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2004 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 4: The King of the Hill episode "Rich Hank, Poor Hank" premieres on Fox, this was the final episode to be produced entirely in cel animation, the show officially switches over to digital ink and paint afterwards. The episode was seen by over 7.5 million viewers that night.[1]
January 5:
The first episode of Dragon airs.[citation needed]
January 16: Teacher's Pet, produced by the Walt Disney Company, is released. It serves as the series finale.[citation needed] Also, this is Disney's return of their PG-rated cartoons since Treasure Planet in 2002 after their failed attempt of "bringing back" the G-rated cartoons owing to the compromised character deaths in Brother Bear[2] that was released last November.
April 2: Home on the Range, produced by the Walt Disney Company, is released.[6] It flops at box office as Disney would focus working on CG animated feature films while suspending the traditional hand-drawn animated films for 5 years.[7]
May 10:[13] Voice actor Greg Burson is arrested after barricading himself inside his home, holding three female roommates hostage while being drunk and carrying a gun.[14][15][16]
May 11: The pilot for Invader Zim makes its debut on DVD.[17]
May 12–31: 2004 Cannes Film Festival: Jonas Geirnaert, a young Belgian film student, sends in an unfinished animated short, Flatlife, to the festival, which promptly wins the Jury Prize for Best Short Film. This launches his media career in Flanders.[18]
May 15: Shrek 2 premiers during the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.[citation needed]
King of the Hill concludes its eighth season on Fox with the episode "Talking Shop". The episode was watched by over 6.1 million viewers that night.
The Simpsons concludes its 15th season on Fox with the episode "Fraudcast News". The episode was watched by over 9.4 million viewers that night.
May 24: The first episode of Kikoriki aired.[citation needed]
May 31: The first episode of Peppa Pig aired.[citation needed]
June
June 11: Season 2 of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy begins on Cartoon Network with the premiere of the episodes "Spider's Little Daddy/Tricycle of Terror".[citation needed] This was the first season of the show to not be related to its parent series Grim & Evil.
June 14: Cartoon Network ends its "Powerhouse" era and begins its "CN City" era, the channel's logo was also rebranded for the first time, giving it the "CN" look.[citation needed] Both eras are considered by fans to be the Golden Age of Cartoon Network.
It was intended as a pilot episode for a planned spin-off series. This episode ran a few times before it was removed from reruns. Nickelodeon rejected the spin-off attempt for many reasons.[21]
July 23: The Fairly OddParents TV movie "Channel Chasers" premieres on Nickelodeon, its premiere reeled in a total of over 3 million viewers that night.[23] Despite it not being the final episode, fans of the show see this film as the perfect series finale.
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode "Five O' Clock Shadows" premieres on Cartoon Network. This was the final episode to be associated with its parent series Grim & Evil.[citation needed]
The first episode of 6teen aired.[citation needed]
Season 9 of King of the Hill begins on Fox with the premiere of the episode "A Rover Runs Through It", which guest stars Henry Winkler as himself. The episode was seen by over 6.8 million viewers that night.[40]
December 1: The first episode of Poko aired.[citation needed]
December 9: Áron Gauder's The District! premiered.[citation needed]
December 12:Happy Tree Friends - Winter Break movie premiered on MTV. It adds episodes 22 to 24 of Season 2. The current release date of episode 24 is wrong, because its written January 4, 2004, the current is December 15th 2003.
December 31: After 32 years, the final episode of Loeki de Leeuw aired. It was a series of stop-motion shorts which served as bumpers before and after commercial breaks on Dutch television.[47]
Specific date unknown
The animated Kotex commercial with the infamous Red Dot, used as the referred "period", gained notoriety for its exploits in front of children owing to their limited understanding, which caused damaging sells to the product as Kimberly-Clark would eliminate the slogan from their marketing campaign to avoid further verbal abuse.[48]
January 1: Yevgeniy Migunov, Russian film director, caricaturist, illustrator, and animator (Karandash and Klyaska - Merry Hunters, Familiar Pictures), dies at age 82.[51][52]
January 8: Eddy Ryssack, Belgian comics artist and animator (Belvision), dies from a heart attack at age 75.[53]
April 1: Sándor Reisenbüchler, Hungarian film director, animator and graphic artist, dies at age 69.[citation needed]
April 14:
Micheline Charest, English-born Canadian television producer (co-founder of CINAR), dies from complications from plastic surgery at age 51.[64][65][66]
July 26: Oğuz Aral, Turkish comics artist, animator, and film director and producer (Koca Yusuf (Yusuf the Wrestler), Direkler Arası (Theater), Bu Şehr-i İstanbul (This City Called Istanbul), Ağustos Böceği ile Karınca (The Cricket and the Ant) ), dies at age 68.[80]
October 25: John Peel, English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist (voice of Announcer in the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "Explode"), dies from a heart attack at age 65.[96]
^Episodes 168 through 195 did not air on television in the United States, but did air in Australia. Episodes 196 to 206 also due not air. These episodes were, however, released on DVD. Episodes 385 onwards also did not air due to low ratings for the previous episodes. However, they were released on DVD as mentioned earlier. Beginning with episode 579 in 2020, Funimation decided to release the every episode on TVoD services.
^Cartoon Network (August 24, 2004), "Samurai Jack Says "Sayonara" with Final Four Episodes During Special Toonami Presentation on Saturday, Sept. 25" (press release)
^"Eddy Ryssack". lambiek.net. Archived December 23, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
^Willis, John & Monush, Barry (2006). Screen World: 2005 Film Annual. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 385. ISBN 978-1-55783-668-7. Archived April 7, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
^"Peggy DeCastro, 82, the Oldest Of the Singing DeCastro Sisters". The New York Times. April 21, 2004. Archived June 9, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-04-12. Peggy DeCastro, the oldest member of the DeCastro Sisters, the Latin singing group that gained fame with the 1950s hit Teach Me Tonight and was a popular attraction at Las Vegas hotels and nightclubs for years, died here on March 6. She was 82. The cause was lung cancer, her manager, Alan Eichler, said.
^McSorley, Tom; Maheux, Anne; Meloche, Jaclyn; Sinclair, Catherine; Tovell, Rosemarie L. (2014). Alma: the life and art of Alma Duncan (1917-2004). Ottawa: Ottawa Art Gallery & Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-894906-49-4.