1995 in animation is an overview of notable events, including notable awards, list of films released, television show debuts and endings, and notable deaths.
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Events
January January 2: The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show broadcasts its first episode.
February February 5: Dr. Seuss' Daisy-Head Mayzie premieres on TNT. It is Dr. Seuss' first posthumous book. This publication was altered from his original text, which was republished 21 years later. February 13: Chuck Jones receives a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. February 20: What a Cartoon! (initially named World Premiere Toons) premiered on Cartoon Network as a segment on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The first short to premiere on the anthology series was "The Powerpuff Girls: Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins"; which marks the debut of Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, Fuzzy Lumpkins, and an early version of The Mayor of Townsville.Winfrey, Lee (December 27, 1994). "From Hanna-barbera, 8 New Cartoons for Cable the Cartoon Network's New Stable of Stars Includes Two Ducks, Two Bears, and Even Dino of "Flintstones" Fame". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2013. February 26: The Dexter's Laboratory pilot short premieres as part of the What a Cartoon! series on Cartoon Network; Dexter, Dee Dee, & Mom all make their debuts.
March March 5: The Simpsons episode "A Star Is Burns" is first broadcast; it is a crossover with The Critic and guest stars Jon Lovitz and Maurice LaMarche. Matt Groening heavily criticized the episode, feeling that it was just an advertisement for The Critic, and that people would incorrectly associate the show with him. Because of this, he was uncredited in the episode. March 26: The Johnny Bravo pilot short premieres as part of the What a Cartoon! series on Cartoon Network."What a Cartoon : Episode Ti., Johnny Bravo / Directed by Van Partible". United States Copyright Office. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2013. March 27: 67th Academy Awards: Bob's Birthday by Alison Snowden and David Fine wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Elton John and Tim Rice's song Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King wins the Academy Award for Best Original Song, while Hans Zimmer wins the Academy Award for Best Original Score for the same film.
April April 7: A Goofy Movie, a continuation of Goof Troop produced by the Walt Disney Company, premieres. It became a cult classic and adult interest decades later. April 12: Don Bluth and Gary Goldman's The Pebble and the Penguin premieres, one of the five lesser Bluth films and to be the most troublesome from his experience. Due to production problems, Bluth and Goldman opt not to be credited. Consequently, his Irish animation studio closed down by bankruptcy. April 13: Rugrats concludes its third season on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the Jewish special "A Rugrats Passover". The show would go on hiatus about a year following the premiere of this episode."Rugrats, Season 3". iTunes Store. Apple, Inc. August 11, 1991. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
May May 21: The Simpsons concludes its sixth season on Fox with the first part to the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", leaving the show on a major cliffhanger.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. . May 28: The first episode of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist is broadcast.
June June 23: The Walt Disney Company releases Pocahontas, directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg.
August
August 25: The Looney Tunes theatrical short Carrotblanca (directed by Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone, & Douglas McCarthy) premieres in theaters alongside The Amazing Panda Adventure. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation.
September September 5: The first episode of Mr. Men and Little Miss airs. September 9: Kids' WB launches. The first episodes of Freakazoid!, The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries and Earthworm Jim air. September 10: The first episode of Pinky and the Brain airs. September 16: Film Roman's The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat airs. This marks the second television series based on Felix the Cat, except Felix's character is reverted to his original adult self from the pre-1936 cartoons by Pat Sullivan. September 17: Season 7 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the second & final part to the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?". September 24: The Simpsons episode "Radioactive Man" premieres on Fox, it was the first to be produced entirely in digital ink and paint; but the show would continue to be produced in cel animation from up until the 14th season. September 25: The first episode of Timon & Pumbaa, produced by the Walt Disney Company airs.
October October 4: The first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion airs. October 22: The first episode of The Little Lulu Show airs. October 29: The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror VI" premieres on Fox.
November November 12: The Cow and Chicken pilot short "No Smoking" premieres as part of the What a Cartoon! series on Cartoon Network; Cow, Chicken, their parents & the Red Guy all make their debuts."Cow and Chicken in No Smoking". United States Copyright Office. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2013. The short would later be adapted into a full series nearly 2 years later. November 18: Ghost in the Shell is first released, an anime feature film directed by Mamoru Oshii, based on the manga series Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow. It will later become a cult classic. November 22: Toy Story, the first CGI animated feature film, is released by Pixar and the Walt Disney Company.
