2026 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: Clarabelle Cow, Blondie, Pluto, Flip the Frog, and the first Betty Boop cartoon Dizzy Dishes enter the public domain in the United States. January 9: Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, Kenny McCormick, & Butters Stotch from South Park were all added as skins to Fortnite, Towelie was also added as a sidekick. January 11: Season 3 of Primal premiered on Adult Swim. January 15: A third Phineas and Ferb film is announced by Disney Branded Television to be in development. Ice King, Fionna, Cake, & Lemongrab from Adventure Time were all added as skins to Fortnite. January 16: The final two episodes of the fifth season of Phineas and Ferb premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD simultaneously. The Phineas and Ferb spin-off short series titled Agent P, Under C premiered on Disney+, with its first episode uploaded to YouTube. January 17: The final ten episodes from the fifth season of Phineas and Ferb were released on Disney+. January 24: Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy was added as a skin to Fortnite. A crossover series between Cocomelon and Hello Kitty, titled CoComelon Playdates with Sanrio Friends, was released on YouTube. January 26: Turner Classic Movies (TCM) announced a six-year contract with Warner Bros. Discovery to air the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts starting in February amid ongoing efforts from several companies to acquire the company. January 29: The Incredibles is inducted into the National Film Registry. January 30: Mordecai & Skips from Regular Show were added as skins to Fortnite, Rigby was also added as a sidekick. Neon's Arco was released.
February February 2: The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts began airing on TCM with a marathon of Bugs Bunny cartoons. Season 2 of The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball premiered internationally on Cartoon Network and HBO Max."The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball Season 2: Release date, where to watch, and what to expect". Primetimer. December 18, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2026. February 6: Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express - the Movie was released in Japanese theaters. February 7: The eighth Helluva Boss short, titled "Mission: Big Boss", was released on YouTube. February 9: Season 7 of The Creature Cases premiered on Netflix. February 10: Amphibia creator Matt Braly announces that Sony Pictures Animation has canceled a planned film that he and Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar had been working on together. February 13: Sony Pictures Animation's Goat was released. Glitch Productions announces that Knights of Guinevere would be produced as a full series. The teaser trailer for the indie animated series, Clara and the Below, created by Amphibia creator Matt Braly, was released on YouTube. February 15: The season 37 finale (also promoted as its 800th episode) of The Simpsons premiered on Fox. February 16: The second season of RoboGobo premiered on Disney Jr. in the United States. February 18: Kim Possible voice actress Christy Carlson Romano announced she had a positive cancer screening result, but not an official diagnosis. Kristen Bell was announced to be voicing Amy Rose in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 to be released in 2027. February 19: It was announced that Jeff Bergman and Anna Vocino will be voicing Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story 5, replacing Don Rickles and Estelle Harris. February 21: The 53rd Annie Awards were held. February 22: American Dad! returns to Fox after airing on TBS for 12 years with the 22nd season. February 25: It was announced that Smiling Friends will end after three seasons, according to the creators Michael Cusack and Zack Hadel, which was their decision. It was also announced that the last two episodes will premiere on April 12 on Adult Swim.Important announcement from Michael and Zach | Smiling Friends | adult swim (2026, February 25). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwS2iF3VE3U [YouTube Video]. Retrieved February 25, 2026. February 27: Doraemon: New Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil was released in Japanese theaters. The season 19 finale episode of Upin & Ipin premiered on Astro Prima, Astro Ceria, MNCTV, and RCTI, before twentieth season will premiere.
March March 1: Various Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation, and Hanna-Barbera series were added to Tubi. March 2: The thirteenth season of Gabby's Dollhouse, titled "Fairylandia", premiered on Netflix. March 6: Disney-Pixar's Hoppers was released. Tom Lizard from Hoppers was added as a skin to Fortnite to celebrate the film's release. Pickle Rick and Rick Prime from Rick and Morty were added as skins to Fortnite. Paramount+ greenlights a new Garfield series starring Lamorne Morris as the titular character. March 7: Part 2 of the third and final season of Beastars premiered on Netflix. The ninth Helluva Boss short, titled "Mission: Bigfoot", was released on YouTube. March 9: It is confirmed that Donald Glover will voice Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. March 12: A second Family Guy spin-off centered around Stewie was announced to be premiering next year on Fox and Hulu. Netflix officially greenlit a sequel to KPop Demon Hunters. The twentieth season of Upin & Ipin, premiered on MNCTV and was released on YouTube. March 15: 98th Academy Awards: KPop Demon Hunters directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans wins Best Animated Feature. The Girl Who Cried Pearls directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski wins Best Animated Short. Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido, and Teddy Park's Golden from KPop Demon Hunters wins the Academy Award for Best Original Song. March 17: The Kickstarter campaign for Amphibia creator Matt Braly's indie animated series Clara and the Below was fully funded within 15 minutes of launching. March 18: Season 4 of Invincible premiered on Prime Video. March 19: Bugs Bunny was added as a skin to Fortnite. March 20: The eighth and penultimate episode of The Amazing Digital Circus, titled "hjsakldfhl", was released on YouTube. March 21: Music video for "My Little One", by Siamés, premiered on YouTube. The first half of Season 2 of Iyanu premiered on Cartoon Network, next day on HBO Max. March 26: Lola Bunny & Daffy Duck were added as skins to Fortnite. March 28: Hercules, Megara, & Hades, from Disney's Hercules, were all added as skins to Fortnite.
