2021 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 3: The Great Norths first episode "Sexi Moose Adventure" premieres on Fox. January 7: Season 2 of Paru Itagaki's Beastars airs its first episode on Japanese television. January 8: The second and final season of The Idhun Chronicles premiered on Netflix. January 13: Big City Greens gets renewed for a third season as part of The Houghton Brothers' new overall deal with Disney Television Animation. January 15: HBO Max added its "Animation" landing page. The first ten episodes of season 2 of Disenchantment are released on Netflix. January 25: Disney+ removes Dumbo, Peter Pan, and The Aristocats, from their kids profiles due to certain scenes containing old-fashioned racial stereotypes. They remain available to adult viewers. January 26: Go, Dog. Go!, a series based on the children's books of the same name, premieres on Netflix. January 31: The third episode of Vivienne Medrano's independent webseries Helluva Boss, titled "Spring Broken", was released on YouTube.
February February 2: Kid Cosmic premiered on Netflix. February 5: The first episode of The Snoopy Show is aired on Apple TV+. February 9: Disney shuts down Blue Sky Studios due to current "economic realities" related to the COVID-19 pandemic. February 15: Pop singer Gala releases a music video, Parallel Lines, with animation by Nina Paley. February 17: Cartoon Network announced a film for The Amazing World of Gumball. February 22: Voice actor Harry Shearer announces he will no longer voice the African-American character Dr. Hibbert on The Simpsons, being replaced by Kevin Michael Richardson starting with the episode "Wad Goals". February 23: Monster High was announced to come back with a live-action film and animated series on Nickelodeon. The Scooby-Doo direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob releases on DVD and Digital services."All-New Movie 'Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob' Quests Home in February | Animation Magazine". December 10, 2020. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2026. The movie is based on the 1938 British novel The Sword in the Stone. February 26: Tom and Jerry was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. It flopped at the box office.
March March 1: Qubo was discontinued, along with Ion Plus and Ion Shop. March 4: Anime series Pacific Rim: The Black, based on the Pacific Rim film franchise, was released on Netflix. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years were released with the launch of Paramount+. March 5: Raya and the Last Dragon was released simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+. March 6: New York Times Columnist, Charles M. Blow, claims that the Looney Tunes character Pepé Le Pew, "normalized rape culture". Following the publication of the article, it was reported that he was cut out of Space Jam: A New Legacy after Malcolm D. Lee took over directing. The character was reported to not be slated in current and future Warner Bros. projects. However, he appeared in the Animaniacs reboot episode, "Yakko Amakko" which premiered on November 5, 2021. Amphibia resumes its second season. March 10: South Park concludes its 24th season on Comedy Central with its second hour-long COVID-19-related special "South ParQ Vaccination Special". March 14: The fourth episode of Helluva Boss, titled "C.H.E.R.U.B", was released on YouTube. March 15: The DuckTales series finale, a three-part episode titled "The Last Adventure!", premieres. Final Episode is Kain Merah Ipin of Upin & Ipin (Musim 14) premiered on MNCTV March 17: Anime-inspired music video for "Musician" by Porter Robinson, was released on YouTube. March 21: The 700th episode of The Simpsons, "Manger Things", premiered. The couch gag is animated by Bill Plympton. Lebanese animated feature Alephia 2053 released on YouTube and streaming platforms. March 25: Season 2 of Paru Itagaki's Beastars airs its finale episode on Japanese television. March 26: The SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Mid-Life Crustacean" was removed and made unavailable to stream on Paramount+ due to the panty raid scene, while "Kwarantined Krab" is delayed due to its similarities to the current COVID-19 pandemic, with the latter episode's eventual premiere on Nickelodeon on April 29, 2022. The pilot for the SMG4 spin-off Sunset Paradise premiered on YouTube on the GLITCH channel.Yang, J., Marlow, J., & Bailey, J. (2021). SUNSET PARADISE - EP 1: PILOT. YouTube. Glitch. Retrieved July 28, 2025 March 29: The first episode of an animated series based on Pieter De Poortere's gag comic Boerke (in English: Dickie) airs on television. 101 Dalmatian Street makes its US cable television premiere.
April April 2: Season 8 of Paw Patrol begins on Nickelodeon in the US with the premiere of the episodes "Pups Save a Sweet Mayor/Pups Save a Magic Trick"."Paw Patrol Episode Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 22, 2018. April 3: The Paw Patrol episodes "Pups Save Thundermouth/Pups Save a Class Pet" release on Netfix in Canada, thus concluding the seventh season of the show. The episodes aired on TVO 7 days later. April 7: Cartoon Network Studios Europe is rebranded as Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. April 10: Blue Sky Studios closes down. April 12: The season 2 finale of Bluey titled, "Easter", premieres to universal acclaim. April 16: 48th Annie Awards. Netflix Animation releases Arlo the Alligator Boy. April 19: Season 18 of American Dad! begins on TBS with the premiere of the episode "Who Smarted?". The season's premiere was watched by only 560 thousand viewers that night, marking a new low in the show's viewership.Metcalf, Mitch (April 20, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.19.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021. April 23: Mike Rianda's debut film The Mitchells vs. the Machines, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, premieres in select theaters in the United States. The film is later released on Netflix on April 30. April 25: 93rd Academy Awards: Soul, directed by Pete Docter and Dana Murray, produced by Pixar, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Its soundtrack, composed by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste, wins the Academy Award for Best Original Score. If Anything Happens I Love You, directed by Michael Govier and Will McCormack, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. April 30: The fifth episode of Helluva Boss, titled "The Harvest Moon Festival", was released on YouTube. Actor Norman Reedus guest stars.
