2016 in animation is an overview of notable events, including notable awards, list of films released, television show debuts and endings, and notable deaths.

Events

January

January 15: The tenth & final season of The Fairly OddParents begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the half-hour special "The Big Fairy Share Scare!", which introduces the show's new main character Chole Carmichael. January 18: Season 2 of Clarence begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episodes "The Interrogation" and "Lost Playground". January 25: Season 13 of American Dad! begins on TBS with the premiere of the episode "Roots". The season's premiere was seen by over 1 million viewers that night.Welch, Alex (January 26, 2016). "Monday cable ratings: 'Stevie J & Joseline: Go Hollywood' lands strong premiere ratings". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.

February February 2: The 14th The Land Before Time film Journey of the Brave is released after a nine-year gap from The Wisdom of Friends in 2007 as Universal Animation Studios would conclude the franchise afterwards. February 6: 43rd Annie Awards February 15: The final episode of Gravity Falls and the third & final part in the "Weirdmaggedon" arc, titled "Take Back the Falls", premiered on Disney XD to universal acclaim. February 28: 88th Academy Awards: Inside Out by Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Bear Story by Pato Escala Pierart and Gabriel Osorio Vargas wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

March March 4: Zootopia is released by Walt Disney Studios. Disney XD greenlights two new animated shows for its network, Country Club & Billy Dilly's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer.Milligan, Mercedes (March 4, 2016). "Disney XD Announces Billy Dilly and Country Club". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018. March 31: HIT Entertainment Absorbed into Mattel Creations, name currently used for licensing purposes only.

April April 4: The first episode of The Powerpuff Girls reboot premieres to mixed-to-negative reviews. April 11: The Powerpuff Girls episode "Bye Bye, Bellum" airs. This marks the confirmed removal of Sara Bellum, which angered fans of the original 1998 series.

May May 2: The first episode of The Loud House airs. May 20: The Angry Birds Movie is released. May 22: The Simpsons concludes its 27th season on Fox with the episode "Orange Is the New Yellow". The season's finale was seen by over 3.2 million viewers that night. Family Guy concludes its 14th season on Fox with the episode "Road to India", featuring the following Indian guest stars: Barkhad Abdi, Aseem Batra, Jay Chandrasekhar, Anil Kapoor (as himself), Dan Nainan, Russell Peters, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sheetal Sheth. The season's finale was seen by nearly 2.6 million viewers that night. Bob's Burgers concludes its sixth season on Fox with the episode "Glued, Where's My Bob?", featuring the following guest stars: Rob Huebel, Kumail Nanjiani, and Keegan-Michael Key. The season's finale was seen by over 2 million viewers that night.

June June 10: Camp Camp premieres on Rooster Teeth. June 11: The final episode of the original BoBoiBoy series. June 15: Rock Dog premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival, followed by its Chinese theatrical run in July. June 27: American Dad! concludes its 13th season on TBS with the episode "Standard Deviation". The season's finale was watched by only 984 thousand viewers that night, marking a new low in the show's viewership.Welch, Alex (June 27, 2016). "Monday cable ratings: 'WWE Monday Night Raw' leads the night". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016. June 30: The Teen Titans Go! episode "TTG v PPG" premieres on Cartoon Network, it is a crossover with The Powerpuff Girls (2016).

July July 8: Illumination's The Secret Life of Pets was released. July 11: Season 2 of Star vs. the Forces of Evil begins on Disney XD with the premiere of the episodes "My New Wand!/Ludo in the Wild" July 20: The Haunted House debuts on Tooniverse in South Korea.

August August 1–5: The five-part Teen Titans Go! mini-series titled "Island Adventures" airs on Cartoon Network. August 9: The Scooby-Doo direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon releases on DVD, Blu-ray, & Digital HD. The movie is a direct sequel to the 2014 film Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery.Goldman, Eric (June 1, 2016). "Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon Trailer Debut". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2026. August 12: Sausage Party is released as the first full-length computer-animated feature film to be rated R.

