2009 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 11: Total Drama second season series Total Drama Action premieres on Teletoon. Season/series later premiered on Cartoon Network in the US on June 11th. January 15: Adam Eliot's Mary and Max premieres. January 16: Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: The Super Snail Adventure is released, the first film based on the Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf TV series.Zhou, Raymond. "Original pirate material ." China Daily. December 11, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2012. January 18: The first episode of Masha and the Bear is broadcast. January 25: The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Drama Queen" premieres on Fox, this was the last episode to be produced in Standard-definition. It was seen by over 5.7 million viewers that night."Weekly Program Rankings (Jan. 19-25, 2009)". ABC Medianet. January 27, 2009. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2023. January 30: During the Gérardmer Film Festival Tomm Moore's The Secret of Kells premiers.
February February 2: Season 3 of Upin & Ipin premiered on TV9. February 5: Henry Selick's Coraline, based on Neil Gaiman's eponymous novel, is first released. February 6: Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder, based on the TV series Futurama, premieres at the New York Comic Con; it would later be generally released on August 30. February 12: Sergey Seryogin's Alice's Birthday is released.Новиков, Леонид. Мультяков громадье . March 12, 2007. February 13: Toon Disney and Jetix relaunched as Disney XD. February 15: The Simpsons episode "Take My Life, Please" premieres on Fox, this was the first episode to be produced in High-definition. It was seen by over 6.7 million viewers that night."Weekly Program Rankings (Feb. 9-15, 2009)". ABC Medianet. February 18, 2009. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2023. February 18: Phineas and Ferb concludes its first season on Disney XD with the premiere of the episode "Unfair Science Fair Redux (Another Story)". February 19: Season 2 of Phineas and Ferb begins on Disney XD with the premiere of half-hour special "The Lake Nose Monster". February 22: 81st Academy Awards: WALL-E wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. La Maison en Petits Cubes by Kunio Kato wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. February 23: Eddie White's The Cat Piano premiers, which features narration by Nick Cave.
March March 3: Lauren Montgomery's Wonder Woman is released direct-to-DVD to positive reviews. March 5: Jiří Barta's Toys in the Attic is released. March 11: Season 13 of South Park begins on Comedy Central with the premiere of the episode "The Ring". It was seen by just over 3.4 million viewers that night.Seidman, Robert (March 17, 2009). "WWE RAW, Cars, Hannah Montana and SpongeBob Lead Weekly Cable Viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2010. March 17: The Simpsons episode "In the Name of the Grandfather" is first broadcast, in which the family travels to Ireland. March 27: Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman's Monsters vs. Aliens premieres in theaters. It is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be released in 3D. March 28: The Penguins of Madagascar made its official premiere on Nickelodeon with the episodes "Launchtime/Haunted Habitat". Its premiere brought in a total of 6.1 million viewers."The Penguins of Madagascar draws 6.1 million viewers Saturday night – Ratings". Zap2it. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012. March 29: The Family Guy episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" premieres on Fox. This episode features Brian coming out about being an Atheist to the rest of the family and town. The episode was seen by over 8.1 million viewers that night.Seidman, Robert (March 31, 2009). "Top Fox Primetime Shows, March 23-29, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 4, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
April April 1: The first episode of The Amazing Spiez! is broadcast, though it had aired on March 15 on Disney Channel (Asia) before. April 7: The Scooby-Doo direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword releases on DVD."WarnerBros.com | "Scooby-Doo! And The Samurai Sword" The Latest Original Full Length Movie From Warner Premiere And Warner Bros. Animation - Animated Film Slated For Release On DVD By Warner Home Video Is Also Scheduled For Broadcast Premiere In Spring 2009 | Press Releases". Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2026. April 20: The first episode of Fishtronaut is broadcast.
May May 1–3: The Fairly OddParents trilogy film series Wishology airs on Nickelodeon. It received mixed to positive attention. May 3: The last 5 episodes of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends air on Cartoon Network. May 10: The Simpsons episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure" premieres on Fox, guest starring Jodie Foster. May 13–24: Up and A Town Called Panic premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. May 17:Seidman, Robert (May 19, 2009). "Top Fox Primetime Shows, May 11–17, 2009". TVbytheNumbers.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2011. The Simpsons concludes its 20th season on Fox with the episode "Coming to Homerica". It was seen by over 5.8 million viewers that night. Family Guy concludes its seventh season on Fox with the episode "Peter's Progress". It was seen by over 7.3 million viewers that night. American Dad! concludes its fifth season on Fox with the episode "Stan's Night Out". It was seen by over 5.6 million viewers that night. May 29: Up releases in theaters in the United States, it was the first Pixar film to be released in 3D. May 31: After more than 10 years on the air, Jay Jay the Jet Plane is removed from the PBS Kids schedule.
