Events in 1961 in animation.
Events
January
January 24: Voice actor Mel Blanc suffers a car accident which leaves him in a coma for two weeks. He is brought back to consciousness by addressing his Looney Tunes characters, in whose voices he replies. January 25: Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians premieres, directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske and Clyde Geronimi. January 30: The first episode of The Yogi Bear Show is broadcast, marking the debuts of Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle.
February
February 20: Wolfgang Reitherman's Goofy cartoon Aquamania premieres. February 25: The first episode of Art Clokey's Davey and Goliath is broadcast.
April
April 17: 33rd Academy Awards: Munro wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
May
May 1: The first episode of Otogi Manga Calendar is broadcast, the first anime TV series.
June
June 21: Hamilton Luske's The Litterbug, the final theatrical Donald Duck cartoon premieres.
August
August: The first episode of Pingwings is broadcast.
September
September 7: Switchin' Kitten, the first Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Gene Deitch premieres. September 15: The Flintstones episode The Hit Song Writers is first broadcast, guest starring Hoagy Carmichael. September 24: The first episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color premieres, in which Ludwig von Drake makes his debut. September 27: The first episode of Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat is broadcast. The first episode of Jay Ward's Dudley Do-Right is broadcast.
October
October 4: The first episode of The Alvin Show is broadcast.
Specific date unknown
Bagdasarian Productions is founded by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. to produce works based on his fictional characters, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Their first production was the animated series The Alvin Show. Lev Atamanov's The Key premieres. Arthur Lipsett's Very Nice, Very Nice premieres.
Films released
January 25 - One Hundred and One Dalmatians (United States) March 5 - The Coyote's Lament (United States) June 28 - Cipollino (Soviet Union) July 19 - The Orphan Brother (Japan) December 8 - The Strange History of the Citizens of Shilda (East Germany) Specific date unknown - The Key (Soviet Union)
Television series
January 1 - The Dick Tracy Show debuts in syndication. January 30 - The Yogi Bear Show debuts in syndication. April 3 - Minna no Uta debuts on NHK. May 1 - Otogi Manga Calendar debuts on TBS. September - The Dudley Do-Right Show debuts on ABC. September 1 - Tales of the Wizard of Oz debuts in syndication. September 27 - Top Cat debuts on ABC. October 3 - Calvin and the Colonel debuts on ABC. October 4 - The Alvin Show debuts on ABC and NBC. Specific date unknown: Out of the Inkwell and The Underseas Explorers debut in syndication. The Pingwings debuts on ITV.