February 23:
Henry Selick's Monkeybone, which combines animation with live-action, is released, but to bad reviews and low audience attendances.[6]
February 25: The Futurama episode "
That's Lobstertainment!" premieres, guest starring actor, comedian and fellow Simpsons cast member
Hank Azaria. However, this episode received polarizing reception from fans and it was often regarded as one of the worst episodes of the series.[7]
The Futurama episode "
The Cyber House Rules" premieres, in which Leela meets up with her former orphanarium playmate Adlai Atkins, now a plastic surgeon, who agrees to grant Leela surgery that will give her two eyes.
April 20: The dark Invader Zim episode "Dark Harvest" airs. This episode became controversial when it was mentioned at the
Scott Dyleski trial in 2006.[14]
June 2: The first episode of Braceface is broadcast.[18]
June 3:
Gary Trousdale and
Kirk Wise's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, produced by the
Walt Disney Company, is released. It is a box office flop, but becomes a
cult film later.[19] During its 25-week theatrical run, Atlantis: The Lost Empire grossed over $186 million worldwide ($84 million from the United States and Canada).[20] Responding to its disappointing box-office performance,
Thomas Schumacher, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said, "It seemed like a good idea at the time to not do a sweet fairy tale, but we missed."[21]
September 14: The film The House of Morecock is released, the first gay pornographic adult animated feature film. It is directed by comics artist
Joe Phillips.[39]
September 24: The
sixth season of Arthur airs as
Justin Bradley would take over
Michael Yarmush's role as the titular character due to voice changing by adult age.[42] Unfortunately, Bradley failed to repeat this due to regarding his input to be too deep for Arthur as
Mark Rendall re-dubbed over Bradley's lines the next year and is chosen to be the next voice for the character.
October 5: The SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Just One Bite" airs. This particular episode originally showed the famous boobytrap scene before
Nickelodeon removed it the following year.[44]
November 5: The final episode of
Recess airs. It was supposed to end after the fifth season, but ratings gave the show one more season, which only lasted for 3 half-hours due to the show passing the 65-episode rule.
Dexter's Laboratory revives as
Chris Savino took over as series director instead of
Genndy Tartakovsky, who moved on to produce the new show Samurai Jack.[53] Unlike the original episodes as the show gained popularity in the 1990s, the new batch was unsuccessful as the popularity of Dexter's Laboratory falls.
November 22: Episodes 1 through 14 of
Happy Tree Friends as a TV-special premieres on MTV for first time, marking the TV debut of Volume 1 - First Blood.
December
December 5:
The South Park episode "
Kenny Dies" premieres, in which Kenny McCormick falls victim of a terminal illness, while Eric Cartman goes to find a way to lift the ban on stem cell research. The episode ends with Kenny getting "killed off", disappearing entirely from Season 6 before returning in the final episode of said season,
Red Sleigh Down.
Boomerang cease airing Fantastic Four due to complications with
Hanna-Barbera and
Disney when Disney’s ownership acquired
Fox Kids Worldwide that has full rights to Marvel content as
Time Warner ended distribution rights to Fantastic Four,[63] prior to Disney's purchase with
Marvel Comics in 2009. The series remains in obscurity after the 34 year broadcast.
September 30: Bjørn Frank Jensen, Danish animator and comics artist (co-founder of Ring, Frank & Jensen, worked for
Marten Toonder's animation department), dies at age 81.[103]
^"That's Lobstertainment! episode commentary". Futurama. Season 3. Episode 8. Event occurs at 12:07.
Fox. This one is roundly considered by the newsgroup mavens as the worst episode ever
^"Passing: Sam Singer...".
ASIFA San Francisco. May 2001. pp. 6, 8.
^Lentz, Harris, III (October 2001). "Obituaries: Don Brodie". Classic Images. p. 57.
ProQuest2130594. Film and television character actor Don Brodie died at age 101 in Los Angeles, California, on January 8, 2001.{{
cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^Bergan, Ronald (July 23, 2001). "Obituary: Maurice Noble: Animation artist filling in the background for cartoon hijinks." The Guardian (London, England), p20.
^Coyne, Patrick (January–February 2005).