April April 1: Season 2 of Dorohedoro premiered on both Netflix and Crunchyroll. Illumination and Nintendo's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was released. The tenth Helluva Boss short, titled "Mission: It's Chaz Funeral" was released on YouTube. April 2: Season 2 of The Bad Guys: The Series premiered on Netflix. Season 4 of Ninjago: Dragons Rising premiered on Netflix. An anime series adaptation of The Ramparts of Ice was released as a Netflix exclusive. April 4: Perry the Platypus and Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb were added as skins to Fortnite. April 6: The anime series adaptation of Witch Hat Atelier premiered on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Abema. April 10: CBS Studios executive Alec Botnick is announced to also be the new president of Nickelodeon Animation Studio Inc., the studio will now operate as its own label for CBS Studios. April 11: The anime series adaptation of Tadatoshi Fujimaki's Kill Blue premiered on Japanese television. April 12: The last two episodes of Smiling Friends premiered on Adult Swim. Universal Basic Guys concluded its second season on Fox with the episode "Crowmaster"."Universal Basic Guys - Episode 214 Crowmaster". Fox Flash. Retrieved March 19, 2026. April 13: The Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender movie was leaked online after clips were shown on X, with the leaker said that Nickelodeon "accidentally emailed them the film", leading to a full investigation. April 18: A sixteenth season of Cyberchase was released. The Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman has confirmed that the show has officially stopped featuring couch gags in the intro for every episode to be able to focus more on the plot & airtime length of the episodes. April 19: Krapopolis concluded its third season on Fox. April 20: Kevin premiered on Prime Video. April 22: The first trailer for the long-awaited Looney Tunes film Coyote vs. Acme was released on YouTube. April 23: Stranger Things: Tales from '85 was released on Netflix. April 24: My Brother the Minotaur premiered on Apple TV. The Loud House concludes it's ninth season on Nickelodeon with the half-hour special "Sick as a Dad""The Loud House Episode Listings". The Futon Critic. The person who leaked The Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender movie was found and arrested in Singapore. The 11th Helluva Boss short, titled "Barbie's Bad Day", premiered at this year's LVL UP EXPO convention,@IMPmurderpros (April 18, 2026). "It is the best of times for the LVL UP con-goers…it is the worst of times for Barbie. See the PREMIERE of Barbie's Bad Day at the Helluva Boss panel Friday April 24th at LVL UP!" (Tweet). Retrieved April 18, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter). and then on YouTube the following day. April 25: Hazbin Hotel gets renewed for a fifth and final season. April 28: Stranger Things: Tales from '85 gets renewed for a second season, which is slated to premiere later in the year.
May May 1: Skydance Animation's third feature film Swapped was released as a Netflix exclusive. Angel Studios' Animal Farm was released. Season 10 of The Loud House began on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the episodes "Clyde Can't Dance/Shred of Evidence". May 8: Lois Griffin, Peggy Hill and Linda Belcher, were added as skins in Fortnite in honor of Mother's Day. May 9: The fourth season of Chibiverse premiered on Disney Channel and Disney XD simultaneously. May 11: Regular Show: The Lost Tapes premiered on Cartoon Network in all countries simultaneously, and released internationally on HBO Max. May 12: Season 2 of Devil May Cry premiered on Netflix. May 15: The pilot episode of Glitch Productions' Gameoverse was released on YouTube. May 16: An animated Helluva Boss music video centered around Chazwick Thurman, titled "Shark Boy Summer", for which the song was written and sung by Chazwick's voice actor Eric Schwartz, was released on YouTube. May 17: Family Guy concluded its 24th season on Fox with the episode "High School History". Bob's Burgers concluded its 16th season on Fox with the episodes "Stuck in the Middle with Hu(go)" and "Smellbound". American Dad! concluded its 22nd season on Fox with the episode "Where the Wild Boars Are". May 19: Rick and Morty co-creator & executive producer Dan Harmon announced that a film based on the popular Adult Swim series is currently in early development at Warner Bros., and will be directed by show director Jacob Hair. The Brazilian dub of The Amazing Digital Circus' upcoming final episode was accidentally leaked online ahead of both its theatrical release, and standard release on social media accounts such as X (Twitter) & TikTok. May 20: C. H. Greenblatt revealed on his Instagram account that he recently pitched a preschool-oriented reboot of Chowder titled "Chowder: First Course" to Cartoon Network, but they unfortunately had to reject the idea cause they didn't have enough money to produce the show. May 22: Mating Season premiered on Netflix. Pac-Man Snack Breaks premiered on YouTube. May 24: The ninth season of Rick and Morty premiered on Adult Swim. May 25: Sofia the First: Royal Magic premiered on Disney Jr. and the next day on Disney+. May 26: The final Toy Story 5 trailer was released. May 27: My Two Cents premiered on Netflix.
June June 1: Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express - the Movie was released on Netflix. June 3: Season 4 of The Legend of Vox Machina premiered on Prime Video.