2020 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 10: The League of 5 from Ánima Estudios became the first animated film to be released in the 2020s. The first episode of The Owl House premiered on Disney Channel. January 11: Particular Crowd's Spycies premiered in Chinese theaters. January 12: Bless the Harts concludes its first season on Fox with the episode "Tying the Not". The season's finale was seen by over 2.6 million viewers that night.Welch, Alex (January 14, 2020). "NFL adjusts up, 'Bob's Burgers' and 'Bless the Harts' adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2020. January 14: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is released on Netflix. January 17: Voice actor Hank Azaria announces he will no longer be voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on The Simpsons, unless, as stated by him, the show's producers find "some way to transition it or something." January 25: 47th Annie Awards. January 31: The second half of the final season of BoJack Horseman is released on Netflix.
February February 7: The second season of Dragons: Rescue Riders premiered on Netflix. It was later picked up by Peacock for four additional seasons and ended its run in September 2022. February 9: 92nd Academy Awards: Toy Story 4, directed by Josh Cooley, Jonas Rivera, and Mark Nielsen, and produced by Pixar and the Walt Disney Company, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. February 14: The live-action/animated film adaptation of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, from Paramount Pictures, is released. February 16: The first episode of Duncanville, simply titled "Pilot", premiered on Fox. The show's premiere was seen by over 1.5 million viewers that night.Metcalf, Mitch (February 19, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 2.16.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020. February 21: Glitch Techs premiered on Netflix. February 22: The final episodes of 101 Dalmatian Street are broadcast. Paw Patrol concludes its sixth season on TVO in Canada with the episodes "Pups Save a Tour Bus/Pups Save Midnight at the Museum". February 27: The music video for "Magnum Bullets" by Night Runner, featuring Dan Avidan, was released on the Game Grumps' YouTube channel. February 29: Shirobako: The Movie is released in theaters in Japan.
March March 5: The Haunted House: Ghost Ball Double X, the third season, aired on Tooniverse in South Korea. March 6: Disney/Pixar's Onward premieres. The film was banned from being screened in several areas of the Arab world for its inclusion of a lesbian character. March 13: Season 1 of Paru Itagaki's Beastars was released on Netflix in both Japanese and English. March 27: Season 7 of Paw Patrol begins on Nickelodeon in the US with the premiere of the episodes "Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Stop a Humdinger Horde/Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Save a Mighty Lighthouse"."Paw Patrol Episode Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 22, 2018. The final episode of Steven Universe Future premieres on Cartoon Network, serving as the finale to the Steven Universe franchise.
April
April 4: Teen Titans Go! concludes its fifth season on Cartoon Network with the episode "Teen Titans Roar!", which is a crossover with the series ThunderCats Roar. April 13: Season 17 of American Dad! begins on TBS (while still being in its 16th season) with the premiere of the episode "100 Years a Solid Fool". The season's premiere was watched by only 694 thousand viewers that night, marking another low in the show's viewership."UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.13.2020". Showbuzz Daily. April 14, 2020. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020. April 27: American Dad! concludes its 16th season on TBS with the episode "Cheek to Cheek: A Stripper's Story". The season's finale was watched by only 670 thousand viewers that night, marking another low in the show's viewership."UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.27.2020". Showbuzz Daily. April 28, 2020. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
May May 2: Season 7 of Paw Patrol begins on TVO in Canada with the premiere of the episodes "Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Stop a Humdinger Horde/Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Save a Mighty Lighthouse". May 15: The fifth and final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is released on Netflix. May 17:Metcalf, Mitch (May 19, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.17.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020. The Simpsons concludes its 31st season on Fox with the episode "The Way of the Dog", featuring guest stars Cate Blanchett & Michael York. The season's finale was seen by just nearly 1.9 million viewers that night. Duncanville concludes its first season on Fox with the episode "Classless President". The season's finale was seen by just over 1.2 million viewers that night. Bob's Burgers concludes its tenth season on Fox with the episode "Prank You for Being a Friend". The season's finale was seen by over 1.2 million viewers that night. Family Guy concludes its 18th season on Fox with the episode "Movin' In (Principal Shepherd's Song)". The season's finale was seen by just over 1.5 million viewers that night. May 27: Looney Tunes Cartoons premieres on HBO Max as a tie-in to the app's launch.
