Events in 1988 in animation.
Events
January January 10: The Simpsons short "Grampa and the Kids" first airs and Grampa Simpson makes his debut. January 17: The first episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh airs, produced by the Walt Disney Company. January 29: The Peanuts television special Snoopy! The Musical airs on CBS. It is an animated adaptation of the 1975 musical play of the same name.
March March 2: The final episode of Maison Ikkoku airs. March 9: The first episode of F airs. March 18: Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw premiers. March 27: The first episode of Kiteretsu Daihyakka airs.
April April 11: 60th Academy Awards: The Man Who Planted Trees by Frédéric Back wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. April 16: Hayao Miyazaki releases his film My Neighbor Totoro. Isao Takahata releases his film Grave of the Fireflies.
June June 6: Donald Wildmon, head of the American Family Association, accuses the Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures episode "The Littlest Tramp" of depicting cocaine use. In reality, he misinterpreted the scene out of context, but the controversy eventually led to the series being canceled in October. June 22: Robert Zemeckis' Who Framed Roger Rabbit is released, which marks the debut of Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit, Benny the Cab and Baby Herman. The film revived public interest for the Golden Age of American animation, which will benefit many upcoming animated feature films and television series.
July July 16: Akira is released, which will later become a cult classic and largely be responsible for making anime popular outside of Japan. July 25: American child actress Judith Barsi and her mother Maria was murdered by József Barsi in an apparent murder–suicide.
August August 3: Jan Švankmajer releases his film Alice, which will become a cult classic.
September September 6: The first episode of Count Duckula airs. September 12: The first episode of Denver, the Last Dinosaur airs. September 17: The first episode of Garfield and Friends airs on CBS, based on the comic strip Garfield. September 24: The Looney Tunes compilation film Daffy Duck's Quackbusters premieres in theaters. This was Mel Blanc's final role in the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies franchise as he sadly passed away the following year. September 27: The Peanuts television special It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown airs on CBS, which gained negative attention for the inter-species storyline being subjected in a Peanuts special before putting it in obscurity in the 2000s.
October October 3: The first episode of Anpanman airs. The first episode of The Smoggies airs. October 17: The first episode of Oishinbo airs. October 20: The first episode of Charlie Chalk airs. October 29: The Michael Jackson film Moonwalker is released direct-to-video, featuring claymation in some scenes, produced by Will Vinton.
November November 18: Don Bluth releases The Land Before Time. This film is generally acclaimed and became Bluth's most popular and longest running franchise to date. The Walt Disney Company releases Oliver & Company. November 20: The Simpsons short "The Bart Simpson Show" first airs and Itchy and Scratchy make their debuts. November 22: Garfield: His 9 Lives premieres on CBS, it is an animated adaption of the 1984 book of the same name.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 265. . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
December
December 10: Garfield and Friends concludes its first season on CBS with the episodes "Forget Me Not/I Like Having You Around!/Sales Resistance".
Specific date unknown The first episode of Bobobobs airs. The first episode of Sharky & George airs. Mark Baker releases The Hill Farm. The Tom and Jerry cartoons by Gene Deitch are finally being televised. After over two decades, the legal issues from Rembrandt Films in Czechoslovakia were resolved .
Awards Mainichi Film Award for Best Film: My Neighbor Totoro
Films released
February 6: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars (Japan) Maison Ikkoku: The Final Chapter (Japan) Ultimate Teacher (Japan) Urusei Yatsura: The Final Chapter (Japan) February 10 - Black Tulip (Australia) February 18 - Captain of the Forest (Hungary) March 1 - Xanadu: The Legend of Dragon Slayer (Japan) March 11 - Harbor Light Story -From Fashion Lara- (Japan) March 12: Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West (Japan) ESPer Mami: Hoshizora no Dancing Doll (Japan) Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (Japan) Saint Seiya: The Heated Battle of the Gods (Japan) March 18: BraveStarr: The Movie (United States) Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw (United States) March 19 - Armored Trooper Votoms: The Red Shoulder Document - Roots of Ambition (Japan) March 20 - Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (United States) March 24: Stowaways on the Ark (West Germany) Treasure Island (Soviet Union) April 11 - The Amazing Adventures of the Musketeers (Romania) April 16: Grave of the Fireflies (Japan) My Neighbor Totoro (Japan) April 21 - Appleseed (Japan) May 1 - Westward Ho! (Australia) May 3 - The Phantom of the Opera (Ireland) May 6 - The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound (United States) May 9 - Prisoner of Zenda (Australia) May 13 - Alice (Czechoslovakia) May 25 - Mahjong Hishō-den: Naki no Ryū (Japan) June - Toyama Sakura Space Book – His Name is Gold (Japan) June 15 - Hiawatha (Australia) June 20 - Project A-ko 3: Cinderella Rhapsody (Japan) June 21 - Zillion: Burning Night (Japan) June 22: David and the Magic Pearl (Poland and Sweden) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (United States) June 23: Katy Meets the Aliens (Mexico) Peter Pan (Australia) June 25 - The Tokyo Project (Japan) July 9: Bikkuriman: Moen Zone no Himitsu (Japan) Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (Japan) July 10 - Alice in Wonderland (Australia) July 16 - Akira (Japan) July 21 - Ryūko, the Girl with the White Flag (Japan) July 23: Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth (Japan) Sakigake!! Otokojuku (Japan) July 25 - What's Michael? 