2001 in animation is an overview of notable events, including notable awards, list of films released, television show debuts and endings, and notable deaths.
February 23: Henry Selick's Monkeybone, which combines animation with live-action, is released, but to bad reviews and low audience attendances.[1]
February 25: The Futurama episode "That's Lobstertainment!" premieres, guest starring actor, comedian and fellow Simpsons cast member Hank Azaria. However, this episode received polarizing reception from fans and it was often regarded as one of the worst episodes of the series.[2]
The Futurama episode "The Cyber House Rules" premieres, in which Leela meets up with her former orphanarium playmate Adlai Atkins, now a plastic surgeon, who agrees to grant Leela surgery that will give her two eyes.
April 4: The first episode of Titeuf airs, based on the eponymous comics series.[citation needed]
April 8: The Tom and Jerry short The Mansion Cat, produced by Hanna-Barbera, premieres on Cartoon Network's sister network Boomerang.[7] This was the final Tom and Jerry-related piece of media to be produced by Hanna-Barbera before the studio's closure this year, it is also the last Tom and Jerry-related piece of media to be produced with the franchise's co-creator William Hanna still being around (who died two weeks before this short premiered).
April 20: The dark Invader Zim episode "Dark Harvest" airs. This episode became controversial when it was mentioned at the Scott Dyleski trial in 2006.[9]
The Futurama episode "I Dated a Robot" premieres on Fox, guest starring actress Lucy Liu. The episode was seen by over 6 million viewers that night.
King of the Hill concludes its fifth season on Fox with the episode "Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story", which was seen by over 8.1 million viewers that night.
May 18: The film Shrek premieres and becomes an unexpected box office hit.[citation needed]
June 3: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, produced by the Walt Disney Company, is released. It is a box office flop, but becomes a cult film later.[citation needed] During its 25-week theatrical run, Atlantis: The Lost Empire grossed over $186 million worldwide ($84 million from the United States and Canada).[13] Responding to its disappointing box-office performance, Thomas Schumacher, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said, "It seemed like a good idea at the time to not do a sweet fairy tale, but we missed."[14]
July 11: Season 3 of Family Guy begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "The Thin White Line", which was seen by just nearly 6 million viewers that night.[18]
September 24: The sixth season of Arthur airs as Justin Bradley would take over Michael Yarmush's role as the titular character due to voice changing by adult age.[29] Unfortunately, Bradley failed to repeat this due to regarding his input to be too deep for Arthur as Mark Rendall re-dubbed over Bradley's lines the next year and is chosen to be the next voice for the character.
November 5: The final episode of Recess airs. It was supposed to end after the fifth season, but ratings gave the show one more season, which only lasted for 3 half-hours due to the show passing the 65-episode rule.
Dexter's Laboratory revives as Chris Savino took over as series director instead of Genndy Tartakovsky, who moved on to produce the new show Samurai Jack.[38] Unlike the original episodes as the show gained popularity in the 1990s, the new batch was unsuccessful as the popularity of Dexter's Laboratory falls.
November 22: Episodes 1 through 14 of Happy Tree Friends as a TV-special premieres on MTV for first time, marking the TV debut of Volume 1 - First Blood.
The South Park episode "Kenny Dies" premieres on Comedy Central, in which Kenny McCormick falls victim of a terminal illness, while Eric Cartman goes to find a way to lift the ban on stem cell research. The episode ends with Kenny getting "killed off", disappearing entirely from Season 6 before returning right at the end of the final episode of said season, Red Sleigh Down.
December 12: South Park concludes its fifth season on Comedy Central with the episode "Butters' Very Own Episode".[15] This episode was written to get fans more acquainted with Butters Stotch as he would be taking Kenny's spot as the 4th friend in the group starting next season.
Boomerang cease airing Fantastic Four due to complications with Hanna-Barbera and Disney when Disney's ownership acquired Fox Kids Worldwide that has full rights to Marvel content as Time Warner ended distribution rights to Fantastic Four,[43] prior to Disney's purchase with Marvel Comics in 2009. The series remains in obscurity after the 34 year broadcast.
September 30: Bjørn Frank Jensen, Danish animator and comics artist (co-founder of Ring, Frank & Jensen, worked for Marten Toonder's animation department), dies at age 81.[83]
^"That's Lobstertainment! episode commentary". Futurama. Season 3. Episode 8. Event occurs at 12:07. Fox. This one is roundly considered by the newsgroup mavens as the worst episode ever
^これまでの記録（第1回～10回）. Anime Kobe (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 13, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
^"56th (2001年)". Mainichi Film Award (in Japanese). The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
^"Passing: Sam Singer...". ASIFA San Francisco. May 2001. pp. 6, 8.
^Lentz, Harris, III (October 2001). "Obituaries: Don Brodie". Classic Images. p. 57. ProQuest2130594. Film and television character actor Don Brodie died at age 101 in Los Angeles, California, on January 8, 2001.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Archives, L.A. Times (March 11, 2001). "Edward Winter; Character Actor". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
^Bergan, Ronald (July 23, 2001). "Obituary: Maurice Noble: Animation artist filling in the background for cartoon hijinks." The Guardian (London, England), p20.
^Haynes, Karima A.; Biederman, Patricia Ward (July 5, 2001). "Suspect in Slaying Kills Himself". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
^"Toni Pagot". lambiek.net. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
^"Morris". lambiek.net. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
^Coyne, Patrick (January–February 2005). "Design Pioneers: Robert Abel". Comm Arts. Coyne & Blanchard, Inc. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
