This is a list of events in animation in 2020.
Events
January
February
- February 9: 92nd Academy Awards:
- February 22: The final episodes 101 Dalmatian Street that are titled Dante's Inferno, Better The De Vil You Know and The De Vil Wears Puppies are broadcast.[citation needed]
March
May
June
- June 25: As a result of the George Floyd protests:
- Voice actress Kristen Bell announces she will no longer voice the multiracial character Molly on Central Park.
- Voice actress 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.
- Voice actor Mike Henry announces he will no longer voice African-American character Cleveland Brown on the TV show Family Guy, because he feels an actual African-American actor would be more qualified to do so.
- Actress Alison Brie expresses public regret of having voiced Asian character Diane Nguyen on the TV series Bojack Horseman.
August
September
- September 1: Elinor Wonders Why premieres on PBS Kids to generally positive reviews and critical acclaim.
- September 5: We Bare Bears: The Movie premieres on Cartoon Network, this also serves as a series finale.
- September 9: Nickelodeon pulls the premiere of ‘Made By Maddie’ due to Controversy about similarities between the characters and those in the Oscar winning short film Hair Love
- September 14:: The 300th episode of American Dad! is broadcast.
October
November
December
- December 5: Alan Becker Releases "Animator vs Animation V" on YouTube.
- December 11: Wolfwalkers premieres on Apple TV+.
- December 14: Shrek is added to the National Film Registry for its cultural, historical and aesthetical relevance and will be preserved for all time.
- December 12: After more than 20 years on the air, PBS airs Caillou for the last time on the PBS Kids block. The show has been on the network since September 4, 2000.
- December 14: Hilda releases its second season on Netlfix to critical acclaim. A third season is in production, while the 85-minute movie special, Hilda and The Mountain King premieres December 30, 2021, serving as a continuation of the season 2 finale.
- December 25: Pixar's Soul premieres on Disney+ instead of releasing it theatrically.
Awards
Films released
Television series debuts
Television series endings
Deaths
January
- January 5:
- Denise Blakely Fuller, American background artist (Walt Disney Animation Studios, Jackie Chan Adventures, Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island) and matte painter (Toy Story 3, Brave, Hotel Transylvania, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Book of Life), dies at age 52.
- Blair Kitchen, Canadian animator (Stickin' Around, Osmosis Jones, The Ripping Friends, Kronk's New Groove, Curious George, Busytown Mysteries, Wayside, Looney Tunes Cartoons) and storyboard artist (Hoze Houndz, Spliced, Scaredy Squirrel, The Book of Life, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, Welcome to the Wayne, Maya and the Three), passes away from cerebral venous sinus thrombosis at age 43.
- January 9: Yūji Yamaguchi, Japanese animator (Fate/stay night), dies at an unknown age.
- January 14: Jacques Toll, French animator and comics artist, dies at an unknown age.
- January 21: Terry Jones, Welsh-British actor, comedian, writer and film director (occasional voices in Terry Gilliam's animated shorts in Monty Python's Flying Circus and the film spin-offs, co-creator of Blazing Dragons), dies at age 77.
- January 25: Horst Alisch, German illustrator, comics artist and animator, dies at age 94.
- January 26: Kobe Bryant, American professional basketball player (wrote and narrated the Academy Award winning short Dear Basketball, voiced himself in The Proud Family episode One in a Million), dies in a helicopter crash at age 41.
- January 27: Jack Burns, American comedian, actor and voice actor (voice of Ralph Kane in Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, Edward Christian in The Simpsons episode Beyond Blunderdome, Sid the Squid in Animaniacs), dies at age 86.
February
- February 3: Philippe Adamov, French illustrator, animator and comics artist (worked for René Laloux on the film Gandahar), dies at age 63.
- February 5: Kirk Douglas, American actor (voice of Chester J. Lampwick in The Simpsons episode The Day the Violence Died), dies at age 103.
- February 7: Orson Bean, American actor (voice of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, and Frodo Baggins in The Return of the King, Billy Rabbit in Garfield in the Rough, Gepetto in Tiny Toon Adventures), dies in a traffic collision at age 91.
- February 8: Ron McLarty, American dramatist, playwright and actor (did voices for several episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog, voice of the narrator and Papa Bear in The Berenstain Bears animated TV specials), dies at age 72.