2 (Japan) August 12 - Watt Poe and Our Story (Japan) September 15 - Raining Fire (Japan) September 18 - Rockin' with Judy Jetson (United States) September 24 - Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (United States) September 25 - Maison Ikkoku: Through the Passing of the Seasons (Japan) October 1: Felix the Cat: The Movie (United States, Hungary and Germany) Hiatari Ryōkō! Ka – su – mi: Yume no Naka ni Kimi ga Ita (Japan) Kimagure Orange Road: I Want to Return to That Day (Japan) October 16 - Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (United States) October 18 - The Black Arrow (Australia) October 25 - Demon City Shinjuku (Japan) November 2 - Gall Force 3: Stardust War (Japan) November 13 - Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (United States) November 18: The Land Before Time (Ireland and United States) Oliver & Company (United States) November 20 - Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears (United States) November 25 - Around the World in 80 Days (Australia) December 2 - One-Pound Gospel (Japan) December 10 - Care Bears Nutcracker Suite (Canada) December 13 - Wind in the Willows (Australia) December 21: Space Family Carlvinson (Japan) Violence Jack: Evil Town (Japan) Yōsei-Ō (Japan) Specific date unknown: The Cat Who Walked by Herself (Soviet Union) Crying Freeman (Japan) Forget Me Not (Hungary) Lovely Fatma (Soviet Union) Popol Vuh: The Creation Myth of the Maya (United States) La table tournante (France)
Television series debuts
January 10: Little Lord Fauntleroy debuts on Fuji TV and ITV. Tatakae!! Ramenman debuts on Nippon TV. January 17 - The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh debuts on Disney Channel and ABC. February 3 - Bobobobs debuts on TV3. February 13 - Osomatsu-kun debuts on Fuji TV. February 25 - Sakigake!! Otokojuku debuts on Fuji TV. March 2 - Clifford the Big Red Dog debuts in syndication. March 3 - Tsurupika Hagemaru debuts on TV Asahi. March 9 - F debuts on Fuji TV. March 14 - The Burning Wild Man debuts on Nippon TV. March 27 - Kiteretsu Daihyakka debuts on Fuji TV. April 2 - City Hunter 2 debuts on Yomiuri TV. April 5 - Wowser debuts on TV Tokyo. April 9 - Dagon in the Land of Weeds debuts on TV Asahi. April 12 - Transformers: Super-God Masterforce debuts on Nippon TV. April 13 - Sonic Soldier Borgman debuts on NNS (Nippon TV). April 15: Mashin Hero Wataru debuts on Nippon TV and Bandai Channel. What's Michael? debuts on TV Tokyo. April 27 - Topo Gigio debuts on TV Asahi (epi. 1–21) and TV Tokyo (epi. 22–34, as Yumemiru Topo Gigio). April 30 - Ronin Warriors debuts on ANN (Nagoya TV). May 12 - Hello! Lady Lynn debuts on TV Tokyo. May 25 - Stories of the Sylvanian Families debuts on Direct-to-Video. July 2 - Ironfist Chinmi debuts on TV Asahi. September - Robotech II: The Sentinels debuts in syndication. September 5 - Tube Mice debuts on Children's ITV strand on ITV. September 6 - Count Duckula debuts on ITV (UK) and Nickelodeon (USA). September 10: ALF Tales and The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley debut on NBC. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil debut on ABC. Police Academy debuts in syndication. September 12: Denver, the Last Dinosaur debuts in syndication and on FR3. Stoppit and Tidyup debuts on BBC One. The New Yogi Bear Show debuts in syndication. September 17: Fantastic Max debuts on BBC 1 (UK) and in syndication (USA). Garfield and Friends, Superman, and The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy debut on CBS. September 19 - C.O.P.S. debuts in syndication. October 1 - Dino-Riders and RoboCop: The Animated Series debut in syndication. October 2: Marvel Action Universe debuts in syndication. New Grimm Masterpiece Theater debuts on ANN (ABC). October 3: Anpanman debuts on Nippon TV. The Smoggies debuts on Global Television Network, Antenne 2, and Radio-Canada. October 9 - Himitsu no Akko-chan debuts on Fuji TV. October 13 - Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon debuts on TV Tokyo. October 17 - Oishinbo debuts on Nippon TV. October 20 - Charlie Chalk debuts on BBC1. October 21 - This Is America, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS. November 9 - The Ratties debuts on ITV. December 27: - Barney debuts on BBC1. Specific date unknown: Mama Ohanishi O Shikikasete debuts on Nippon TV. Nikonikopun debuts on Nippon TV.
Births
January January 7: Robert Sheehan, Irish actor (voice of Ray in the UK version of A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures). January 12: Andrew Lawrence, American actor (voice of T.J. Detweiler in Recess, Carl Finley in The Zeta Project episode "Eye of the Storm", Ben Rogers in the Adventures from the Book of Virtues episode "Work", Vinnie Nasta in The Kids from Room 402 episode "Son of Einstein"). January 21: John Early, American comedian and actor (voice of Flash in DC League of Super-Pets, Alexander in Big City Greens, Dirk in Tuca & Bertie, Henry Tuntley in The Great North, Augustus in the Central Park episode "Hot Oven"). January 29: Clifford Chapin, American voice actor (voice of Connie Springer in Attack on Titan, Katsuki Bakugo in My Hero Academia, Cabba in the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z, Kaworu Nagisa in the Netflix dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion).
February February 2: Zosia Mamet, American actress (voice of Hekapoo in Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Crimp in Trolls Band Together, Mary in the American Dad episode "My Affair Lady", Amber Lamber in High School USA!, Princess Ladyfingers/General Neytri in the Harley Quinn episode "The Most Culturally Impactful Franchise of All Time", Celia in Regular Show, Yaga in Back to Backspace, Merian in StuGo)