2018 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 1: Unikitty! makes its official premiere on Cartoon Network. January 5: The 6th and final season of The Amazing World of Gumball begins on Cartoon Network, with the premiere of the episodes "The Rival/The Lady". January 6: The Scooby-Doo film Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold premieres at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California; the film was released on DVD & Digital HD 3 days later.Milligan, Mercedes (January 1, 2018). "'Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold' Premiering in LA Saturday". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2026. January 7: The first episode of Pop Team Epic airs. January 14: Family Guy's 300th episode "Dog Bites Bear" premieres on Fox. It was seen by exactly 4.1 million viewers that night.Porter, Rick (January 17, 2018). "'NCIS: LA' and 'Family Guy' adjust up, other FOX shows adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018. January 15: The Amazing World of Gumball's 200th episode "The Vegging" premieres on Cartoon Network. It was seen by 1.14 million viewers that night."UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.15.2018 - Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2019. January 19: Season 3 of The Loud House begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the episodes "Roadie to Nowhere/A Fridge Too Far". The season's premiere was seen by over 1.7 million viewers that night.Mitch Metcalf (January 22, 2018). "Top 150 Friday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.19.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018. January 22: Minnie Mouse receives a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. January 30: Nick Jr. celebrates its 30th anniversary.
February February 3: 45th Annie Awards. February 6: Season 5 of Paw Patrol begins on Nickelodeon in the US with the premiere of the episodes "Pups Save the Kitty Rescue Crew/Pups Save an Ostrich"."Paw Patrol Episode Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 22, 2018. February 17: Paw Patrol concludes its fourth season on TVO in Canada with the episodes "Pups Save the Runaway Turtles/Pups Save the Shivering Sheep". February 23:"Disney Channel Launching Toon Series 'Amphibia' & 'The Owl House', Renews 'Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil' For Season 4". Deadline. February 23, 2018. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2019. Disney Channel greenlights two new serialized animated shows for its network, Amphibia & The Owl House. The upcoming 4th season of Star vs. the Forces of Evil was announced to be also airing on Disney Channel & not just Disney XD. February 26: The first episode of Final Space airs.
March March 3: 38th Golden Raspberry Awards Sony Pictures Animation's The Emoji Movie wins a record four Razzie awards, including Worst Picture, becoming the first animated film to win it. March 4: 90th Academy Awards: Dear Basketball by Glen Keane wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Coco by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and Academy Award for Best Original Song. March 6: Paw Patrol concludes its fourth season on Nickelodeon in the US with the episodes "Pups Save Luke Stars/Pups Save Chicken Day". March 8: Cartoon Network announces the following: Two new upcoming shows for its line-up: Infinity Train & Victor and Valentino. Season 3 renewal for Ben 10. Season 4 renewal for We Bare Bears. March 19: Season 2 of OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes begins its second season on Cartoon Network (ahead of its season one finale) with the episodes "Hope This Flies" and "The Perfect Meal". Both episodes were seen by a total of 66 thousand viewers thousand viewers that night.Mitch Metcalf (March 20, 2018). "Top 150 Monday Cable Originals: 3.19.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018. March 26: The upcoming Disney XD series Big City Greens was announced to instead be premiering on Disney Channel this summer."Animation Magazine's Rising Stars of 2018 ". Animation Magazine. March 26, 2018. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018. This summer, a new audience will be introduced to their mad genius when their show Big City Greens debuts on the Disney Channel. March 29: John Kricfalusi is accused by animators Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice of having sexually harassed and groomed them when they were underage. March 30: Craig of the Creek makes its premiere on Cartoon Network (Originally premiered on the Cartoon Network website on February 19).
April April 6: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes concludes it first season on Cartoon Network with the half-hour special "You're in Control". The season's finale was seen by a total of 80 thousand viewers that night.Mitch Metcalf (April 9, 2018). "Top 150 Friday Cable Originals: 4.6.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018. April 7: Season 5 of Paw Patrol begins on TVO in Canada with the premiere of the episodes "Pups Save the Kitty Rescue Crew/Pups Save an Ostrich". April 27: The Simpsons beats Gunsmoke's record of being the longest-running American primetime TV series.
