Events in 1948 in animation.
Events
January January 3: Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny cartoon Gorilla My Dreams, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. January 23: Toei Animation is founded.
February
February 7: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon A Feather in His Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. . Retrieved June 6, 2020. This short has barely been re-released to this day due to its offensive stereotypes of Native Americans.
March March 5: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Drip Dippy Donald premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. In the short film, Donald tries to sleep despite a dripping kitchen faucet. March 6: Robert McKimson's Porky Pig and Daffy Duck cartoon Daffy Duck Slept Here premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pg. 126. . Retrieved 6 June 2020. March 20: 20th Academy Awards: James Baskett wins an Academy Honorary Award for his role as Uncle Remus in Song of the South, becoming the first African-American actor to win an Oscar. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah from Song of the South, written by Ray Gilbert and composed by Allie Wrubel, wins the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Friz Freleng's Tweetie Pie, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons and starring Tweety and Sylvester, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. March 27: Friz Freleng's cartoon Back Alley Oproar premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Elmer Fudd and Sylvester. It is a remake of Freleng's 1941 short Notes to You, with Elmer replacing Porky Pig and Sylvester replacing the generic cat.
April April 2: Friz Freleng's second Tweety and Sylvester cartoon I Taw a Putty Tat premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It is a complete remake of Frank Tashlin's 1943 short Puss n' Booty. April 10: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Rabbit Punch premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. April 16: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Daddy Duck premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–75. . Retrieved June 6, 2020. April 17: Robert McKimson's Sylvester cartoon Hop, Look and Listen, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, premieres which features the debut of Hippety Hopper.
May May 1: Arthur Davis' Porky Pig cartoon Nothing but the Tooth premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. May 8: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon Buccaneer Bunny premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. May 15: Tex Avery's Little 'Tinker premieres, produced by MGM. May 21: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Dream Voice premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Daisy Duck. May 27: The Walt Disney Company releases Melody Time, directed by Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske and Wilfred Jackson.
June June 1: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Kitty Foiled premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio. It was infamous for its fake gun violence sequence. June 12: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon Bugs Bunny Rides Again premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
July July 17: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon The Truce Hurts, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, is first released. July 24: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Haredevil Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons in which Marvin the Martian & his dog K-9 make their debuts. July 30: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon The Trial of Donald Duck premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
August August 7: Chuck Jones' You Were Never Duckier premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. August 21: Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny cartoon Hot Cross Bunny premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. August 27: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Inferior Decorator premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
September September 11: Arthur Davis' Porky Pig cartoon The Pest That Came to Dinner premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. September 18: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Old Rockin' Chair Tom premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio. September 25: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny cartoon Hare Splitter premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
October October 2: Arthur Davis' cartoon Odor of the Day premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Wellington the Dog & Pepé Le Pew (making his only appearance in Arthur Davis short). October 9: Robert McKimson's cartoon The Foghorn Leghorn, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, is first released. Starring Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk, & Barnyard Dawg.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pg. 81. . Retrieved June 6, 2020. Tex Avery's Lucky Ducky premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio. October 15: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Soup's On premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Huey, Dewey, and Louie. October 23: Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny cartoon A-Lad-In His Lamp premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
November November 5: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Three for Breakfast premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Chip 'n' Dale. November 6: Friz Freleng's cartoon Kit for Cat premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Sylvester and Elmer Fudd. November 20: Arthur Davis' Daffy Duck cartoon The Stupor Salesman premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. November 27: Arthur Davis' Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon Riff Raffy Daffy premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
December December 3: Charles Nichols' Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey and the Seal, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, is first released. December 4: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon My Bunny Lies over the Sea premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. December 11: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Mouse Cleaning premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio. December 18: Chuck Jones' cartoon Scaredy Cat premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Porky Pig and Sylvester (whom the latter makes his debut in a Chuck Jones short). December 24: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Tea for Two Hundred premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Specific date unknown Walter Lantz Productions closes down. It will be reopened two years later.
