Chronology of Animation 1938

January
Emile Cohl (émile Eugène Jean Louis Courtet) (January 4, 1857–January 20, 1938) (animator, writer, director) dies in Paris. (France)

February
Cleaning House (ss) Robert Allen /MGM.
(drawn animation)
first Captain and the Kids series from MGM (1938-1939)

February
El Mono relojero ("The Monkey Watchmaker") (ss), Quirino Cristiani /Cristiani. (Argentina)
(drawn animation)

February
Tomoharu Katsumata (Katsumata Tomoharu) (director, producer) born in Shimoda City, Shizuoka.

March
Gandy the Goose (ss), John Foster /Terrytoons.
(drawn animation)
first Gandy Goose series (1938-1955)

April
Porky's Hare Hunt (ss), Ben Hardaway /Schlesinger.
(drawn animation)
first appearance of Bugs Bunny (unnamed in this appearance, developed later by other Schlesinger personnel who wanted to use Bug's (Hardaway) bunny)

Willie the Worm (tvss), Chad Grothkopf /National Broadcasting Company.
(drawn animation)
cartoon created for experimental television broadcasts

Michael Bell (voice actor) born in Brooklyn, New York.

May
Barbe-Bleue ("Bluebeard") (ss), Jean Painlevé and René Bertrand. (France)
(clay animation)

June
Hunky and Spunky (ss), Dave Fleischer /Fleischer.
(drawn animation)
first appearance of Hunky and Spunky

John Byner (voice actor) born in New York, New York.

July
Cheese Nappers (ss), Alex Lovy /Lantz.
(drawn animation)
first Baby Face Mouse series

Good Scouts (ss), Jack King /Disney.
(drawn animation)

Pete Rolem and His Cousin (ss)/(adv), Joseph Losey /Loucks & Norling.
(puppet animation)

Harman-Ising Pictures finally closes after sporadic operations for over a year.

September
Porky in Wackyland (ss), Bob Clampett /Schlesinger.
(drawn animation)

A Feud There Was (ss), Tex Avery /Schlesinger.
(drawn animation)
first appearance of Elmer Fudd

The Brave Little Tailor (ss), Burt Gillett /Disney.
(drawn animation)

Don Bluth (director, animator, producer, writer) born in El Paso, Texas.

Fleischer Studios moves to Miami, Florida.

September
Music Man (ss), John Halas and Joy Batchelor /British Animated. (Great Britain)
(drawn animation)

October
Ralph Bakshi (October 28, 1938- ) (director, producer, writer) born in Haifa. (Palestine)

November
Ferdinand the Bull (ss), Dick Rickard /Disney.
(drawn animation)
first Walt Disney Special series (1938 to present)
Academy Award: Best Short Subjects, Cartoons

The Night Watchman (ss), Charles M. Jones /Schlesinger.
(drawn animation)
first Sniffles series (1938-1945)

Amadee J. Van Beuren (July 10, 1880-November 12, 1938) (producer) dies in Carmel, New York.

December
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (ss), Wilfred Jackson /Disney.
(drawn animation)

no date
Aventuras de Virgolino ("The Adventures of Virgolino") (ss), Luiz Sa. (Brazil)
(drawn animation)
first Virgolino series (1938-1939)

Desplumando avestruces ("Plucking Ostriches") (ss), Juan Oliva /Compana Argentina. (Argentina)
(drawn animation)

Juan Oliva founds Compana Argentina de Dibujos Animados. (Argentina)

Len Carlson (Len Carlsen) (1938-January 26, 2006) (voice actor) born. (Canada)

no date
"Aziza and Youness in El Sheik Barakat's Book" (ss), Antoine Selim Ibrahim. (Egypt)
(drawn animation)

Kot v sapogakh [Кот В Сапогах] ("Cat in Boots", "Puss 'n Boots") (ss), Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg /Soyuzmultfilm. (Soviet Union [Russia])
(drawn animation)

Love on the Wing (ss)/(adv), Norman Mclaren /GPO Film. (Great Britain)
(drawn animation)

Malen'kii muk (ss), Olga Khodataeva /Soyuzmultfilm. (Soviet Union [Russia])
(drawn animation)

Philips Broadcast of 1938 ("The Big Broadcast") (ss)/(adv), George Pal /Pal. (Netherlands)
(puppet animation)

Pyos i kot [Пёс И Кот] ("Shunn u Katun"; "A Dog and a Cat") (ss), Lev Atamanov /Yerevan. (Soviet Union [Armenia])
(drawn animation)

"The Race of the Rabbit and the Hedgehog" (ss), Ferdinand and Hermann Diehl /Diehl-Film. (Germany)
(puppet animation)

South Sea Sweethearts (ss)/(adv), George Pal /Pal. (Netherlands)
(puppet animation)

Tri musketera ("The Three Musketeers") (ss), Ivan Ivanov-Vano /Soyuzmultfilm. (Soviet Union [Russia])
(drawn animation)

Zurnal politsatiry N.1 ("Journal for Political Satire No. 1") (ss) Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Alexander Ivanov /Soyuzmultfilm. (Soviet Union [Russia])
(drawn animation)

Walter R. Booth (animator, director) dies in Birmingham. (Great Britain)

Hispano Grafic Films established in Barcelona. (Spain)

Note: Unfortunately I lack the time or resources to help people find copies of animated films and television programs. I have put together a web List of Online Video and Book Stores that will be useful to find copies in the United States. There are other similar stores on the Internet around the world that might be able to supply the DVDs, LDs, or video tapes that are desired. Check my Animation on the World Wide Web pages for links to animation studios and other Internet resources that may have further information. I am not involved in trading materials from my own collection. I am still waiting to see most of the programs in this Chronology and would be happy to find sources for many of them.

Because of these circumstances I will not respond to requests for help to find these types of materials.

Continue to 1939

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