2025 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: Several Cartoon Network shows, including Ed, Edd n Eddy, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Teen Titans, seasons 1-7 of Teen Titans Go!, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, The Looney Tunes Show, and Static Shock were removed from Max. Family Guy reruns returned to Adult Swim after a three-year hiatus. Popeye the Sailor, Tintin, and the first Silly Symphony short film, The Skeleton Dance, enter the public domain in the United States. The season 18 finale episode of Upin & Ipin premiered on Astro Prima and MNCTV. January 3: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl premiered internationally on Netflix. January 5: Zenshu premiered on TV Tokyo in Japan and was released globally on Crunchyroll, to generally positive reviews from critics and audiences as a freshly entertaining anime series of 2025 for its clever, farcical combination of industry satire and classic fantasy tropes. January 11: StuGo premiered on Disney Channel. January 12: Smile shuts down. January 17: RoboGobo premiered on Disney Jr. January 18: Season 3 of Chibiverse premiered on Disney Channel. January 20: Wonderblocks premiered on CBeebies. January 25: The final episode of Craig of the Creek, titled "See You Tomorrow at the Creek", premiered on Cartoon Network. January 28: The season 4 finale episode of Grizzy & the Lemmings premiered on France 4, Cartoon Network UK, Boomerang UK, Netflix and CBBC. January 29: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man premiered on Disney+. Ne Zha 2 was released in theaters in China, receiving critical acclaim and breaking multiple box-office records inside and outside of China. It became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. January 30: Mermicorno: Starfall was released as a Max exclusive. January 31: DreamWorks Animation's Dog Man was released.
February February 1: We Baby Bears resumed its second season on Cartoon Network. February 2: Common Side Effects premiered on Adult Swim. February 6: Season 2 of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur resumed on Disney Channel. The ninth and final season of Blaze and the Monster Machines premiered on Nickelodeon. The third season of Invincible premiered on Prime Video. February 7: The French animated series, Belfort & Lupin released on Okoo. February 8: 52nd Annie Awards were held. February 13: The revival series of Mr. Bean: The Animated Series premiered on the Cartoon Network Asian feed. February 14: The second part of the first season of Bea's Block premiered on Max. The second and final season of Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years aired on Nickelodeon after premiering on Paramount+ the previous year. February 16: The second season of Grimsburg premiered on Fox. February 17: The eleventh season of Gabby's Dollhouse premiered on Netflix. February 19: Win or Lose premiered on Disney+.
March March 1: Doraemon: Nobita's Earth Symphony, the 43rd film of the Doraemon film series, was broadcast on TV Asahi. The ninth season of Teen Titans Go! premiered on Cartoon Network. March 2: 97th Academy Awards: Flow directed by Gints Zilbalodis wins Best Animated Feature. In the Shadow of the Cypress directed by Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani wins Best Animated Short Film. March 3: Skillsville premiered on PBS Kids. It was reported that a planned Disney+ spin-off series for the Disney animated feature The Princess and the Frog, titled Tiana for its protagonist, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, was canceled as part of Walt Disney Animation Studios abandoning long-form content, to be replaced with a separate short-form special. The series had originally been announced in 2020 alongside a planned series spin-off of Moana, itself ultimately retooled into a film sequel. March 4: The nineteenth season of Upin & Ipin, premiered on Astro Prima and MNCTV. March 6: Universal Kids shuts down. The Jellystone! crossover special, "Crisis on Infinite Mirths", premiered on Max. March 7: Doraemon: Nobita's Art World Tales, the 44th film in the Doraemon franchise, was released in Japanese cinemas by Toho. This film is a special work for the 45th anniversary of the Doraemon film series. Plankton: The Movie premiered on Netflix in the United States. Night of the Zoopocalypse was released in United States and Canada. March 8: The final two episodes of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur premiered on Disney Channel. March 9: Oh My God... Yes! premiered on Adult Swim. March 14: The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie was released. March 15: The second season of Kiff premiered on Disney Channel. March 16: The Family Guy episode "The Chicken or the Meg" premieres on Fox, this episode marks the official death of Peter Griffin's arch-nemesis Ernie the Giant Chicken, who was killed by Meg. March 17: The original Looney Tunes cartoons are removed from Max as part of a new plan to focus more on adult and family programming, with children's programming no longer being a priority to the streaming service due to low viewership. March 20: Wolf King premiered on Netflix. March 21: The fourth season of The Patrick Star Show premiered on Nickelodeon. March 22: The final episodes of Tiny Toons Looniversity premiered on Max. March 23: Season 6 of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir premiered on TF1 in France. March 24: The American Dad! 21st season finale, titled "What Great Advancements!", premiered on TBS. This was the final episode to premiere on the network as the show will return to Fox the following year for its 26th season. March 31: Ketchup Entertainment, the distributor of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, acquires the distribution of Coyote vs. Acme.
