spéciale". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.nfb.ca.
20. "Mickey Mouse". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
21. "The Lord of the Rings". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
22. "Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo (movie) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
23. The Big Cartoon DataBase. "The Small One (Walt Disney Studios)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved May 20, 2020.
24. "Canadian Film Encyclopedia - Afterlife". Oct 6, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
25. "L'affaire Bronswik (1978) - IMDb". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
26. "Russian animation in letters and figures | Films | "THE ROBBERY LIKE…"". www.animator.ru. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
27. Canada, National Film Board of. "Why Me". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via www.nfb.ca.
28. "Clark Haas". lambiek.net. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
29. Junius Matthews on IMDb
30. "Winston Sharples". IMDb. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
31. "Joe Dougherty". IMDb. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
32. "John W. Burton". IMDb. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
33. "Steve Gravers". TV.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
34. "Louis Prima". IMDb. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
35. "Edgar Bergen". IMDb. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
36. "Actor Karl Swenson Dies". Lakeland Ledger. October 9, 1978. p. 2A. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
37. "J.R. Bray". lambiek.net. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
38. "Brian Lewis". lambiek.net. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
39. "Wladyslaw Nehrebecki". IMDb. Retrieved May 20, 2020.