Events in 1954 in animation.
Events
January January 2: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Dog Pounded premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Pepé Le Pew makes a cameo at the end of the short.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pg. 152. . Retrieved June 6, 2020. January 4: Warner Bros. Cartoons reopens following the end of the 3D craze. January 16: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon Captain Hareblower premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. January 17: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Puppy Tale, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The encyclopedia of animated cartoons. Internet Archive. New York : Facts on File. p. 150. . January 30: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Posse Cat, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released.
February
February 13: Chuck Jones' cartoon Feline Frame-Up premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Marc Anthony, Pussyfoot, & Claude Cat. February 27: Chuck Jones' cartoon No Barking premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Claude Cat & Frisky Puppy, Tweety & Marc Anthony also have cameos in the short.
March March 5: The Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Diary premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by Jack Kinney. March 13: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny cartoon Bugs and Thugs premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoonsin which Mugsy makes his debut. March 20: Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew cartoon The Cats Bah premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Penelope Pussycat.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 117. . Retrieved June 6, 2020. March 25: 26th Academy Awards: The Walt Disney Company's Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, directed by Ward Kimball and Charles A. Nichols, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
April
April 17: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Hic-cup Pup, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released. Robert McKimson's Sylvester and Hippety Hopper cartoon Bell Hoppy premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pg. 141 . Retrieved 6 June 2020 – via Archive.org.
May May 1: Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny cartoon No Parking Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. . Retrieved 6 June 2020. May 8: Friz Freleng's Sylvester cartoon Dr. Jerkyl's Hide premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier. Tex Avery's Billy Boy, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, premieres. May 22: Chuck Jones' second Porky Pig and Sylvester cartoon Claws for Alarm premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pg. 126. . Retrieved 6 June 2020. May 29: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Little School Mouse, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, premieres.
June June 5: Robert McKimson's Foghorn Leghorn cartoon Little Boy Boo premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Miss Prissy & Egghead Jr. (which the latter makes his debut in).Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 81–82. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020. June 19: Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny cartoon Devil May Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The film marks the debut of the Tasmanian Devil. June 26: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Muzzle Tough premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny and Hector the Bulldog.
July July 24: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Bewitched Bunny premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons which marks the debut of Witch Hazel. July 31: Dick Lundy's Bird-Brain Bird Dog, produced by MGM, premieres. It is the final theatrical Barney Bear cartoon.
August August 7: Friz Freleng's Tweety & Sylvester short Satan's Waitin', produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, is first released. August 13: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Grin and Bear It premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It marks the debut of park ranger J. Audubon Woodlore. August 14: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Baby Butch, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released. Chuck Jones' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short Stop! Look! And Hasten!, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, is first released.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pg. 129 . Retrieved 6 June 2020 – via Archive.org. August 28: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny cartoon Yankee Doodle Bugs premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Clyde Bunny.
September
September 4: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Mice Follies, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released.
October October 2: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Neapolitan Mouse, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released. Friz Freleng's Sylvester cartoon By Word of Mouse premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. October 10: John Paul's Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy premieres. October 16: Chuck Jones' From A to Z-Z-Z-Z is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. October 27: The first episode of Walt Disney anthology television series airs under the title Walt Disney's Disneyland.
November
November 13: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Downhearted Duckling, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released. November 20: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Pet Peeve, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released. This was the first Tom and Jerry cartoon be produced in CinemaScope. November 27: Chuck Jones' Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon My Little Duckaroo premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
December December 4: Tex Avery's Dixieland Droopy premieres, produced by MGM. December 18: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Baby Buggy Bunny premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pg. 62. . Retrieved 6 June 2020. Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Touché, Pussy Cat!, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, is first released. December 20: After having left the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, Tex Avery joins Walter Lantz Productions. He directs his first animated short for this studio, I'm Cold which stars Chilly Willy. December 29: Halas and Batchelor release Animal Farm, an adaptation of George Orwell's eponymous novel. It is the first British animated feature-length film. Specific date unknown: Mikhail Tsekhanovsky's The Frog Princess premieres. Pete Burness' Mr. Magoo short film When Magoo Flew, produced by UPA, premieres.
Films released
August 19 - The Good Soldier Schweik (Czechoslovakia) October 10 - Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy (United States) December - Tsarevna the Frog (Soviet Union) December 22 - Animal Farm (United Kingdom and United States)
Television series
October 27 - Walt Disney anthology TV series (various titles) debuts on ABC, NBC, and CBS. Specific date unknown - The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican debuts on ABC.
Births
January January 6: David Sproxton, English animator, director and producer (co-creator of Morph, co-founder of Aardman Animations). John Sparkes, Welsh actor and comedian (voice of the Narrator, Mr. Rabbit, Uncle Pig, Mr. Potato and other various characters in Peppa Pig, the title character, Elvis Cridlington, Station Officer Steele, Norman Price and Dilys Price in season 5 of Fireman Sam, various characters in Planet Sketch, Bitzer and The Farmer in Shaun the Sheep, Mister Elf and King Marigold in Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom, Goronwy in Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention, additional voices in A Town Called Panic and Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva). January 7: Sander Schwartz, American animation producer (president of Warner Bros. Animation from 2001 to 2007). January 17: Igor Kovalyov, Russian-born American animator, director and educator (Klasky Csupo). January 19: Katey Sagal, American actress and singer-songwriter (voice of Turanga Leela in Futurama, Flo Spinelli in Recess, Policewoman Hero in Higglytown Heroes, Mordecai's Mom and Aunt Maxine in Regular Show, Jane 'Butch' LePray in Spirit Riding Free, Duckman's mother in the Duckman episode "The Germ Turns", Hare in the Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child episode "Aesop's Fables: A Whodunit Musical"). Akira Shigino, Japanese animator (KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops, Osomatsu-kun, Bismark, Sailor Moon Crystal, Saban's Adventures of the Little Mermaid), (d. 2024). January 20: Ken Page, American actor and singer (voice of Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas, King Gator in All Dogs Go to Heaven, Narrator in the All Grown Up! episode "Blind Man's Bluff"), (d. 2024). January 25: Ruth Williamson, American actress (voice of Scotsman's Wife in the Samurai Jack episode "Jack and the Scotsman II", Cafeteria Lady Hero in the Higglytown Heroes episode "Wayne's Toasty Invention", Dame Lady Madame in the Robot and Monster episode "The Party", Ginbot in the Clarence episode "Jeff's New Toy", additional voices in Courage the Cowardly Dog). January 26: Sooan Kim, Korean-American animator (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Æon Flux, The Oblongs, The Simpsons), (d. 2017). January 28: Richard Sakai, American film and television producer (The Simpsons, The Critic). Simon Templeman, English actor (voice of Sir Mordred in The Legend of Prince Valiant, Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four, Doctor Dare in Loonatics Unleashed, Sardath in Green Lantern: Beware My Power). January 29: Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, television producer, actress, author and philanthropist (voice of Coretta Scott King in Our Friend, Martin, Judge Bumbleton in Bee Movie, Eudora in The Princess and the Frog, Deborah in The Star).
February February 1: Bill Mumy, American actor (voice of Eon in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Johnny Tezuka in Bravest Warriors, Lennier in Babylon 5: The Road Home, Fox in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Terrible Trio", Agent Bryson in the Ben 10: Ultimate Alien episode "The Widening Gyre", Dr. Brainchild in The Ren & Stimpy Show, episode "Blazing Entrails", Tim McCole in The Loud House episode "A Fridge Too Far"). February 4: Shigeru Chiba, Japanese actor (voice of Yoshihiro Kira in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable, Megane in Urusei Yatsura, Kazuma Kuwabara in YuYu Hakusho, Raditz and Garlic Jr. in Dragon Ball Z, Buggy the Clown in One Piece, Don Kanonji in Bleach, the Narrator in Fist of the North Star, Japanese dub voice of Beast in X-Men, Discord in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and Megatron in the Transformers franchise). February 10: Bobbie Page, American producer and production manager (Warner Bros. Animation). February 15: Matt Groening, American comics artist and animator (creator of The Simpsons, Futurama, and Disenchantment). February 18: John Travolta, American actor (voice of the title character in Bolt, Mr. Langon in Our Friend, Martin, first voice of Dave in Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey). February 20: Anthony Head, English actor (voice of Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Professor Third in Fillmore!, Rupert Giles and Albus Dumbledore in the Robot Chicken episode "Endgame", Wizard Con in the Adventure Time: Distant Lands episode "Wizard City"), (d. 2026). February 21: Izo Hashimoto, Japanese screenwritwr (Akira), (d. 2026).「スケバン刑事」「AKIRA」脚本家の橋本以蔵さん死去、72歳