May May 7: Paw Patrol concludes its seventh season on Nickelodeon in the US with the episodes "Pups Save Thundermouth/Pups Save a Class Pet". May 15: Season 8 of Paw Patrol begins on TVO in Canada with the premiere of the episodes "Pups Save a Runaway Rooster/Pups Save a Snowbound Cow". May 16:Berman, Marc (May 17, 2021). "Sunday Ratings: ABC and CBS Share Dominance". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021. The Great North concludes its first season on Fox with the episode "My Fart Will Go on Adventure". The season's finale was watched by only 812 thousand viewers that night. Family Guy concludes its 19th season on Fox with the episode "Tales of Former Sports Glory". The season's finale was seen by over 1.1 million viewers that night. May 17: Deadline Hollywood reported that The Owl House was renewed for a third season comprising three 44-minute specials, ahead of the premiere of the second season the following month. May 22: The second-season finale of Amphibia, "True Colors", finally premiered on Disney Channel three weeks after being delayed and subsequently leaked by iTunes. May 23: The Simpsons concludes its 32nd season on Fox with the episode "The Last Barfighter", guest starring English actor Ian McShane. The season's finale was seen by over 1 million viewers that night. Season 2 of Duncanville begins on Fox with the premiere of the following episodes: "Das Banana Boot" (viewership: 0.80 million) "Duncan's New Word" (viewership: 0.71 million) Bob's Burgers concludes its 11th season on Fox with the episode "Vampire Disco Death Dance". The season's finale was watched by only 980 thousand viewers that night, marking a new low in the show's viewership. May 27: The first episode of the rebooted series Rugrats is broadcast on Paramount+. May 31: The first episode of HouseBroken is broadcast.
June June: During the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Austria's first animated feature film, Rotzbub, directed by Marcus H. Rosenmüller & Santiago López Jover, is released. The plot and design are based on cartoonist Manfred Deix's life and cartoons. June 4: Season 2 of Amphibia released on Disney+, just a month after the season concluded. June 7: The Molly of Denali season one finale, a one-hour special titled "Molly and the Great One", premiered on PBS Kids. June 11: A Rock Dog direct-to-video sequel, Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park, was released. Sony Pictures Animation releases Wish Dragon on Netflix, written and directed by Chris Appelhans. Rainbow High premieres its season 1 finale on YouTube. June 12: The second season of The Owl House premiered on Disney Channel. June 17: An upcoming Disney Channel series titled Kiff was revealed to be greenlit for the network at this year's Annecy Film Festival.Del Rosario, Alexandra (June 17, 2021). "'Kiff': Disney Channel Greenlights Animated Series From South African Creators Lucy Heavens & Nic Smal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022. June 18: Luca premiered on Disney+ instead of being released theatrically in the United States. June 20: Bless the Harts' final episode, "Betty's Birthday", premieres on Fox. The show's finale was only watched by 370 thousand viewers that night.Berman, Marc (June 21, 2021). "Sunday Ratings: A Night of Sports Leads NBC to Victory". Programming Insider. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021. June 24: Anime series Godzilla Singular Point premiered on Netflix, as part of the MonsterVerse.
July July 2: The Boss Baby: Family Business was released simultaneously in theaters and on Peacock. Craig of the Creek concludes its third season on Cartoon Network with the final part of the "Capture the Flag" special event. The season's finale was seen by a total of 482 thousand viewers that morning.Mitch Metcalf (July 5, 2021). "Top 150 Friday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.2.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021. July 7: The first episode of Monsters at Work airs on Disney+. July 9: The first episodes of the SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off series The Patrick Star Show and Middlemost Post premiered on Nickelodeon. July 15: Season 2 of Paru Itagaki's Beastars was released on Netflix in both Japanese and English. July 16: A revival of Johnny Test premiered on Netflix. Space Jam: A New Legacy was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. Rainbow High premieres the first episode of its second season. July 21: The first five episodes from Season 2 of The Owl House were released on Disney+. July 22: Kyōhei Ishiguro's Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop was simultaneously released in Japanese theaters and on Netflix worldwide. July 23: Paw Patrol concludes its sixth season on Nickelodeon in the US with the episodes "Ultimate Rescue: Pups Save the Opening Ceremonies/Ultimate Rescue: Pups Save the Adventure Bay Games". July 30: