Events in 1946 in animation.
Events January January 4: Terrytoons produces The Talking Magpies, in which Heckle and Jeckle make their debut. January 5: Bob Clampett's Book Revue premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons and starring Daffy Duck.
February February 2: Friz Freleng's Baseball Bugs is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons and starring Bugs Bunny.
March March 7: 18th Academy Awards: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Quiet Please!, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. March 8: Jack Hannah's Goofy cartoon A Knight for a Day, produced by The Walt Disney Company, premieres. March 9: Tex Avery's Lonesome Lenny premieres, produced by MGM. It is the final Screwy Squirrel cartoon. March 16: Bob Clampett's Porky Pig and Daffy Duck cartoon Baby Bottleneck premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. March 23: Frank Tashlin & Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoon Hare Remover premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 165. . This was Tashlin's final cartoon for Warner Bros. as he had left to go write scripts for live-action films belonging to other movie companies such as Paramount Pictures, United Arts, & Columbia Pictures. March 30: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Springtime for Thomas premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.
April April 6: Robert McKimson's cartoon Daffy Doodles premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 70–72. . Retrieved June 6, 2020. This was McKimson's first solo cartoon for Warner Bros. that was released to the public, as he previously directed The Return of Mr. Hook (1944) exclusively for the U.S. Navy and co-directed the shorts Tale of Two Mice (1945) & Hare Remover (1946) with Frank Tashlin. April 20: Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske and Joshua Meador's Make Mine Music, produced by The Walt Disney Company, is first released. It is an anthology film and consists of ten animated segments accompanied by music. Robert McKimson's Hollywood Canine Canteen premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, featuring caricatures of Hollywood actors as anthropomorphic dogs.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
May May 4: Chuck Jones' final Sniffles cartoon Hush My Mouse premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. This is the final Looney Tunes short to feature Porky Pig's iconic drum end card. May 16: The first Danish animated feature film, The Tinderbox, based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and directed by Svend Methling, is first released. May 18: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon The Milky Waif is first released, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio. The short marks the debut of Jerry's nephew Nibbles (who would later be renamed as Tuffy). May 25: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Hair-Raising Hare is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It marks the debut of Gossamer.
June June 8: Bob Clampett's Porky Pig and Sylvester the Cat cartoon Kitty Kornered is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. June 22: Friz Freleng & Hawley Pratt's Hollywood Daffy premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, in which Daffy Duck visits Hollywood and meets and impersonates celebrity actors. June 28: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Double Trouble premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. In it, Donald uses a well-mannered lookalike to make a good impression on Daisy Duck. June 29: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Trap Happy, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres. Robert McKimson's first Bugs Bunny cartoon Acrobatty Bunny, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, premieres.Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 168. .
July July 20: Bob Clampett's final & iconic Daffy Duck cartoon The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, is first released. Porky Pig makes a cameo as a tram driver.
August August 3: Tex Avery's Droopy cartoon Northwest Hounded Police, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres. August 9: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Wet Paint premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–75. . Retrieved June 6, 2020. August 30: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Dumb Bell of the Yukon premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. August 31: Robert McKimson's Walky Talky Hawky premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It marks the debuts of Foghorn Leghorn and his arch-nemesis Barnyard Dawg, also McKimson's first short starring Henery Hawk. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Solid Serenade, produced MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.
September September 6: George Pal's John Henry and the Inky-Poo premieres. September 14: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny cartoon Racketeer Rabbit is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. September 20: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Lighthouse Keeping premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. September 28: Chuck Jones' Fair and Worm-er premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
October October 5: Bob Clampett's Bugs Bunny short The Big Snooze is first released. It is the final Warner Bros. Cartoons cartoon directed by Clampett before his retirement. October 26: Tex Avery's Henpecked Hoboes premieres, produced by MGM which marks the debut of George and Junior.
November November 1: The Story of Menstruation, an educational film for young teenagers about menstruation produced by The Walt Disney Company, is first released.U.S. copyright registration no. M1355, Dec. 6, 1946. Recorded in November 1: The Donald Duck and Goofy short Frank Duck Brings 'Em Back Alive is released by RKO Radio Pictures. November 2: Arthur Davis' first Porky Pig cartoon Mouse Menace premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pg. 126. . Retrieved June 6, 2020. November 9: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny cartoon Rhapsody Rabbit premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. November 12: Song of the South, a film combining live-action and animation, is first released. The live-action scenes are directed by Harve Foster, while the animated scenes are directed by Wilfred Jackson and produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It marks the debut of the characters Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear who will become popular comic characters. However, decades later prior to the George Floyd protests in 2020, it became controversial due to being accused of promoting racial stereotypes and romanticizing slavery.
