Events in 2008 in animation.
Events
February
February 4: The first episode of The Mr. Men Show airs. February 11: Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues premieres at the Berlin International Film Festival. February 18: Nickelodeon celebrates the revival of the show The Fairly OddParents with the television film "Fairly OddBaby". 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 8: Doraemon: Nobita and The Green Giant Legend is released. 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. March 23: Futurama returns to the air on Comedy Central after being cancelled in 2003.
May
May 15: During the Cannes Film Festival, Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir premiers.
June
June 6: Kung Fu Panda, directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by DreamWorks Animation, is first released. June 20: Canadian animation and entertainment studio Cookie Jar Entertainment announces a merger with DIC Entertainment.
July
July 18: "Sozin's Comet", the series finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender is released. July 19: Ponyo, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli, is first released in Japan. July 23: Cookie Jar's purchase and merger with DIC Entertainment is completed. DIC is later folded into Cookie Jar's operations.
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.
October
October 11: "Clash of the Pharoahs", the series finale of Tutenstein is released.
November
November 13: 3-2-1 Penguins! airs its final episode on Qubo. November 21: The Walt Disney Company releases Bolt. November 28: The Penguins of Madagascar premieres on Nickelodeon.
December
December 9: André 3000, the creator of Class of 3000, was sued for numerous production problems as the cartoon was cancelled last December. It was the victim of Cartoon Network’s regime change that was responsible for the infamous Boston Bomb Scare, which was perpetrated by former Vice-President Jim Samples about two year earlier. The cartoon was withdrawn from subsequent broadcast owing to this issue. December 22: The first episode of The Garfield Show airs. December 30: Free Radicals is added to the National Film Registry.
Awards
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
Animation Kobe Feature Film Award: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
Annecy International Animated Film Festival Cristal du long métrage: Sita Sings the Blues Annie Award for Best Animated Feature: Kung Fu Panda Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film: Waltz with Bashir BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film: WALL-E Goya Award for Best Animated Film: The Missing Lynx Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year: Ponyo Japan Media Arts Festival Animation Grand Prize: La Maison en Petits Cubes Mainichi Film Awards - Animation Grand Award: The Sky Crawlers