December December 1: Trey Parker and Matt Stone make the animated short Jesus vs. Santa, which features embryonal versions of the characters they'll later use in South Park and will become a viral sensation under the title The Spirit of Christmas. December 16: The Ren & Stimpy Show holiday special "A Scooter for Yaksmas" premieres on Nickelodeon. Despite this being the final episode to air on Nickelodeon, two remaining episodes of the show would air on MTV the following year.Komorowski, Thad (2017). Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media. . December 22: Amblin Entertainment's Balto premieres. This is the last animated feature produced by Amblimation before it was closed down in 1997. Despite its failure during the release, it becomes a cult classic and is favored over the poorly received direct-to-video sequels in the 2000s. December 24: Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit short film A Close Shave is released. December 28: Gerald McBoing-Boing is added to the National Film Registry.
Specific date unknown Helen Hill's Scratch and Crow is first released.Daniel Eagan, America's Film Legacy, 2009-2010: A Viewer's Guide to the 50 Landmark Movies (London: Bloomsbury, 2011).
Films released
January 20 - The Kingdom of Green Glade (Poland) January 31 - Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken (United States and Japan) February 3 - The Monkeys and the Secret Weapon (Denmark) February 6 - Hercules (United States and Japan) February 25 - Dragon Knight: Another Knight on the Town (Japan) March 4: Doraemon: Nobita's Diary of the Creation of the World (Japan) Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (Japan) March 7 - The New Adventures of Peter Rabbit (United States) March 12: Alice in Wonderland (United States and Japan) Slam Dunk: Shohoku's Greatest Challenge! Burning Hanamichi Sakuragi (Japan) March 17 - Sleeping Beauty (United States and Japan) March 28 - VeggieTales: Are You My Neighbor? (United States) April 1 - Elementalors (Japan) April 7: A Goofy Movie (United States) Lesson XX (Japan) April 11 - Pocahontas (United States) April 12 - The Pebble and the Penguin (United States and Ireland) April 15 - Crayon Shin-chan: Unkokusai's Ambition (Japan) April 22 - Lupin III: Farewell to Nostradamus (Japan) April 27 - Snow White (United States and Japan) May 2 - The Prince and the Pauper (United States) May 9 - Black Beauty (United States and Japan) May 26 - Casper (United States) June 10 - Catnapped! (Japan) June 18 - Run (Japan) June 23 - Pocahontas (United States) July 12 - The Katta-kun Story (Japan) July 15: Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (Japan) Slam Dunk: Howling Basketman Spirit!! Hanamichi and Rukawa's Hot Summer (Japan) Whisper of the Heart (Japan) July 20 - Junkers Come Here (Japan) July 22 - Kazu & Yasu Hero Tanjō (Japan) July 29: Legend of Crystania: The Motion Picture (Japan) Soreike! Anpanman Yūreisen o Yattsukero!! (Japan) July 31: Little Red Riding Hood (United States and Japan) The Nutcracker (United States and Japan) August 4 - Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure (Japan) August 5: The Red Hawk (South Korea) Slayers The Motion Picture (Japan) August 9 - Curly, the Littlest Puppy (United States and Japan) August 19 - The Diary of Anne Frank (Japan) August 27 - Macross Plus: Movie Edition (Japan) August 29: The Christmas Elves (United States) Noah's Ark (United States) September - The Tale of Tillie's Dragon (United States) October 4 - Gumby: The Movie (United States) October 12 - The Real Shlemiel (France, Germany and Hungary) October 16 - Pocahontas (Australia) October 17 - Jungle Book (United States and Japan) October 30 - Drawn from Memory (United States) November - Days of Rage (Greece) November 9 - Magic Gift of the Snowman (United States and Japan) November 18 - Ghost in the Shell (Japan and United Kingdom) November 21 - The Snow Queen (United Kingdom) November 22: Toy Story (United States) Yamato Takeru: After War (Japan) November 28 - VeggieTales: Rack, Shack and Benny (United States) November 29 - Lesson of Darkness (Japan) December 15 - The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (United States) December 18: The Legend of the Blue Wolves (Japan) Silent Service (Japan) December 22 - Balto (United States and United Kingdom) December 23: The Hungry Best 5 (South Korea) Memories (Japan) Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie (Japan) December 24: The Adventures of Mole (United Kingdom) Dol-a-on yeong-ung Hong Gil-dong (South Korea) December 25 - The Wind in the Willows (United Kingdom) Specific date unknown: Cinderella: Conspiracy at the Emerald Castle (Italy) The Elixir (Russia) Heidi (United States and Japan) Koushi-den (Japan, South Korea and Taiwan) The Mirror of Wonders (Italy)
Television series debuts