June June 7-9: Disney Channel and Disney XD renew Phineas and Ferb for a third season.Gorman, Bill (June 7, 2009). "Disney Orders Third Season of 'Phineas & Ferb'". NewsNation. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2025. June 10: Paul Fierlinger's My Dog Tulip premieres. June 17: Cartoon Network suspends the original animated programs as they instead launch the live-action block "CN Real". The block was cancelled the following year as it is declared a "bad promotion" on the network dedicated to cartoons.
July July 1: Blue Sky Studios releases Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, directed by Carlos Saldanha. This was 20th Century Studios' first film to be released in 3D. July 2: Andrei Khrzhanovsky's Room and a Half is released. July 21: Luke and Lucy: The Texas Rangers is released, the first CGI-animated feature film made in Belgium. It is also the first animated film based on the Belgian comics series Suske en Wiske, and the most expensive Flemish movie of the time. July 22: Totally Spies! The Movie premiers, the first film based on the eponymous TV series. July 23: The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack concludes its first season on Cartoon Network with the episode "Tee Hee Tummy Tums". July 30: Season 2 of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack premieres on Cartoon Network with the episodes "Jar She Blows!/Behind the Curtain".
August August 13: Cartoon Network greenlights two new original shows for its lineup, Regular Show & Horrorbots (which later got renamed as Robotomy). August 31: The first episode of Kabouter Wesley is broadcast.
September September 3: 66th Venice International Film Festival: Tarik Saleh's Metropia premieres.Jennings, Shere (July 23, 2009) "Eurocentric Venice Critics' Week to present Berlusconi project Videocracy ." Screen Daily. Retrieved July 25, 2009. September 7: The first episodes of Dinosaur Train and Wibbly Pig both aired. September 8: Season 2 of The Mr. Men Show premieres on Cartoon Network with the episodes "Picnics/Driving". September 9: Shane Acker's 9 premieres. September 12: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs makes its premiere at the Mann Village Theater. September 13: King of the Hill's original series finale "To Sirloin with Love" premieres on Fox, it was seen by over 6 million viewers that night.Calabria, Rosario T. (September 21, 2009). "Broadcast TV Ratings for Sunday, September 20, 2009". Your Entertainment Now. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2023. Despite this being the final episode of the show's original run, 4 remaining episodes aired in syndication the following year. September 15: The first episode of Geronimo Stilton airs. September 17: The first episode of Archer airs on FX. September 18: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs releases in theaters in the United States, it is Sony Pictures Animation's first film to officially be released in 3D. September 22: Rob Zombie releases The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, based on his comic book of the same name.THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO (DVD REVIEW) September 25: Turner Broadcasting System announced that they have greenlit their first new series from Cartoon Network Studios Europe for Cartoon Network, it being The Amazing World of Gumball. September 27:"National Nielsen Viewership (Sept. 21-27, 2009)". The Los Angeles Times. September 30, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Season 21 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Homer the Whopper". It was seen by just over 8.3 million viewers that night. The first episode of The Cleveland Show, a spin-off of Family Guy revolving around Cleveland Brown, premiered on Fox. The show's premiere was seen by just over 9.5 million viewers that night. Season 8 of Family Guy begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Road to the Multiverse". It was seen by just over 10.1 million viewers that night. Season 6 of American Dad! begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "In Country...Club". It was seen by over 7.1 million viewers that night. September 28: Nickelodeon rebrands with a new logo. Nicktoons Network shortens its name to Nicktoons. Noggin and The N are replaced by the Nick Jr. Channel and TeenNick (channels based on the Nick Jr. and TEENick blocks, respectively). September 29: The King of Milu Deer is released, the first Chinese CGI-animated film.
October October 2: The first episode of Kung Fu Dino Posse airs. October 5: The first episode of Les Mistigris (Lulu's Islands) is broadcast. October 8: Chowder concludes its second season on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episode "Tofu-Town Showdown". October 12: The first episode of Fanboy & Chum Chum is broadcast as a preview; it would later officially premiere on November 6. October 14: Wes Anderson's stop-motion film Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on Roald Dahl's eponymous children's book, premieres at the London Film Festival. October 15: The 3rd & final season of Chowder begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episode "Hands on a Big Mixer". October 26: The first episode of Have a Laugh! airs. The first episode of Sally Bollywood airs.
November November 3: Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge, premieres. November 6: SpongeBob SquarePants celebrates its 10th anniversary with a television special titled SpongeBob's Truth or Square that premiered on Nickelodeon to mixed and negative reviews. November 8: Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show premieres on Cartoon Network, the movie serves as the series finale to the show. November 9: Glenn Martin, DDS was moved to air late nights on Nick@Nite due to complaints from parents after regarding the show's adult content, sparking controversy when it aired evenings after SpongeBob SquarePants.