June June 8: Several programs, including animated ones, are pulled from television rotations following the wake of the George Floyd protests. Several programs, including episodes of PAW Patrol and Bluey, are pulled after regarding the presence of racial stereotypes and police corruption. June 11: Craig of the Creek concludes its second season on Cartoon Network with the episodes "Beyond the Rapids" and "The Jinxening", the season's finale was seen by a combined total of 646 thousand viewers that night.Metcalf, Mitch. "Updated: Showbuzzdaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.11.2020". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020. June 12: Season 4 of F Is for Family premiered on Netflix. June 18: Studio Colorido's A Whisker Away premiered on Netflix. June 21: Season 3 of Craig of the Creek begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the half-hour Father's Day special "The Other Side: The Tournament", the season's premiere was seen by a total of 234 thousand viewers that night.Metcalf, Mitch. "Updated: Showbuzzdaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.21.2020". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020. June 25: As a result of the George Floyd protests: Kristen Bell announces she will no longer voice the multiracial character Molly on Central Park. Jenny Slate announces she will no longer voice African-American character Missy Foreman-Greenwald on Big Mouth. June 27: As a result of the George Floyd protests: It is announced that all non-white characters in The Simpsons will no longer be voiced by white voice actors, as the entertainment industry and others take action in response to rekindled calls for racial equality. Mike Henry announces he will no longer voice African-American character Cleveland Brown from Family Guy, due to feeling that an actual African-American actor would be more qualified to do so. Actress Alison Brie expresses public regret for having voiced Asian character Diane Nguyen in BoJack Horseman.
July July 11: The second season of Amphibia premiered on the Disney Channel. July 15: Deer Squad was released on iQIYI in China. July 20: The animated short The Wonderful Wingits was released on Cartoon Network's YouTube channel. July 21: The animated short Trick Moon was released on Cartoon Network's YouTube channel. July 23: The Loud House concludes its fourth season on Nickelodeon with the episode "Coupe Dreams". The season's finale was watched by only 624 thousand viewers that afternoon.Mitch Metcalf (July 24, 2020). "Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.23.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
August August 7: Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur, the 40th film in the Doraemon franchise, was released in Japanese cinemas by Toho. This movie is a special project made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doraemon and is a sequel to the 2006 movie Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur. A24 Films LLC picks up the Hazbin Hotel pilot for its own full-length series.Amidi, Amid (August 7, 2020). "A24 Picks Up Online Pilot 'Hazbin Hotel' For Series". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021. August 8: The Owl House episode "Enchanting Grom Fright" premieres on Disney Channel to universal critical acclaim as well as praise for having Disney's first LGBTQ protagonist. The Amphibia episode "Wax Museum" premieres on Disney Channel to positive reviews, featuring easter eggs from Gravity Falls. Additionally, the latter's series creator, Alex Hirsch, guest stars in this episode. August 10: The second series of Bluey premieres to universal critical acclaim. Bluey began streaming internationally on Disney+ to universal critical acclaim from American critics and audiences. August 14: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run initially premiered in theaters in Canada. August 17: The second and final season of Glitch Techs premiered on Netflix. August 21: Elena of Avalor airs its final episode. August 27: Unikitty! airs its final episode on Cartoon Network. Glitch Productions launches their YouTube channel simply named "GLITCH".GLITCH (27 August 2020). WELCOME TO GLITCH!. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2026 – via YouTube. August 28: Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe is released on Disney+. August 29: The first-season finale of The Owl House titled "Young Blood, Old Souls" is broadcast. August 30: The 2020 reboot of Animaniacs announced its release date to be November 20, 2020. A behind-the-scenes video of Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, Jess Harnell, and Maurice LaMarche was released on YouTube to celebrate the news.
September September 7: Elinor Wonders Why premieres on PBS Kids to generally positive reviews. September 5: We Bare Bears: The movie premieres on Cartoon Network; this also serves as a series finale. September 9: Nickelodeon pulls the premiere of 'Made by Maddie' due to controversy over its similarities with Hair Love. September 10: The Idhun Chronicles premiered on Netflix. September 11: Season 5 of The Loud House begins on Nickelodeon with the premiere of the half-hour special "Schooled!". The season's premiere was watched by only 790 thousand viewers that night.Mitch Metcalf (September 14, 2020). "Top 150 Friday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.11.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020. September 14: The 300th episode of American Dad! is broadcast. September 24: Alex Désert replaces Hank Azaria as the voice of The Simpsons character Carl Carlson, starting with the episode "Undercover Burns." September 25: YouTube star Arif Zahir replaces Mike Henry as the voice of Cleveland Brown in Family Guy. September 27:Metcalf, Mitch (September 29, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.27.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.