Events in 1998 in animation.
Events
February
February 24: The Cow and Chicken season 2 episode "Buffalo Gals" airs as it gained controversy and was quickly pulled for lesbian stereotyping and sexual innuendo.
March
March 15: The first episode of PB&J Otter airs. March 23: 70th Academy Awards: Geri's Game by Jan Pinkava wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
April
April 3: The first episode of Cowboy Bebop airs. April 4: The first episodes of CatDog and Yu-Gi-Oh! air. April 13: The final episode of Stickin' Around airs. April 20: The first episode of Stressed Eric airs. April 26: The Simpsons airs its 200th episode, "Trash of the Titans", guest starring the band U2 and actor Steve Martin.
May
May 14: The first episode of Celebrity Deathmatch is broadcast. May 15: Quest for Camelot is released. May 28: American voice actor Phil Hartman (voice of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz in The Simpsons) is murdered by his wife who was under the influence of drugs, and committed suicide afterward.
June
June 19: The Walt Disney Company releases Mulan. June 22: The first episode of Bob and Margaret is broadcast.
July
July 19: The first episode of Oh Yeah! Cartoons airs. July 21: The first episode of Lascars airs. July 24: Roy O. Disney receives a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
August
August 18: The Rugrats episode "The Word of the Day" premieres on Nickelodeon. August 31: The first episode of Disney's Hercules is broadcast.
September
September 1 - The first episodes of Cousin Skeeter and The Wild Thornberrys air. September 4: The first episode of Archibald the Koala airs. September 6: The first episode of Oggy and the Cockroaches airs. September 12: The first episode of Godzilla: The Series airs. September 14: The first episode of Histeria! airs. September 22: Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is released. This marks the first reunion of the Mystery Gang since The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries in 1984. The film makes it's television debut on Cartoon Network's Cartoon Theatre on Halloween this year. September 27: The Simpsons episode "Bart the Mother" premieres, featuring the last speaking appearance of Troy McClure after Phil Hartman's death on May 28, 1998. The character was retired after this episode. This is also the last episode David X. Cohen wrote before leaving the series to work on Futurama. However, he later wrote the season 32 episode "Podcast News" in 2020.
October
October 2: DreamWorks Animation's first film, Antz, directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson, is released. October 3: The first episode of Anatole airs. October 4: - The first episode of Rolie Polie Olie airs. October 5: The first episode of Ojarumaru airs. October 9: The first episode of The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald airs. Specific date unknown: The Japanese animation studio Bones is founded.
November
November 2: Chris Wedge's Bunny is first released. November 8: The Simpsons episode "When You Dish Upon a Star" premieres, which had a cutaway at the end which showed the 20th Century Fox studio with "A division of The Walt Disney Co." at the bottom of the studio sign. This episode would get renewed attention 20 years later after Disney's acquisition of Fox in 2019. November 16: Steamboat Willie is added to the National Film Registry. An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island, the direct-to-video sequel to An American Tail, premieres in United Kingdom. This film for the United States release went into delay for over a year due to Native American actress Elaine Bilstad died of a heart problem two months later. Some countries, including Germany and Japan, released it as the next film after The Mystery of the Night Monster. November 18: The first episode of The Powerpuff Girls airs on Cartoon Network. It became one of the most popular cartoons on the network in the decade. November 20: Paramount Pictures The Rugrats Movie premieres. The film received mixed reviews and gained some notoriety for its thematic material subjecting in a G-rated movie at its time. The film A Bug's Life by Pixar and the Walt Disney Company airs. There was a legal battle between Pixar and DreamWorks regarding the comparisons with this film and Antz. November 28: The first episode of Bob the Builder airs.
December
December 9: Michel Ocelot's Kirikou and the Sorceress premieres. December 16: The South Park episode "Gnomes" first airs, in which Tweek Meak makes his debut. December 18: The film The Prince of Egypt premieres. December 21: The first episode of Rex the Runt airs. December 23: Enzo D'Alò's Lucky and Zorba premieres.