December December 20: Jack Hannah's Goofy cartoon Double Dribble, produced by The Walt Disney Company, premieres.
Specific date unknown Karel Zeman's Podkova pro štěstí ("Horseshoe for Luck") premieres which marks the debut of Mr. Prokouk.
Films released
April 20 - Make Mine Music (United States) May 16 - The Tinderbox (Denmark) November 12 - Song of the South (United States)
Births January January 5: Diane Keaton, American actress (voice of Jenny in Finding Dory, Michellee Weebie-Am-I in Green Eggs and Ham), (d. 2025). January 19: Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman (voice of Dolly Gnome in Gnomeo and Juliet, Katrina Murphy in The Magic School Bus episode "The Family Holiday Special", Noleen Hen in the Lily's Driftwood Bay episode "The Salty Chicken", herself in the Alvin and the Chipmunks episode "Urban Chipmunk" and The Simpsons episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday"), (d. 2026). January 20: David Lynch, American filmmaker (Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times)), visual artist, musician and actor (voice of Gus the Bartender in The Cleveland Show, Mad Scientist in Robot Chicken, all characters in DumbLand, himself in the Family Guy episode "How the Griffin Stole Christmas"), (d. 2025).
February February 2: Blake Clark, American actor and comedian (voice of Hogwash in The New Woody Woodpecker Show, RadioShack Walkie-Talkie in Eight Crazy Nights, Buford in Rango, Chief in Fish Hooks, Sheriff Cantaloupe and Asparagus in The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange, Roland in Harvey Beaks, continued voice of Slinky Dog in the Toy Story franchise). February 14: Gregory Hines, American dancer, actor, choreographer and singer (voice of Big Bill in Little Bill), (d. 2003). February 19: Hiroshi Fujioka, Japanese actor (voice of Phantom in Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, Japanese dub voice of Shan Yu in Mulan). February 20: Sandy Duncan, American actress, comedian, dancer and singer (voice of Vixey in The Fox and the Hound, Firefly, Applejack and Medley in My Little Pony: Rescue at Midnight Castle, Peepers in Rock-a-Doodle, Queen Uberta in The Swan Princess, herself in The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode "Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde" and the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? episode "The Dreaded Remake of Jekyll & Hyde!"). Brenda Blethyn, English actress (voice of Alice Fairgood in The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Mama Heffalump in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, Ethel Briggs in Ethel & Ernest, Grossmama in Charlotte). February 21: Anthony Daniels, English actor (voice of C-3PO in the Star Wars franchise, Robot Chicken, The Lego Movie, and Ralph Breaks the Internet, Legolas in The Lord of the Rings). Alan Rickman, English actor and director (voice of Joe in Help! I'm a Fish, Absolem in Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, King Philip in the King of the Hill episode "Joust Like a Woman"), (d. 2016).
March March 6: Jacques Verbeek, Dutch animator and comics artist (made animated films with Karin Wiertz), (d. 1993). March 12: Frank Welker, American voice actor (voice of Fred Jones in the Scooby-Doo franchise, Megatron and Soundwave in The Transformers and Transformers: Prime, Iceman in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, the title characters in Dynomutt, Dog Wonder and Jabberjaw, Hefty Smurf in The Smurfs, Brain, Dr. Claw, and Mad Cat in Inspector Gadget, Ray Stantz and Slimer in The Real Ghostbusters, Kermit in Muppet Babies, Bigtime and Baggy Beagle in DuckTales, Abu in Aladdin, Thaddeus Plotz, Ralph the Guard, Runt, Buttons, and Chicken Boo in Animaniacs, Nibbler in Futurama, Garfield in The Garfield Show, continued voice of Barney Rubble, Dino, and Scooby-Doo). March 18: Gary Dontzig, American television producer, screenwriter, and actor (W.I.T.C.H.), (d. 2026). March 21: Timothy Dalton, English actor (voice of Mr. Pricklepants in the Toy Story franchise, Ged/Sparrowhawk in Tales from Earthsea, Lord Milori in Secret of the Wings, Demanitus in Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure). March 29: Bob Richardson, American animator and producer (Popeye the Sailor, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Bobby's World). March 27: Carl Weintraub, American actor (voice of DeSoto in Oliver & Company). March 31: Dave Thomson, American animator and scene-planner (Walt Disney Animation Studios, Bebe's Kids, The Pagemaster, Cats Don't Dance), (d. 2021).
April April 8: Stuart Pankin, American actor (voice of Sultan Pasta Al-Dente in Aladdin, Donald Tannor in The Zeta Project, Condiment King in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Make 'Em Laugh", additional voices in Hercules and The Brothers Flub).