May May 7: The Steven Universe two-part special episodes "Can't Go Back/A Single Pale Rose" premiered on Cartoon Network. It is revealed that Rose Quartz was secretly Pink Diamond all this time, in which fans previously theorized that to be the case. May 11: John Kricfalusi issues a personal explanation and apology about the sexual assault allegations against him, though he denies some of the claims. May 17: The upcoming Disney Channel animated series Big City Greens gets renewed for a second season, just a month before the show made its premiere.Pedersen, Erik (May 17, 2018). "'Big City Greens' Renewed For Season 2 Ahead Of Disney Channel Premiere ". Deadline. Retrieved May 2, 2025. May 20:Porter, Rick (May 22, 2018). "'Bob's Burgers,' 'Family Guy' and 'Dateline' adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018. The Simpsons concludes its 29th season on Fox with the episode "Flanders' Ladder", Jackie Mason returns as Krusty's deceased father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky. The season's finale was seen by exactly 2.1 million viewers that night. Family Guy concludes its 16th season on Fox with the episode "Are You There God? Its Me, Peter". The season's finale was seen by over 1.8 million viewers that night. Bob's Burgers concludes its eighth season on Fox with its 150th episode "Something Old, Something New, Something Bob Caters for You". The season's finale was seen by over 1.6 million viewers that night.
June June 3: The first episode of Fancy Nancy airs. June 11: Nina Paley's animated feature film Seder-Masochism premieres, which analyses the Book of Exodus and evolution of Judaism as a patriarchal religion. June 15: Incredibles 2 premieres in theaters to overwhelmingly positive reviews. June 18: Big City Greens premieres on Disney Channel with the episodes "Space Chicken/Steak Night". June 24: The final episodes of Clarence premiere on Cartoon Network. June 25: Teen Titans Go! concludes its fourth season on Cartoon Network with the episodes "Mo' Money Mo' Problems" & "TV Knight 3" and then begins its fifth season the same day with the episodes "The Scoop!" & "Chicken in the Cradle". June 29: Production companies permanently ceased making direct-to-video sequels based on theatrical canon films due to harmed sales as subsequent sequels will be released theatrically and for digital streaming. Harvey Girls Forever! premieres on Netflix.
July July 7: The first episode of Summer Camp Island airs. July 8: Incredibles 2 surpasses Finding Dory as the highest-grossing animated film in the United States and Canada, with a domestic box-office gross of $500 million. July 16: The Big City Greens episodes "Gargoyle Gals/Supermarket Scandal" premiere on Disney Channel; the former episode marks the debut of Tilly's best friend Andromeda, while the latter episode marks the debut of the Greens' arch-nemesis Chip Whistler."Big City Greens Episode Listings". The Futon Critic July 20: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premieres on Nickelodeon. The Adventure Time episode "Diamonds and Lemons" premieres on Cartoon Network, the episode is styled after the popular video game Minecraft. July 27: Teen Titans Go! To the Movies premieres in theaters to very positive reviews, which was surprisingly ironic due to the controversial reception of the series it is based on gets.
August August 8: The Big City Greens episodes "Coffee Quest/Phoenix Rises" premiere on Disney Channel, the latter episode marks the debut of Nancy Green, Cricket & Tilly's mother. August 17: The first episode of Disenchantment airs on Netflix. August 23: The first episode of Wolfoo airs on YouTube. August 28: The Scooby-Doo direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo! and the Gourmet Ghost releases on Digital HD, later released on DVD on September 11."Trailer, Artwork & Release Details For 'Scooby-Doo! And The Gourmet Ghost'; Arrives On Digital August 28 & On DVD September 11, 2018 From Warner Bros". Screen-Connections. June 25, 2018. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2026. The movie stars real life celebrity chefs such as Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, & Marcus Samuelsson.
September September 1: Total DramaRama premieres on Cartoon Network. September 3: Adventure Time airs its final episode on Cartoon Network, after an 8-year run. September 5: Luke Lerdwichagul (creator of SMG4) and his brother Kevin announced that their company "Glitchy Boy" is being renamed as "Glitch Productions", and will be producing animated web shows.@SMG4 (5 September 2018). SMG4 Direct (HUGE CHANNEL UPDATE) (Video). Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2026 – via YouTube. September 7: Kevin R. Adams and Joe Ksander's Next Gen premiers and becomes the first full-length animated feature film to be released exclusively on Netflix. September 14: Season 5 of BoJack Horseman premiered on Netflix. September 21: The first episode of Hilda airs on Netflix. September 26: Season 22 of South Park begins on Comedy Central with the premiere of the episode "Dead Kids".Budow, Aileen (July 11, 2018). "South Park Season 22 to Premiere Wednesday, September 26". Comedy Central Press (Press release). Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018. September 28: Smallfoot by Karey Kirkpatrick premieres. September 30:Welch, Alex (October 2, 2018). "'Sunday Night Football' adjusts up, 'The Simpsons,' 'Bob's Burgers,' and more adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018. Season 30 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Bart's Not Dead", which features the following guest stars: Dave Attell, Emily Deschanel, Gal Gadot, Jonathan Groff, and Pete Holmes. The season's premiere was seen by over 3.2 million viewers that night. Season 9 of Bob's Burgers begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Just One of the Boyz 4 Now for Now", which features the following guest stars: Max Greenfield, Rory O'Malley, Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, and Daveed Diggs. The season's premiere was seen by over 2.4 million viewers that night.