April April 3: Television series adaptation Devil May Cry, based on the Capcom video game franchise of the same name, was released as a Netflix exclusive. April 5: Season 2 of Wind Breaker premiered on Japanese television. Iyanu premiered on Cartoon Network and the next day on Max. April 6: Witch Watch premiered on Japanese television and debuted globally on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu, earning generally positive reviews from critics and audiences as a freshly entertaining anime comedy of 2025 for its whimsical magical hijinks and charming character chemistry. April 11: Angel Studios' The King of Kings was released. April 13: The series finale of Hamster & Gretel premiered on Disney Channel. April 16: Episodes 13–19 from Season 4 of Big City Greens were released on Disney+ (with episodes 18 and 19 being released before premiering on Disney Channel and Disney XD). April 18: The first/pilot episode of The Gaslight District was released on YouTube on the GLITCH channel. April 19: Super Duper Bunny League premiered on Nickelodeon. April 25: The second season of Skydance Animation's WondLa premiered on Apple TV+. Hazbin Hotels sister series Helluva Boss was announced to move to Prime Video starting this fall, the first two seasons were released on the streaming service while the third and fourth seasons will premiere on there before YouTube. April 26: The third-season finale of Chibiverse premiered on Disney Channel. April 27: The series finale of Primos premiered on Disney Channel. April 30: Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight premiered on Netflix.
May May 1: The revival series of Mr. Bean: The Animated Series premiered on Boomerang UK and ITVX. May 3: The 100th episode of Big City Greens, titled "One Hundred", premiered on Disney Channel. StuGo aired its final episode on Disney Channel. May 4: Season 3 of Star Wars: Tales premiered on Disney+. May 7: The final 12 episodes of Hamster & Gretel were released on Disney+. May 8: The final season of Blood of Zeus premiered on Netflix. May 10: Paw Patrol concludes its 11th season on TVO in Canada with the episodes "Pups Save the Space Kitty/Pups Save the Sea Sponges". May 16: Murder Drones was acquired and re-released on Prime Video. May 18: The Simpsons thirty-sixth-season finale, titled "Estranger Things", premiered on Fox. The episode guest stars Max Greenfield, Sarah McLachlan, and returning actress Zooey Deschanel. May 19: The teaser trailer for the revival/spin-off series of The Amazing World of Gumball, The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, was released on YouTube. Netflix acquires the rights to Sesame Street after the show's deal with HBO Max and Warner Bros. Discovery expired. May 23: Walt Disney Pictures' live-action/animated remake of Lilo & Stitch was released. The eighth and final season of Big Mouth premiered on Netflix. May 25: The eighth season of Rick and Morty premiered on Adult Swim.
June June 5: The fifth/revival season of Phineas and Ferb premiered on Disney Channel and the first ten episodes were released the next day on Disney+. June 6 20th Century's Predator: Killer of Killers premiered on Hulu. Wylde Pak premiered on Nickelodeon. June 7: The Big City Greens half-hour special "Chip's Revenge" premiered on Disney Channel. June 9: Season 5 of The Creature Cases was released on Netflix. June 13: DreamWorks Animation's live-action/animated remake of How to Train Your Dragon was released. It was the first live-action/animated DreamWorks Animation film. June 16: The fourth season of Spidey and His Amazing Friends premiered on Disney Jr. June 20: Pixar's Elio was released and features a bloopers/outtakes reel that was previously featured on A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and The Incredibles. Sony Pictures Animation's KPop Demon Hunters premiered on Netflix to overwhelming acclaim by both critics and audiences. The untitled fifth episode of The Amazing Digital Circus was released on YouTube on the GLITCH channel. For unknown reasons, the episode did not have a simultaneous release on Netflix alongside YouTube. The season 15 finale of SpongeBob SquarePants premiered on Nickelodeon. June 24: It was announced that The Tiny Chef Show had been cancelled by Nickelodeon by uploading a video featuring Tiny Chef getting a call from Nickelodeon where he learns of the show's cancellation and begins to cry, which became a viral video on social media platforms. The creators later launched a crowdfunding site to revive the show through social media platforms. June 27: Adult Swim's Checkered Past block shuts down in the United States. The 16th season of SpongeBob SquarePants premiered on Nickelodeon with the hour-long special "SpongeBob and Patrick's Timeline Twist-Up". June 28: The fifth Helluva Boss short, titled "Mission: Orphan Time", was released on YouTube. Takopi's Original Sin was released on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and other streaming platforms, where it was acclaimed by critics and audiences as one of the best anime series of 2025 for its harrowing, terrifying subversion of cute aesthetics into severe psychological trauma and domestic horror.
July July 3: The first episode of Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express was released on YouTube. July 6: The Summer Hikaru Died premiered on Nippon TV in Japan and was released globally on Netflix, receiving highly positive responses from critics and audiences as one of the best anime series of 2025 for its chilling "uncanny valley" visual aesthetic and the compelling emotional depth of its main characters' relationship. Gachiakuta premiered on Japan's TBS and was released globally across Crunchyroll and other major streaming platforms, where it received mostly positive responses from critics and audiences as one of the best anime series of 2025 for its fluidly dynamic action choreography and its unique, vibrant street-art and graffiti-inspired aesthetic.