2008 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 20: Season 5 of Aqua Teen Hunger Force begins on Adult Swim with the premiere of the episode "Robots Everywhere". The episode was originally released as a bonus feature on the video game Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am.
February February 1: Disney Channel holds a month-long event called "Phineas and Ferb-ruary" to celebrate the official premiere of its newest series Phineas and Ferb, starting with the episode "Flop Starz". February 4: The first episode of The Mr. Men Show airs. The Phineas and Ferb episode "Raging Bully" premieres on Disney Channel, which marks the debut of Baljeet Tjinder, Phineas & Ferb's friend who would end up becoming a major supporting character later on in the show. February 5: The Phineas and Ferb episode "Candace Loses Her Head" premieres on Disney Channel, which marks the debut of Lawrence Fletcher, Ferb's biological father and Phineas & Candace's stepfather. February 8: The Phineas and Ferb episode "The Magnificent Few" premieres on Disney Channel, which marks the debut of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's teenage daughter Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, who eventually became a favorite amongst fans of the show. February 11: Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues premieres at the Berlin International Film Festival. February 18: Nickelodeon celebrates the revival of The Fairly OddParents with the Season 6 premiere movie "Fairly OddBaby", which introduces Cosmo & Wanda's son Poof to the show. It is the first new episode since 2006. February 24: 80th Academy Awards: Ratatouille, directed by Brad Bird and produced by Pixar and the Walt Disney Company, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Peter & the Wolf by Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. February 26: Bratz airs its final episode.
March March 1: Johnny Test concludes its third season on the Kids' WB block on The CW with the two-part episodes "Johnny X: A New Beginning/Johnny X: The Final Ending". This was the last episode to premiere on The CW as the Kids' WB block would go defunct on May 17. The show would move over to Cartoon Network for the remainder of its run, beginning with the premiere of its fourth season the following year. March 3: Season 6 of SpongeBob SquarePants begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the episode "Krabby Road". The season's premiere brought in a total of 4.7 million viewers that night.Robert Seidman (March 11, 2008). "Top Cable Shows March 3–9: UNC Bests Duke and SpongeBob". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2023. March 6: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends concludes its fifth season on Cartoon Network with the episode "Let Your Hare Down"."Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Season 5 on iTunes". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved December 15, 2015. March 8: Doraemon: Nobita and The Green Giant Legend is released. March 12: Season 12 of South Park begins on Comedy Central with the premiere of the episode "Tonsil Trouble". It was seen by over 3 million viewers that night."Ratings: Lost Finds a Season Low - TV Guide". TVGuide.com. March 14, 2008. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019. March 13: The 6th and final season of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episode "Jackie Khones and the Case of the Overdue Library Crook"."Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Season 6 on iTunes". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved December 15, 2015. March 14: Horton Hears a Who!, directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, produced by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox, is first released. It received favorable reviews as it hues closer to the original source material. March 22: The final episode of Tom and Jerry Tales premieres on the Kids' WB block on The CW. March 23: Futurama returns to the air on Comedy Central after being cancelled in 2003. Aqua Teen Hunger Force concludes its fifth season on Adult Swim with the episode "Bible Fruit (Fruits)".
April
April 9: The South Park episode "Eek, a Penis!" premieres on Comedy Central."Watch South Park Episodes Online Season 12 (2008)". TV Guide. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019. Ms. Garrison ends up getting another sex reassignment surgery operation in this episode, making her MR. Garrison once again. Disney Channel renewed Phineas and Ferb for a second season.Diamond, Hope (April 9, 2008). "Disney Channel Presents the Next Big Thing For Kids and Families to Advertisers During Unique Kids' Upfront Meeting". Disney Channel. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2025. April 19: The Phineas and Ferb episode "Greece Lightning" premieres on Disney Channel, which marks the debut of Norm, Dr. Doofenshmirtz's robot assistant who would become a supporting character later on in the show.
May May 4: Family Guy concludes its sixth season on Fox with the episode "Long John Peter". The episode was seen by just nearly 7.7 million viewers that night. May 11: The Simpsons episode "Mona Leaves-a" premieres on Fox, this episode marks the death of Homer's estranged yet loving mother Mona Simpson (though she would still be seen in later episodes during flashbacks and dream sequences). Famed cyclist Lance Armstrong guest stars as himself in this episode. The episode was seen by exactly 6.02 million viewers that night."Ratings: Mona Leaves-a". Simpsons Channel. May 12, 2008. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. May 15: During the Cannes Film Festival, Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir premieres. May 18:"Weekly Program Rankings (May 12–18, 2008)". ABC Medianet. May 20, 2008. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2023. The Simpsons concludes its 19th season on Fox with the episode "All About Lisa", which guest stars Drew Carey. The episode was seen by just nearly 6.2 million viewers that night. King of the Hill concludes its 12th season on Fox with the episode "Life: A Loser's Manual", which guest stars Johnny Knoxville as Peggy's brother/Luanne's father, Hoyt Platter. The episode was seen by exactly 5.4 million viewers that night. American Dad! concludes its fourth season on Fox with the episode "Spring Breakup". The episode was seen by over 5.6 million viewers that night.
