Events in 1931 in animation.
Films released 2 January – The Birthday Party (United States) 6 January – Ace of Spades (United States) 11 January – Popcorn (United States) 12 January – China (United States) 19 January – Big Man from the North (United States) 25 January: Circus Time (United States) Club Sandwich (United States) 28 January – College (United States) 31 January: The Soup Song (United States) The Village Smitty (United States) February – Ain't Nature Grand! (United States) 7 February – Teacher's Pest (United States) 8 February – Razzberries (United States) 9 February – Shipwreck (United States) 10 February – Birds of a Feather (United States) 13 February – Rodeo Dough (United States) 21 February – Tree Saps (United States) 22 February – Go West, Big Boy (United States) 25 February – The Milkman (United States) 7 March – Traffic Troubles (United States) 8 March – Quack, Quack (United States) 14 March: Laughing Gas (United States) The Cow's Husband (United States) 22 March: The Brown Derby (United States) The Explorer (United States) 23 March – The Farmer (United States) 27 March – The Castaway (United States) 4 April: Swiss Movements (United States) Ups 'n Downs (United States) 5 April – Clowning (United States) 6 April – The Bum Bandit (United States) 8 April – The Fireman (United States) 15 April – Down South (United States) 17 April – Mother Goose Melodies (United States) 19 April – Sing, Sing Prison (United States) 20 April – Sunny South (United States) 26 April – The Male Man (United States) 27 April – Disarmament Conference (United States) 30 April: The Moose Hunt (United States) Adventures of Juku The Dog (Estonia) 1 May – Hallowe'en (United States) 2 May – Ragtime Romeo (United States) 3 May – The Fireman's Bride (United States) 5 May: Country School (United States) Twenty Legs Under the Sea (United States) 16 May – Aces Up (United States) 17 May – The Sultan's Cat (United States) 18 May – The Bandmaster (United States) 23 May – Silly Scandals (United States) 25 May – The China Plate (United States) 29 May – Soda Poppa (United States) 30 May – Dumb Patrol (United States) 31 May – A Day to Live (United States) 6 June – The Delivery Boy (United States) 7 June – The Bull Thrower (United States) 13 June – Yodeling Yokels (United States) 14 June – 2000 B.C. (United States) 22 June – The Busy Beavers (United States) 24 June – The Herring Murder Case (United States) 28 June – Blues (United States) 29 June – Northwoods (United States) 7 July – Mickey Steps Out (United States) 11 July – Stork Market (United States) 12 July – By the Sea (United States) 13 July – The Stone Age (United States) 16 July – Yelp Wanted (United States) 18 July – Bosko's Holiday (United States) 24 July – Bimbo's Initiation (United States) 25 July: The New Car (United States) The Tree's Knees (United States) 26 July – Her First Egg (United States) 27 July – Radio Rhythm (United States) 28 July – The Cat's Out (United States) 1 August – Wot a Night (United States) 2 August – Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (United States) 3 August – Svengarlic (United States) 9 August – Jazz Mad (United States) 15 August – The Little Pest (United States) 18 August – Blue Rhythm (United States) 22 August – Bimbo's Express (United States) 23 August – Canadian Capers (United States) 27 August – Egyptian Melodies (United States) 29 August – Movie Mad (United States) 5 September: Polar Pals (United States) Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (United States) 6 September – Jesse and James (United States) 7 September – Kentucky Belles (United States) 12 September – The Village Specialist (United States) 14 September: Hot Feet (United States) Weenie Roast (United States) 15 September – Sunday Clothes (United States) 18 September – Peludópolis (Argentina) 19 September – Bosko Shipwrecked! (United States) 20 September – The Champ (United States) 25 September – Fishin' Around (United States) 26 September – Jail Birds (United States) 28 September – Minding the Baby (United States) 30 September – The Clock Store (United States) 3 October – One More Time (United States) 4 October – Around the World (United States) 10 October: The Barnyard Broadcast (United States) Trouble (United States) 12 October – The Hunter (United States) 15 October – Bars and Stripes (United States) 16 October – The Dog Snatcher (United States) 17 October: Africa Squeaks (United States) Bosko the Doughboy (United States) 18 October – Jingle Bells (United States) 19 October – In the Shade of the Old Apple Sauce (United States) 21 October – You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (United States) 23 October – The Spider and the Fly (United States) 26 October – Wonderland (United States) 1 November – The Black Spider (United States) 2 November – Hash House Blues (United States) 5 November – The Beach Party (United States) 9 November – Mask-A-Raid (United States) 10 November – The Fox Hunt (United States) 11 November – Showin Off (United States) 14 November: Bosko's Soda Fountain (United States) Jungle Jam (United States) 15 November – China (United States) 16 November – Minding the Baby (United States) 22 November – Jack and the Beanstalk (United States) 28 November – Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (United States) 29 November – The Lorelei (United States) 30 November: Mickey Cuts Up (United States) The Hare Mail (United States) 1 December – The Restless Sax (United States) 7 December – The Fisherman (United States) 9 December – Mickey's Orphans (United States) 12 December Bosko's Fox Hunt (United States) Dizzy Red Riding Hood (United States) 13 December – Summertime (United States) 17 December – The Ugly Duckling (United States) 19 December – A Swiss Trick (United States) 21 December: Spooks (United States) The Clown (United States) 26 December – Red-Headed Baby (United States) 27 December – Aladdin's Lamp (United States)
