2008 in animation

Years in animation:	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Centuries:	20th century · 21st century · 22nd century
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s
Years:	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

The year 2008 involved animation-related events.

Events

February

• February 11: During the Berlin International Film Festival Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues premiers.[1][2]
• February 18: Nickelodeon celebrates the revival of the show The Fairly OddParents with the television film Fairly OddBaby. This has been the first new episode since 2006.
• February 24: 80th Academy Awards:
  • Ratatouille, directed by Brad Bird, produced by Pixar and the Walt Disney Company wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[3]
  • Peter & the Wolf by Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.[4]

March

• 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.
• March 23: Futurama returns to the air on Comedy Central after its cancellation by Fox in 2003. The series was revived with direct-to video films, and new episodes would air in 2010.

May

• May 15: During the Cannes Film Festival Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir premiers.[5][6]

June

• June 6: Kung Fu Panda, directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, produced by DreamWorks Animation, is first released.

July

• July 19: Ponyo, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, produced by Studio Ghibli, is first released in Japan.
• July 23: DIC Entertainment Corporation is purchased by Canadian animation studio Cookie Jar Entertainment and eventually folded into the latter.

September

• September 20: After 11 years, the Toonami block is officially cancelled by Cartoon Network.

December

• December 22: The first episode of The Garfield Show airs, a CGI version of the eponymous comic strip.
• December 30: Free Radicals is added to the National Film Registry.[7][8]

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
• Animation Kobe Feature Film Award: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone[9]
• Annecy International Animated Film Festival Cristal du long métrage: Sita Sings the Blues
• Annie Award for Best Animated Feature: Kung Fu Panda
• Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film: Waltz with Bashir
• BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film: WALL-E
• Goya Award for Best Animated Film: The Missing Lynx
• Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year: Ponyo
• Japan Media Arts Festival Animation Grand Prize: La Maison en Petits Cubes
• Mainichi Film Awards - Animation Grand Award: The Sky Crawlers

Films released

Television series debuts

Main article: List of animated television series of 2008

Date	Title	Channel	Year
February 4	The Mr. Men Show	Cartoon Network	2008–09
March 8	The Spectacular Spider-Man	The CW, Disney XD
April 18	Ben 10: Alien Force	Cartoon Network	2008–10
April 26	The Mighty B!	Nickelodeon	2008–11
April 27	Speed Racer: The Next Generation	Nicktoons Network	2008–13
June 5	The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack	Cartoon Network	2008–10
	Total Drama Island		2008–14
June 27	Three Delivery	Nicktoons Network	2008–09
September 1	Martha Speaks	PBS Kids	2008–14
	Sid the Science Kid		2008–13
September 28	The Life & Times of Tim	HBO	2008–12
October 3	The Secret Saturdays	Cartoon Network	2008–10
	Star Wars: The Clone Wars		2008–14
October 4	Making Fiends	Nicktoons Network	2008
November 14	Batman: The Brave and the Bold	Cartoon Network	2008–11
November 28	The Penguins of Madagascar	Nickelodeon	2008–15
December 6	Random! Cartoons	Nicktoons Network	2008–09

Television series endings

Date	Title	Channel	Year	Notes
January 7	Higglytown Heroes	Playhouse Disney	2004–08	Ended
January 21	Codename: Kids Next Door	Cartoon Network	2002–08
March 8	The Batman	Kids' WB	2004–08
March 15	Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!		2006–08
March 22	Tom and Jerry Tales
March 27	Camp Lazlo	Cartoon Network	2005–08
April 5	Legion of Super Heroes	Kids' WB	2006–08
April 12	Ben 10 (2005)	Cartoon Network	2005–08
May 25	Class of 3000		2006–08
May 31	Space Ghost Coast to Coast	Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, GameTap	1994–2008
June 10	ToddWorld	Discovery Kids	2004–08
June 21	Growing Up Creepie		2006–08
July 19	Avatar: The Last Airbender	Nickelodeon	2005–08
August 17	All Grown Up!		2003–08	Cancelled
August 23	ChalkZone		2002–08	Ended
September 13	El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera		2007–08	Cancelled
September 20	Kappa Mikey	Nicktoons Network	2006–08	Ended
October 11	Tutenstein	Discovery Kids	2003–08
October 12	The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy	Cartoon Network
November 1	Making Fiends	Nicktoons Network	2008	Cancelled
November 20	The Emperor's New School	Disney Channel	2006–08
November 27	My Gym Partner's a Monkey	Cartoon Network	2005–08
December 6	DinoSquad	CBS	2007–08
	Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot
	Horseland		2006–08

Deaths

January

• January 2: Brice Mack, American animated film director and painter (Walt Disney Company), dies at age 90.[10]