June June 5: The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack premieres on Cartoon Network with the episodes "Several Leagues Under the Sea/Eye Sea You". Total Drama Island makes its U.S. premiere on Cartoon Network. June 6: Kung Fu Panda, directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by DreamWorks Animation, releases in theaters to universal acclaim by both fans & critics. June 20: Canadian animation and entertainment studio Cookie Jar Entertainment announces a merger with DIC Entertainment. June 27: Disney-Pixar's WALL-E releases in theaters to near-universal critical acclaim and was a box-office success. June 29: Ed, Edd n Eddy airs the only episode from its 6th season on Cartoon Network titled "May I Have This Ed?/Look Before You Ed". This was the final episode of the series to premiere, the TV movie Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show would premiere the following year and serve as the series finale to the show.
July July 19: Ponyo, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli, premieres in Japan. Avatar: The Last Airbenders series finale "Sozin's Comet" premieres on Nickelodeon. July 23: Cookie Jar's purchase and merger with DIC Entertainment is completed. DIC is later folded into Cookie Jar's operations. July 24: Chowder concludes its first season on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the half-hour special finale "The Apprentice Games"."Chowder - Season 1". Zap2it. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
August August 26: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is released. which marks the final direct-to-video sequel based a film from the Disney Animated Canon. August 28: The Animation Guild announces that Cartoon Network picked up Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time short from Frederator Studios and greenlit it for a full series.
September September 5: Season 2 of Upin & Ipin premiered on TV9. September 20: After 11 years, the Toonami block is officially cancelled by Cartoon Network. September 23: The Scooby-Doo direct-to-video halloween film Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King releases on DVD.DeMott, Rick (September 23, 2008). "SCOOBY-DOO AND THE GOBLIN KING (2008) (**)". AWN. Retrieved February 6, 2026. September 28:"Weekly Program Rankings (Sept. 22-28, 2008)". ABC Medianet. September 30, 2008. Archived from the original on May 29, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2023. Season 20 of The Simpsons begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes", which guest stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Robert Forster, and Joe Mantegna. The episode was seen by over 9.4 million viewers that night. The 13th & final season (for its original run) of King of the Hill begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Dia-BILL-ic Shock", Jake Steinfeld guest stars as Bill's new friend Thunder. The episode was seen by exactly 7.1 million viewers that night. Season 7 of Family Guy begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "Love, Blactually". This episode reveals that Brian is an Atheist, but he wouldn't reveal it to the rest of the Griffins until in "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven". The episode was seen by just nearly 9.1 million viewers that night. Season 5 of American Dad! begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "1600 Candles". The episode was seen by just nearly 6.9 million viewers that night.
October October 2: Season 2 of Chowder begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episode "The Arborians". October 5: The Family Guy episode "I Dream of Jesus" premieres on Fox. This episode marks the debut of Surfin' Bird being played in the show by Peter as a running gag. This episode features one of the biggest plot holes in the show, Brian having seen Jesus Christ in person and still going on to classify himself as an Atheist. The episode was seen by nearly 3.4 million viewers that night."Weekly Program Rankings (Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2008)". ABC Medianet. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2026. October 11: "Clash of the Pharaohs", the series finale of Tutenstein is released. October 12: The standalone Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy special "Underfist: Halloween Bash" premieres on Cartoon Network. This special was initially planned by Maxwell Atoms to be the backdoor pilot for a new spin-off series, but it was canned after Atoms was fired from Cartoon Network Inc. due to them believing that he ruined their brand.
November November 7: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa premieres in theaters and was a critical & box-office success. November 13: 3-2-1 Penguins! airs its final episode on Qubo. November 19: South Park concludes its 12th season on Comedy Central with the episode "The Ungroundable", this was the last episode to be produced and shown in 480i standard-definition. It was seen by just nearly 3.3 million viewers that night.Comedy Central Ratings Report (November 17–23, 2008). Nielsen Media Research (Report). November 21: The Walt Disney Company releases Bolt. November 27: The Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends television film "Destination: Imagination" premiered on Cartoon Network.Fritz, Steve (November 27, 2008). "Animated Shorts: Craig McCracken - Back to Foster's". Newsarama. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2026.