- February 13: Yoshisada Sakaguchi, Japanese voice actor (Philip II of Macedon in Reign, Muijika in Mushishi, Hachiroh Tohbe in Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Tonpetty in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood), dies at age 80.
- February 16:
- Zoe Caldwell, Australian-American actress (voice of the Grand Councilwoman in Lilo & Stitch), dies at age 86.
- Jason Davis, American actor (voice of Mikey Blumberg in Recess), dies at age 35.
- Maureen Mlynarczyk, American animation timer (Film Roman, Warner Bros. Animation, Disney Television Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, Rough Draft Studios), dies from colon cancer at age 47.
- February 17: Ja'Net DuBois, American actress (voice of Ms. Avery in The PJs), passes away at age 74.
- February 21:
- Nick Cuti, American comics writer, editor, animator and artist (Ralph Bakshi, Walt Disney Animation), passes away at age 75.
- Hisashi Katsuta, Japanese voice actor (Professor Ochanomizu in Astro Boy, Dr. Hoshi in Astroganger, Professor Tobishima in Groizer X, Shin'ichirō Izumi in Tōshō Daimos, passes away at age 92.
- February 22: Kazuhiko Kishino, Japanese voice actor (voice of Mayumi Kinniku in Kinnikuman), dies at age 86.
- February 29: Luis Alfonso Mendoza, Mexican voice dub actor (Latin American voice dub of teenage and adult Gohan in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), is murdered at age 55.
March
- March 3: David Wise, American TV scriptwriter (Star Trek: The Animated Series, The Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Batman: The Animated Series), dies at age 65.
- March 8: Max von Sydow, Swedish actor (voiced an art forger in The Simpsons episode The Art of War), dies at age 90.
- March 19: Roman Arámbula, Mexican comics artist, animator and lay-out artist (Hanna-Barbera, worked on Pinky and the Brain), dies at age 83.
- March 20: Giovanni Romanini, Italian animator and comics artist, dies at age 75 from a heart attack.
- March 24:
- March 31:
April
- April 12:
- April 13:
- April 16: Gene Deitch, American comics artist, animator and animated film director (Munro, Tom Terrific, Nudnik, continued the Popeye and Tom & Jerry franchises), dies at age 95.
- April 20: Nick Rijgersberg, Canadian animator (It's Punky Brewster, The Nutcracker Prince, The Raccoons, The Ren & Stimpy Show, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures, What's with Andy?, Arthur), storyboard artist (Inspector Gadget, Bob the Builder) and director (Caillou, The Little Lulu Show, The Twins), dies at age 60.
- April 24: Rob Gibbs, American animator (FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Cool World, Dinosaur), storyboard artist (Hyperion Pictures, Pixar, The Boss Baby), writer and director (Cars Toons), passes away at age 55.
May
- May 9:
- May 10: Martin Pasko, Canadian-American comics writer and animation writer (Thundarr the Barbarian, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman: The Animated Series), dies at age 61.
- May 11: Jerry Stiller, American actor and comedian (Voice of Uncle Max in The Lion King 1½, Pretty Boy in Teacher's Pet, Murray Weiner in How Murray Saved Christmas, and Principal Stickler in Fish Hooks) dies at age 92.
- May 14: Dominic Orlando, American animator and storyboard artist (CatDog, Dora the Explorer, Holly Hobbie and Friends), dies at an unknown age.
- May 15: Fred Willard, American actor and comedian (voice of Wally Kogen in The Simpsons episode Sunday, Cruddy Sunday, Officer Brown in King of the Hill, Dave Campbell in the Family Guy episode From Method to Madness, Sammy Raymond in Hey Arnold!, Dad in Monster House, F.R.E.D. in Dexter's Laboratory, Jack Hench in Kim Possible, Boogie Man in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Melvin in Chicken Little, Pop-Pop in The Loud House), dies at age 86.
- May 30: Michael Angelis, English actor (narrator of Thomas & Friends), dies from a heart attack at age 76.
June
- June 6: Dan Danglo, American animator (Terrytoons, Famous Studios, Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera), dies at age 95.
- June 7: Hubert Gagnon, Canadian voice actor (dub voice of Optimus Prime in Transformers), dub voice of Homer Simpson and Grampa Simpson in the Canadian-French version of The Simpsons), dies at age 73.
- June 11: Mel Winkler, American voice actor (Commissioner Henderson in Superman: The Animated Series, Lucius Fox in The New Batman Adventures), dies at age 78.