September September 1: Season 5 of The Amazing World of Gumball begins on Cartoon Network (despite it still being in its fourth season), with the premiere of the episode "The Stories". September 14: Season 20 of South Park begins on Comedy Central with the premiere of the episode "Member Berries"."Watch South Park Episodes Online Season 20 (2016)". TV Guide. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019. September 23: Storks by Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland premieres. September 25:Porter, Rick (September 27, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Once Upon a Time' and 'NCIS: LA' adjust up, FOX shows adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016. Season 7 of Bob's Burgers begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Flu-ouise". The season's premiere was seen by exactly 2.6 million viewers that night. Season 28 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus", guest starring Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward. The season's premiere was seen by over 3.3 million viewers that night. Season 15 of Family Guy begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "The Boys in the Band". The season's premiere was seen by 2.8 million viewers that night. Amy Schumer guest stars in all 3 episodes. September 26: The eighth & final season of Regular Show begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episodes "One Space Day at a Time" and "Cool Bro Bots". The season's premiere was seen by over 1.1 million viewers that night."UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.26.2016 | Showbuzz Daily " Archived 2016-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 27 September 2016.

October October 1: The series finale of Mixels, "Nixel, Nixel Go Away", premiered on Cartoon Network. October 3: Milo Murphy's Law (a spin-off of Phineas and Ferb) premieres on Disney XD. October 10: The first episode of Grizzy & the Lemmings airs. October 12: 2016 becomes the first year where two animated films gross over $1 billion: Zootopia and Finding Dory. October 13: Teen Titans Go! concludes its third season on Cartoon Network with the episode "The Cape", which is a redubbed version of the Teen Titans episode "Divide and Conquer". October 16: The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror XXVII" premieres on Fox, this is also the show's 600th episode.Iervolino, Stephen (October 16, 2016). "'The Simpsons': All the Details About Its 600th Episode". ABC News. Retrieved July 22, 2023. October 17: Steve Cutts's animated music video set to Moby's Are You Lost In The World Like Me? is released. October 20: Season 4 of Teen Titans Go! begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episode "Shrimps and Prime Rib". October 27: The Amazing World of Gumball concludes its fourth season on Cartoon Network.

November November 7: Season 14 of American Dad! begins on TBS with the premiere of the episode "Father's Daze". The season's premiere was seen by exactly 1 million viewers that night.Welch, Alex (November 8, 2016). "Monday cable ratings: Monday Night Football continues to rise". Tvbythenumbers. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016. November 8: The Loud House concludes its first season on Nickelodeon with the episode "Snow Bored". The season's finale was seen by over 1.7 million viewers that night.Mitch Salem (November 9, 2016). "Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.8.2016". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2017. November 9: Season 2 of The Loud House begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the episode "Intern for the Worse". The season's premiere was seen by 1.7 million viewers that night.Mitch Metcalf (November 10, 2016). "Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.9.2016". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2017. November 23: Moana by Walt Disney Animation Studios is released.

December December 7: South Park concludes its 20th season on Comedy Central with the episode "The End of Serialization as We Know It". It was seen by over 1.8 million viewers that night.Porter, Rick (December 9, 2016). "Wednesday cable ratings: 'South Park' ends its season on top". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016. December 14: The Lion King and Who Framed Roger Rabbit are added to the National Film Registry.

Awards Academy Award for Best Animated Feature: Inside Out Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film: Bear Story Annecy International Animated Film Festival Cristal du long métrage: My Life as a Zucchini Annie Award for Best Animated Feature: Zootopia Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film: Seoul Station BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film: Kubo and the Two Strings César Award for Best Animated Film: The Little Prince European Film Award for Best Animated Film: My Life as a Zucchini Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film: Zootopia Goya Award for Best Animated Film: Birdboy: The Forgotten Children Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year: The Boy and the Beast Mainichi Film Awards - Animation Grand Award: Your Name

Films released

Television series debuts