1998 in animation is an overview of notable events, including notable awards, list of films released, television show debuts and endings, and notable deaths.
Events
February February 24: The Cow and Chicken season 2 episode "Buffalo Gals" airs. It gained controversy and was quickly pulled for lesbian stereotyping and sexual innuendo. February 25: South Park concludes its first season on Comedy Central with the episode "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut", which leaves the show on a cliffhanger.Comedy Central Ratings Report (February 23–March 1, 1998). Nielsen Media Research (Report).
March March 2: Cartoon Network ends its "Starburst" era and begins its very iconic "Powerhouse" era. March 15: The first episode of PB&J Otter airs. March 23: 70th Academy Awards: Geri's Game by Jan Pinkava wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
April April 1: Season 2 of South Park begins on Comedy Central with the premiere of the episode "Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus", the season's premiere angered a lot of fans of the show as they've been waiting for the reveal of Eric Cartman's father since the end of Season 1's "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut". April 3: The first episode of Cowboy Bebop airs. April 4: The first episodes of CatDog and Yu-Gi-Oh! air. April 20: The first episode of Stressed Eric airs. April 22: The South Park episode "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut" premieres on Comedy Central, which finally follows up from the events of "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut". The episode was seen by over 6 million viewers, making it the #1 prime-time program at its premiere."National Nielsen Viewership (April 20-26, 1998)". The Los Angeles Times. Newspapers.com. April 29, 1998. Retrieved April 16, 2023. April 26: The Simpsons airs its 200th episode, "Trash of the Titans", guest starring the band U2 and actor Steve Martin.
May May 14: The first episode of Celebrity Deathmatch is broadcast. May 15: Quest for Camelot is released. May 17:"National Nielsen Viewership (May 11–17, 1998)". The Los Angeles Times. May 20, 1998. Retrieved June 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. The Simpsons concludes its ninth season on Fox with the episode "Natural Born Kissers". It was seen by over 14 million viewers that night. King of the Hill concludes its second season on Fox with the episode "Propane Boom", which leaves the show on a major cliffhanger. It was seen by over 16 million viewers that night. May 28: American voice actor Phil Hartman (voice of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz in The Simpsons) is murdered by his wife who was under the influence of drugs, and committed suicide afterward. May 29: Season 5 of Rugrats begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the half-hour special "Vacation".Harris, Lee (May 24, 1998). "Nickelodeon's 'Rats' go on a vacation; a pet seal is a hit with the kids, not so much with the fishermen". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
June June 19: The Walt Disney Company releases Mulan. One of the pre-2010s Disney films to perceive the LGBT representation, later confirming Mulan's love interest Li Shang to be bisexual, yet condemned by Disney in response of #MeToo Movement. June 22: The first episode of Bob and Margaret is broadcast.
July July 19: The first episode of Oh Yeah! Cartoons airs. July 21: The first episode of Lascars airs. July 24: Roy O. Disney receives a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
August August 18: The Rugrats episode "The Word of the Day" premieres on Nickelodeon. August 23: Season 10 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Lard of the Dance". It was seen by over 11.8 million viewers that night. August 31: The first episode of Disney's Hercules is broadcast.
September September 1: The first episodes of Cousin Skeeter and The Wild Thornberrys premiere on Nickelodeon. September 4: The first episode of Archibald the Koala airs. September 6: The Oh Yeah! Cartoons short "The Fairly OddParents!" premieres on Nickelodeon. The short ended up getting its own series nearly 3 years later. September 12: The first episode of Godzilla: The Series airs. September 14: The first episode of Histeria! airs. September 15: Season 3 of King of the Hill begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Propane Boom II: Death of a Propane Salesman", which follows up from the events of the Season 2 finale "Propane Boom". The episode was seen by over 10.9 million viewers that night. September 21: The Rugrats half-hour special "The Family Tree" premieres on Nickelodeon, this episode serves as the prologue to The Rugrats Movie."Rugrats: The Complete Series". iTunes Store. Apple, Inc. August 11, 1991. Retrieved May 31, 2022. September 22: Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is released. This marks the first reunion of the Mystery Gang since The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries in 1984. The film makes its television debut on Cartoon Network's Cartoon Theatre on Halloween this year. This also mark the first-ever Scooby-Doo movie to be released in a direct-to-video format and became one of the best-selling DTV films of all time. September 27: The Simpsons episode "Bart the Mother" premieres, featuring the last speaking appearance of Troy McClure after Phil Hartman's death on May 28, 1998. The character was retired after this episode. This is also the last episode David X. Cohen wrote before leaving the series to work on Futurama. However, he later wrote the season 32 episode "Podcast News" in 2020.
October Specific date unknown: The Japanese animation studio Bones is founded."company info." Bones. Retrieved on March 10, 2010. October 2: DreamWorks Animation's first film, Antz, directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson, is released. October 3: The first episode of Anatole airs. October 4: The first episode of Rolie Polie Olie airs. October 5: The first episode of Ojarumaru airs. October 9: The first episode of The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald airs. October 25: The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror IX" premieres on Fox.Groening, Matt (October 28, 2010). Richmond, Ray; Gimple, Scott M.; McCann, Jessie L.; Seghers, Christine; Bates, James W. (eds.). Simpsons World: The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20 (1st ed.). HarperCollins. . October 27: Disney's The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is released, receiving mixed to positive reviews.