February

• February 2: Gus Arriola, Mexican-American comics artist and animator (Screen Gems, MGM), dies at age 90.[11]
• February 6: Phyllis Barnhart, American animator (Walt Disney Company, Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, Bandolier Films, Chuck Jones Productions, Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, DePatie-Freleng, Don Bluth Productions) dies at age 85.[12]
• February 13: Kon Ichikawa, Japanese film director and animator (J.O. Studio), dies at age 92.[13]

March

• March 3: Taichirō Hirokawa, Japanese voice actor, dies at age 68.
• March 18: Justin Wright, American animator (Pixar), dies at age 27 from a heart attack.[14][15]
• March 21: Raymond Leblanc, Belgian comics publisher, animated film producer (founder of Belvision) and animated film director (Tintin and the Lake of Sharks), dies at age 92.[16]

April

• April 11: Andy Knight, Canadian animator, film and TV director (Ned's Newt, Get Ed), dies at age 46.[17]
• April 14: Ollie Johnston, American animator (Walt Disney Company), dies at age 95.[18][19][20][21]

May

• May 11: Dick Sutcliffe, American animator (co-creator of Davey and Goliath), dies at age 90.[22]
• May 16: David Mitton, British TV and animated film director and producer, model maker and special effects technician (Thomas and Friends), dies at age 69.[23]

June

• June 8: Vladimiro Missaglia, aka Miro, Italian comics artist and animator, passes away at age 75. [24]

July

• July 3: Larry Harmon, American clown (played himself in Bozo: The World's Most Famous Clown, voice of Stan Laurel in Laurel and Hardy), dies at age 83.[25]
• July 22: Greg Burson, American voice actor (voice of DNA in Jurassic Park, voice replacement for all characters performed by Mel Blanc and Daws Butler), dies at age 69 from diabetes complications.[26]

August

• August 5: Gary Mooney, Canadian-American animator (Walt Disney Company, Hubley Studios, Gene Deitch, Jay Ward Productions, animated sequence in Jurassic Park), dies at age 78 from cancer.[27]
• August 10: Terence Rigby, British actor (voice of Silver in Watership Down) , dies at age 71.[28]

September

• September 2: Bill Melendez, American animator (Walt Disney Company), film director (Peanuts animated features) and voice actor (voice of Snoopy and Woodstock), dies at age 91.[29]

December

• December 8: Oliver Postgate, British animator, puppeteer and TV writer (narrator and additional voices in Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog, co-creator of Bagpuss), co-founder of Smallfilms, dies at age 83.[30]
• December 25: Eartha Kitt, American actress (voice of Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove, Queen Vexus in My Life as a Teenage Robot, and herself in The Simpsons episode Once Upon a Time in Springfield)[31]

See also

• 2008 in anime

References

1. https://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/2008/02_programm_2008/02_Filmdatenblatt_2008_20081891.html#tab=filmStills
2. https://www.lambiek.net/artists/p/paley_nina.htm
3. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2008
4. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2008
5. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/movies/16cann.html
6. https://www.cinefondation.com/en/festival/films/waltz-with-bashir
7. https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/
8. "2008 Entries to National Film Registry Announced" (Press release). Library of Congress. December 30, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
9. これまでの記録（第11回～15回）. Anime Kobe (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
10. https://www.animationmagazine.net/people/disney-background-painter-mack-dies-at-90/
11. "Gus Arriola". lambiek.net. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
12. https://animationguild.org/in-memoriam/
13. Obituary in The Times, 11 March 2008
14. Justin Wright's obituary in the Napa Valley Register
15. Justin Wright, Pixar artist, passes away Archived 2008-08-04 at the Wayback Machine at theanimationblog.com
16. "'Tintin' Publisher Raymond Leblanc Dies at 92 - ComicMix". www.comicmix.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
17. Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2008: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. 2009-04-17. ISBN 9780786434824.
18. "Legendary Disney animator dies at 95". CNN. Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
19. "'Golden age' Disney animator dies". BBC. 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
20. "Ollie Johnston, last of Disney's elite animators, died on April 14th, aged 95". The Economist. April 24, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
21. "Disney Animator Ollie Johnston Dies at 95". ARTINFO. April 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-14. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
22. Weber, Bruce (2008-05-25). "Dick Sutcliffe, 90, Dies; Began 'Davey and Goliath'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
23. "David Mitton". The Daily Telegraph. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
24. "Vladimiro Missaglia". lambiek.net. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
25. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0363528/
26. Evanier, Mark (August 1, 2008). "Greg Burson, R.I.P." NewsFromMe.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
27. Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2008: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. 2009-04-17. ISBN 9780786434824.
28. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0726600/
29. Fox, Margalit (September 4, 2008). "Bill Melendez, 91, 'Peanuts' Animator, Dies". The New York Times.
30. "Bagpuss and Clangers creator dies". BBC News. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
31. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/arts/26kitt.html