- June 26:
- Milton Glaser, American graphic designer (Produced Mickey Mouse in Vietnam, character designer on Norman Normal), dies at age 91.
- Kelly Asbury, American male storyboard artist, lay-out man (Walt Disney Animation Studios), screenwriter, voice actor (Master of Ceremonies and Fiddlesworth in Shrek the Third, Red Goon Gnomes in Gnomeo & Juliet), author/illustrator and animated film director (Shrek 2, Gnomeo & Juliet), dies at age 60.
- June 29: Carl Reiner, American actor, comedian, film director, screenwriter and voice actor (Interviewer in The 2000 Year Old Man animated TV special, voice of Maz in Globehunters: An Around the World in 80 Days Adventure, Sarmoti in Father of the Pride, Santa Claus in Merry Madagascar, Irv/Mailbox #1 in American Dad, Murray in The Cleveland Show, Henry in the Bob's Burgers episode Father of the Bob, Old Man Fantasy Baseball Coach in the Family Guy episodes Peter's Lost Youth and An App a Day, Carl Reinoceros in Toy Story 4), dies at age 98.
July
- July 1: Marc Alberich Lluís, Spanish comics artist and animator, dies at age 49.
- July 6: Ennio Morricone, Italian composer (wrote music for the animated features Around the World with Peynet's Lovers and Aida of the Trees), dies at age 91.
- July 8: Naya Rivera, American actress (voice of Sparkle in The Naughty List), dies at age 33 in a drowning accident.
- July 12: Nurhasanah Iskandar, Indonesian voice actress (Indonesian dub voice of Doraemon in Doraemon), dies at age 62.
- July 24: Regis Philbin, American TV presenter (voice of Typhon on an episode of Disney's Hercules, Mabel in Shrek the Third), dies at age 88.
August
- August 1: Tom Pollock, American studio executive and film producer (Alienators: Evolution Continues), dies from a heart attack at age 77.
- August 26: Joe Ruby, American animator, screenwriter (Walt Disney Animation Studios, Hanna-Barbera, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises) and animation producer (co-founder of Ruby-Spears Productions, co-creator of Scooby-Doo), dies at age 87.
- August 30: Anatoliy Prokhorov, Russian animation producer (co-founder of the studio Pilot), dies at age 72.
- August 31: Norm Spencer, Canadian voice actor (Cyclops in the animated series X-Men), dies at age 62.
September
- September 4: Annie Cordy, Belgian singer, comedian and actress (voice of Mother Willow Tree in Pocahontas), dies at age 92.
- September 11: Roger Carel, French voice actor (voice of Asterix and Dogmatix in the animated feature films, Maestro in Once Upon a Time... Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit in Winnie-the-Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Yogi Bear, Foghorn Leghorn, Fritz the Cat in Fritz the Cat, Flintheart Glomgold in DuckTales), dies at age 93.
- September 21: Ron Cobb, American cartoonist, animator, film set designer, TV director and scriptwriter (Walt Disney Animation Studios), dies at age 83.
- September 29: Helen Reddy, Australian-American pop singer and actress (Nora in Pete's Dragon, played herself in the Family Guy episode Blue Harvest), dies at age 78.
- September 30: Phil Walsh, American television writer (Recess, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and producer (creator of Teamo Supremo), dies at an unknown age.
October
- October 12: Conchata Ferrell, American actress (voice of Roxanne in Duckman, Bob's Mom in Frankenweenie), dies at age 77.
- October 21: Marge Champion, American dancer and actress (dance model for Snow White in Disney's Snow White, the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio, Hyacinth Hippo in Fantasia and Mr. Stork in Dumbo), dies at age 101.
- October 27: Victor Lew, American visual effects artist (DreamWorks Animation), dies at an unknown age.
- October 31: Sean Connery, Scottish actor (voice of Draco in Dragonheart, Sir Billi in Sir Billi), dies at age 90.
November
- November 2:
- November 4: Sergio Matteucci, Italian voice actor and radio presenter (Italian dub voice of Saiyan B in Dragon Ball Z, narrator in Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines), dies at age 89.
- November 6: Ken Spears, American animation writer, sound editor and producer (Hanna-Barbera, co-creator of Scooby-Doo, co-founder of Ruby-Spears Enterprises), dies at age 82.