November November 2: Chris Wedge's Bunny is first released. November 8: The Simpsons episode "When You Dish Upon a Star" premieres, which had a cutaway at the end which showed the 20th Century Fox studio with "A division of The Walt Disney Co." at the bottom of the studio sign. This episode would get renewed attention 21 years later after Disney's acquisition of Fox in 2019. November 10: Rugrats concludes its fifth season on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the thanksgiving special "The Turkey Who Came to Dinner". November 16: Steamboat Willie is added to the National Film Registry. An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island, the direct-to-video sequel to An American Tail, premieres in United Kingdom as the film for the United States release went into delay for over a year. Some countries, including Germany and Japan, released it as the next film after The Mystery of the Night Monster. November 18: The first episode of The Powerpuff Girls airs on Cartoon Network. It became one of the most popular cartoons on the network in the decade. The Hey Arnold! episode "Arnold's Thanksgiving" airs, which gained notoriety for its allegations of Mr. Simmons' sexuality, suspecting him of having a same-sex relationship with his partner. This was later confirmed by Craig Bartlett. November 20: Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon's The Rugrats Movie premieres. The film received mixed reviews and gained some notoriety for its thematic material subjecting in a G-rated movie at its time. The movie marks the debut of Tommy's little brother, Dil Pickles. The film A Bug's Life by Pixar and the Walt Disney Company airs. There was a legal battle between Pixar and DreamWorks regarding the comparisons with this film and Antz.
December December 9: Michel Ocelot's Kirikou and the Sorceress premieres. December 16: The South Park episode "Gnomes" first airs, in which Tweek Meak makes his debut. December 18: The film The Prince of Egypt premieres. December 21: The first episode of Rex the Runt airs. December 22: MGM's The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue, the direct-to-video sequel to Don Bluth's The Secret of NIMH, is released. It was brutally panned by audiences and critics for its deliberate neglect of the original source material and is declared to be one of the worst DTV sequels ever made. December 23: Enzo D'Alò's Lucky and Zorba premieres.
Specific date unknown Mikhail Tumelya's The Magic Pipe is released. The first episode of Fat Dog Mendoza airs. The pilot episode of The Proud Family was created. It was originally set to air on Nickelodeon next year, but did not pass through as the series would instead air on Disney Channel in 2001. The final episode of Stickin' Around airs.
Films released
January 6 - Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus (United States) January 16 - H.C. Andersen's The Long Shadow (Denmark) February 6 - General Chaos: Uncensored Animation (United States) February 17: Belle's Magical World (United States) Camelot (United States) March 7: Doraemon: Nobita's South Sea Adventure (Japan) Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy (Japan) March 17: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (United States) FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue (United States) April 3 - Grandma and Her Ghosts (Taiwan) April 18: Crayon Shin-chan: Blitzkrieg! Pig's Hoof's Secret Mission (Japan) Detective Conan: The Fourteenth Target (Japan) April 21 - FAKE (Japan) April 24 - Królestwo Zielonej Polany. Powrót (Poland) April 25 - MAZE ☆ The Mega-Burst Space: The Giant of Temporary Threat (Japan) May 2 - Camelot: The Legend (United States) May 15 - Quest for Camelot (United States) May 18 - The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (United States and United Kingdom) May 20 - Socialisation of the Bull? (Slovenia) May 21 - Golgo 13: Queen Bee (Japan) May 26 - The Legend of Su-Ling (United States) June 16 - The Mighty Kong (United States) June 19: Mulan (United States) A Tale of Egypt (United States) July 13 - Moses: Egypt's Great Prince (United States) July 14 - The Spirit of Mickey (Australia) July 17: Ahmed, Prince of Alhambra (Spain) Gen13 (United States) July 18 - Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back (Japan) July 21: The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer (United States) VeggieTales: Madame Blueberry (United States) July 24 - Lupin III: Crisis in Tokyo (Japan) July 25 - Soreike! Anpanman Tenohira o Taiyō ni (Japan) August 1: Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz -Special Edition- (Japan) Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team – Miller's Report (Japan) Slayers Gorgeous (Japan) August 4 - The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom (United States) August 7 - Gurin with the Foxtail (Norway) August 25 - Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (United States) August 27 - Silant Legend (Malaysia) September 4 - What Neighbours are Animals! (Spain) September 5 - Spriggan (Japan) September 22 - Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (United States) October 2 - Antz (United States) October 13 - Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night (United States) October 16 - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (United States) October 27 - The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (United States) November 7 - Visitor (Japan) November 8 - Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen (China and Germany) November 16 - An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island (United States) November 17: An All Dogs Christmas Carol (United States) Money, A Mythology of Darkness (Greece) November 20: A Bug's Life (United States) The Rugrats Movie (United States) November 24 - VeggieTales: The End of Silliness? (United States)