"Design Pioneers: Robert Abel". Comm Arts. Coyne & Blanchard, Inc. Archived from
the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
February 23:
Henry Selick's Monkeybone, which combines animation with live-action, is released, but to bad reviews and low audience attendances.[6]
February 25: The Futurama episode "
That's Lobstertainment!" premieres, guest starring actor, comedian and fellow Simpsons cast member
Hank Azaria. However, this episode received polarizing reception from fans and it was often regarded as one of the worst episodes of the series.[7]
The Futurama episode "
The Cyber House Rules" premieres, in which Leela meets up with her former orphanarium playmate Adlai Atkins, now a plastic surgeon, who agrees to grant Leela surgery that will give her two eyes.
April 20: The dark Invader Zim episode "Dark Harvest" airs. This episode became controversial when it was mentioned at the
Scott Dyleski trial in 2006.[14]
June 2: The first episode of Braceface is broadcast.[18]
June 3:
Gary Trousdale and
Kirk Wise's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, produced by the
Walt Disney Company, is released. It is a box office flop, but becomes a
cult film later.[19] During its 25-week theatrical run, Atlantis: The Lost Empire grossed over $186 million worldwide ($84 million from the United States and Canada).[20] Responding to its disappointing box-office performance,
Thomas Schumacher, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said, "It seemed like a good idea at the time to not do a sweet fairy tale, but we missed."[21]
September 14: The film The House of Morecock is released, the first gay pornographic adult animated feature film. It is directed by comics artist
Joe Phillips.[39]
September 24: The
sixth season of Arthur airs as
Justin Bradley would take over
Michael Yarmush's role as the titular character due to voice changing by adult age.[42] Unfortunately, Bradley failed to repeat this due to regarding his input to be too deep for Arthur as
Mark Rendall re-dubbed over Bradley's lines the next year and is chosen to be the next voice for the character.
October 5: The SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Just One Bite" airs. This particular episode originally showed the famous boobytrap scene before
Nickelodeon removed it the following year.[44]
November 5: The final episode of
Recess airs. It was supposed to end after the fifth season, but ratings gave the show one more season, which only lasted for 3 half-hours due to the show passing the 65-episode rule.
Dexter's Laboratory revives as
Chris Savino took over as series director instead of
Genndy Tartakovsky, who moved on to produce the new show Samurai Jack.[53] Unlike the original episodes as the show gained popularity in the 1990s, the new batch was unsuccessful as the popularity of Dexter's Laboratory falls.
November 22: Episodes 1 through 14 of
Happy Tree Friends as a TV-special premieres on MTV for first time, marking the TV debut of Volume 1 - First Blood.
December
December 5:
The South Park episode "
Kenny Dies" premieres, in which Kenny McCormick falls victim of a terminal illness, while Eric Cartman goes to find a way to lift the ban on stem cell research. The episode ends with Kenny getting "killed off", disappearing entirely from Season 6 before returning in the final episode of said season,
Red Sleigh Down.
Boomerang cease airing Fantastic Four due to complications with
Hanna-Barbera and
Disney when Disney’s ownership acquired
Fox Kids Worldwide that has full rights to Marvel content as
Time Warner ended distribution rights to Fantastic Four,[63] prior to Disney's purchase with
Marvel Comics in 2009. The series remains in obscurity after the 34 year broadcast.
September 30: Bjørn Frank Jensen, Danish animator and comics artist (co-founder of Ring, Frank & Jensen, worked for
Marten Toonder's animation department), dies at age 81.[103]
^"That's Lobstertainment! episode commentary". Futurama. Season 3. Episode 8. Event occurs at 12:07.
Fox. This one is roundly considered by the newsgroup mavens as the worst episode ever
^"Passing: Sam Singer...".
ASIFA San Francisco. May 2001. pp. 6, 8.
^Lentz, Harris, III (October 2001). "Obituaries: Don Brodie". Classic Images. p. 57.
ProQuest2130594. Film and television character actor Don Brodie died at age 101 in Los Angeles, California, on January 8, 2001.{{
cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
^Bergan, Ronald (July 23, 2001). "Obituary: Maurice Noble: Animation artist filling in the background for cartoon hijinks." The Guardian (London, England), p20.
^Coyne, Patrick (January–February 2005).
"Design Pioneers: Robert Abel". Comm Arts. Coyne & Blanchard, Inc. Archived from
the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2014.