- November 7: Norm Crosby, American actor and comedian (The Judge in Eight Crazy Nights), dies at age 93.
- November 8: Alex Trebek, Canadian-American game show host (voiced himself in the Rugrats episode Game Show Didi, The Simpsons episodes Miracle on Evergreen Terrace and Penny-Wiseguys, two Pepper Ann episodes and the Family Guy episode I Take Thee Quagmire), dies at age 80.
- November 9: Ro Marcenaro, Italian animator and comics artist, dies at age 83.
- November 15: Hikari Yoko, Japanese voice actress (Sailor Moon Crystal, Naruto: Shippuden), dies at age 46.
- November 16: David Hemblen, English-born Canadian actor (voice of Magneto in X-Men, The Vault-Keeper in Tales from the Cryptkeeper, Asmodeus in Redwall, The Night Master in Yin Yang Yo!), dies at age 79.
- November 18:
- Jonas Rodrigues de Mello, Brazilian actor (voice of Shadowseat in Cassiopeia, Montanha in The Happy Cricket and the Giant Bugs, Brazilian dub of various villains in Dragonball Z, Brazilian dub voice of Rataxes in The Adventures of Babar), dies at age 83.
- Kirby Morrow, Canadian voice actor, writer and comedian (voice of Cyclops from X-Men: Evolution, Jay from Class of the Titans, Hot Shot from Transformers: Cybertron, Miroku from InuYasha, Van Fanel from the Ocean dub of Escaflowne, Teru Mikami from Death Note, Trowa Barton from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Ryo Takatsuki from Project ARMS, Goku from Ocean's dub of Dragon Ball Z (from Episode 160 onwards), Cole from Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu), dies at age 47.
- Michel Robin, French actor (voice of Champion in Les Triplettes de Belleville), dies at age 90 from corona.
- November 21: Malcolm Marmorstein, American film director and screenwriter (wrote the script for Pete's Dragon), dies at age 92 from cancer.
- November 22: Changiz Jalilvand, Iranian voice actor (Iranian dub voice of Bert in Mary Poppins), dies at age 80 from COVID-19.
- November 30: Enrico Bertorelli, Italian actor and voice actor (Italian dub voice of Cell and Commander Red in Dragon Ball Z, Commissioner James Gordon in Batman: The Animated Series), dies at age 78.
- Specific date in November unknown: Alan Short, British animator (Arthur Christmas, Watership Down), dies at age 62.
December
- December 2:
- Richard Corben, American animator, illustrator, comics writer, comics artist (Neverwhere, wrote the script for the Den segment in Heavy Metal) and colorist, dies at age 80.
- Lester Pourier, American animator and layout artist (Hanna-Barbera, Garfield and Friends, Tom and Jerry: The Movie), dies at age 89.
- December 4: David Lander, American actor and comedian (voice of Smart Ass the Weasel in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Sewer King in Hey Arnold!, Squiggy in The Simpsons episode Helter Shelter Doc-Boy Arbuckle in A Garfield Christmas Special, and The Garfield Show, Horace Badun in 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Arthur in Jungle Cubs), dies at age 73.
- December 14: Alan Decker, American re-recording mixer (Dragon Tales, Jackie Chan Adventures, Max Steel, Harold and the Purple Crayon, The Simpsons), dies at age 69.
- December 17: Doug Crane, American comics artist and animator (Terrytoons, Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, worked on Spider-Man, Heavy Metal, Beavis and Butt-Head), dies at age 85.
- December 20: Chad Stuart, British singer and actor (voice of Flaps the Vulture in The Jungle Book), dies at age 80.
- December 21: Aleksandr Kurlyandsky, Russian animation screenwriter (Well, Just You Wait!) and author, dies at age 82.
- December 22: Tuck Tucker, American animator, animation director, storyboard and lay-out artist (worked on The Simpsons, Rugrats, The Ren and Stimpy Show, 2 Stupid Dogs, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Duckman, Hey Arnold!, Jimmy Neutron, Family Guy, Drawn Together, The Fairly OddParents), dies at age 59.
- December 29: Claude Bolling, French composer (composed the soundtrack to the Lucky Luke animated films Daisy Town and The Ballad of the Daltons), dies at age 90.
- December 30: Brenda Banks, African-American animator (Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes, This Is America, Charlie Brown, The Pagemaster, The Simpsons, King of the Hill), dies at age 72.
See also