Events June June 13: Harman and Ising's Lady, Play Your Mandolin!, the first Merrie Melodie cartoon, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions premieres, Foxy makes his debut. August August 15: Harman and Ising's Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! starring Foxy and produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions premieres, the title song would later be used in 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Births January January 13: Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher (host of Uncle Croc's Block, voice of Frank Frankenstone in The Flintstone Comedy Show, Killer in All Dogs Go to Heaven, All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series and An All Dogs Christmas Carol, Hunch in Rock-a-Doodle, D.O.R.C. in Space Cats, Dutch Spackle in Goof Troop, King Llort in A Troll in Central Park, Mr. Dumpty in Babes in Toyland, Red Parrot Stan in Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers, Minos in the Hercules episode "Hercules and the Minotaur", Edmund Haynes in the Rugrats episode "Game Show Didi", the Dirty Bubble in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II"), (d. 2007). Chris Wiggins, English-born Canadian actor (voice of Thor in The Marvel Super Heroes, Mysterio in Spider-Man, Satan in The Devil and Daniel Mouse, Mr. Sun in the Strawberry Shortcake franchise, No Heart in The Care Bears Family, Narrator in the first episode of the DIC dub of Sailor Moon, Cornelius in the Babar franchise), (d. 2017). Rip Taylor, American actor and comedian (voice of The Grump in Here Comes The Grump, Gene the Genie in DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family, and Captain Kiddie in Tom and Jerry: The Movie), (d. 2019). His ashes were scattered at sea in Hawaii. Scott Beach, American actor (voice roles in Peanuts productions, original voice of Garfield), (d. 1996). January 17: James Earl Jones, American actor (voice of Mufasa in The Lion King franchise, Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, Ommadon in The Flight of Dragons, the Emperor of the Night in Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, Kibosh in Casper: A Spirited Beginning, Martin Luther King Sr. in Our Friend, Martin, Santa Claus in the Recess episode "Yes Mikey, Santa Does Shave", the Mover, Serak the Preparer and narrator in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Terror", and Maggie Simpson in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror V"), (d. 2024). January 20: Shinsuke Chikaishi, Japanese voice actor (voice of Masuo Fuguta in Sazae-san, Pukko in The Amazing 3, Yoshihiko Hasegawa in Roujin Z, the Narrator in Gokū no Daibōken), (d. 2022). January 25: Dean Jones, American actor (voice of George Newton in Beethoven, Dean Arbagast in Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Ahasuerus in The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible episode "Queen Esther", Dr. Karel in The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest episode "DNA Doomsday", Abraham Lincoln in the Nightmare Ned episode "Monster Ned", Sam Lane in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Monkey Fun", Chauncey in the Adventures from the Book of Virtues episode "Trushworthiness"), (d. 2015). January 29: Richard Bakalyan, Armenian-American actor (voice of M.C. Bird in It's Tough to be a Bird, Dinky in The Fox and the Hound), (d. 2015).
February February 6: Rip Torn, American actor (voice of Zeus in the Hercules franchise, Lou Lo Duca in Bee Movie, M in the TripTank episode "#InsideRoy"), (d. 2019). February 7: José Luis Beltrán Coscojuela, Spanish comics artist and animator, (d. 2013). Serge Danot, French animator, film director and producer (The Magic Roundabout), (d. 1990). February 13: Isaac Bardavid, Brazilian actor (dub voice of Skeletor in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Tigger in Winnie the Pooh), (d. 2022). February 26: Jacques Rouxel, French animator (Les Shadoks), (d. 2004). February 28: Gavin MacLeod, American actor (voice of Captain Gumble in the Pound Puppies episode "Bone Voyage", Daniel in The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible episode "Daniel and the Lion's Den", himself in the Pinky and the Brain episode "The Pinky and the Brain Reunion Special"), (d. 2021).
March March 8: Gerald Potterton, British-Canadian animator (National Film Board of Canada, Yellow Submarine), storyboard artist (Rubik, the Amazing Cube), writer, producer (The Selfish Giant, The Happy Prince, The Christmas Messenger, George and the Christmas Star) and director (Cool McCool, Heavy Metal, CINAR, co-creator of The Smoggies), (d. 2022). March 11: Rupert Murdoch, Australian-born American businessman and founder of News Corporation (voiced himself in The Simpsons episodes "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" and "Judge Me Tender"). March 20: Hal Linden, American actor (voice of Eli Selig in The Zeta Project episode "The Hologram Man", Old Lloyd Nebulon in the Lloyd in Space episode "Halloween Scary Fun Action Plan"). Rein Raamat, Estonian animation film director, artist and screenwriter (Joonisfilm). March 22: William Shatner, Canadian actor (voice of Captain Kirk in Star Trek: The Animated Series, Mayor Phlegmming in Osmosis Jones, Kazar in The Wild, Ozzie in Over the Hedge, Santa Claus in Gotta Catch Santa Claus, General Shanker in Escape from Planet Earth, Two-Face in Batman vs. Two-Face, Jason in the Hercules episode "Hercules and the Argonauts", Betty's Grandfather in the Atomic Betty episode "The No-L Nine", Grand Pear in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode "The Perfect Pear", Keldor in Masters of the Universe: Revolution, himself in the Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"). March 26: Leonard Nimoy, American actor (voice of Spock in Star Trek: The Animated Series, Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie, Mr. Moundshroud in The Halloween Tree, King Kashekim Nedakh in Atlantis: The Lost Empire, himself in The Simpsons and Futurama), (d. 2015). March 31: Ryō Ishihara, Japanese voice actor (voice of Cyborg 002 in Cyborg 009), (d. 2025).
April