Films released
May 27 - Melody Time (United States) November 5 - Water for Fire Fighting (United Kingdom) December 27 - Happy Holidays (Spain)
Births
January January 7: Ichirou Mizuki, Japanese singer, lyricist, composer and voice actor (voice acted, wrote and sang music for various anime films and TV series), (d. 2022). Kenny Loggins, American musician (voice of Montage Singer in the Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero episode "Where Dragons Dare", himself in the Archer episode "Archer Vice: Baby Shower" and the Family Guy episodes "Veteran Guy", "Yacht Rocky", and "80's Guy"). January 14: Carl Weathers, American actor, director and former football linebacker (voice of GNC Water Bottle in Eight Crazy Nights, Kirby in Balto III: Wings of Change, Basketball King and God of Basketball in Regular Show, Combat Carl in the Toy Story franchise, Omnitraxus Prime in Star vs. the Forces of Evil), (d. 2024). January 18: M. C. Gainey, American actor (voice of the Captain of the Guards in the Tangled franchise). January 22: Robert Alvarez, American animator (Hanna-Barbera, Filmation), storyboard artist (Saturday Supercade, Camp Candy), sheet timer (DIC Entertainment, Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, Disney Television Animation, The Mask, Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, My Life as a Teenage Robot, The Mighty B!), writer (What a Cartoon!) and director (Marvel Productions, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network Studios, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Random! Cartoons). January 24: Michael Des Barres, English actor and singer (voice of Kano in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Man in the Hole in the Freakazoid! episode "Sewer Rescue", Nostromos in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Prophecy of Doom"). January 26: Rumen Petkov, Bulgarian animator, comics artist (Choko & Boko) and director (Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, The New Woody Woodpecker Show), (d. 2018). January 29: Danny Bravo, American former child actor (voice of Hadji in Jonny Quest). Marc Singer, American-Canadian actor (voice of Man-Bat in Batman: The Animated Series, Adam in The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible episode "The Creation", Kirk Manlord in the Duck Dodgers episode "Bonafide Heroes").
February February 5: Christopher Guest, American-British actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, musician, director and member of Spinal Tap (voice of Chief M'Bulu, Short and Nurse in Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle, No Lobes in B.C. Rock, Slamfist and Scratch-It in Small Soldiers, Nigel Tufnel in The Simpsons episode "The Otto Show", Umlatt in the Animaniacs episode "King Yakko", Dupey in the Dilbert episode "The Dupey", Stanley in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Stanley S. SquarePants"). Tom Wilkinson, English actor (voice of Joseph Goebbels in Jackboots on Whitehall, Fox in The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, Threarah in Watership Down), (d. 2023). February 14: Teller, American magician, illusionist, writer, actor, painter and film director (guest starred in the Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman episode "You Can't Teach an Orange Dog New Tricks", voiced himself in The Simpsons episodes "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" and "The Great Simpsina", the Futurama episode "Into The Wild Green Yonder", and the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? episode "The Cursed Cabinet of Professor Madds Markson!"). February 15: Tino Insana, American actor (voice of Mr. Grouper in Bubble Guppies, Uncle Ted in Bobby's World, Pig in Barnyard and Back at the Barnyard, Bushroot in Darkwing Duck), (d. 2017). Larry DiTillio, American film and television screenwriter (Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Beast Wars), (d. 2019). February 18: Michel Elias, French actor, comedian and singer (voice of Zösky in Kaput & Zösky, The Turtle in Ratz, Corneil, John and Uncle Rico in Corneil & Bernie, Timothy, Bombo and other various characters in Monster Allergy, various characters in the Oggy and the Cockroaches episode "Chatter Box", dub voice of Papa Smurf and Grouchy Smurf in The Smurfs and the Magic Flute, Cave of Wonders, Gazeem and Achmed in Aladdin, Mr. Hyde, Behemoth and Harlequin in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jacquimo and Baltringue in Thumbelina, Pumbaa in The Lion King, Owen Burnett in Gargoyles, Inspector Grub, Rigatoni and Cookie in Rayman: The Animated Series, Rufus and Dr. Drakken in Kim Possible, Goblin and Poseidon in Codename: Kids Next Door, The Reporter in Monsters vs. Aliens, Doc in Rango, Brent Mustangburger in Cars 2 and Planes, Zangief in Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Director of the Amusement Park in Batman: The Killing Joke, Mr. Burnish in Abominable, Ludwig in The Cuphead Show!). February 22: John Ashton, American actor (voice of Instructor in the King of the Hill episode "Pregnant Paws"), (d. 2024). February 24: Dennis Waterman, English actor and singer (voice of Toaster in Tube Mice, the title character in The Fiddley Foodle Bird), (d. 2022). February 28: Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer (voice of Rita in Animaniacs, Sophie in Anastasia, Angelique in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas).
March March 2: Ralph Schuckett, American keyboardist, songwriter and composer (4Kids Entertainment), (d. 2021).