Chronology of Animation 1961

January
101 Dalmatians (f), Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi /Disney.
(drawn animation)

February
Aquamania (ss), Wolfgang Reitherman /Disney.
(drawn animation)

Bruce W. Timm (February 8, 1961- ) (producer, director, writer, character designer, storyboard artist, voice actor) born.

April
Alvin's First Flight (ss) Seymour Kneitel /Famous.
(drawn animation)
(first of two Little Lulu cartoons coproduced by Marjorie H. Buell)

April
Chiaka Konaka (Chiaka J. Konaka, Konaka Chiaka) [小中千昭] (writer) born in Tokyo.

April
Gaemiwa Bejjangi ("The Grasshopper and the Ant") (ss), Han Seong-hak, Park Yeong-il and Jeong Do-bin /Geukrim Movie Productions. (South Korea)
(drawn animation)

Peter Chung (Peter Kunshik Chiung) (character designer, director, writer, storyboard artist, animator) born in Seoul. (South Korea)

June
Mary Kay Bergman (June 5, 1961-November 11, 1999) (voice actress) born in Los Angeles, California.

June
Kouichi Yamadera (Yamadera Kouichi) [山寺宏一] (voice actor) born in Miyagi.

Osamu Tezuka founds Tezuka Osamu Production to make animated films.

July
Anju to Zushio-maru ("Anju and Zushio-maru"; "The Littlest Warrior"; "The Orphan Brother") (f), Taiji Yabushita /Toei.
(drawn animation)

Yasuhiro Imagawa (Imagawa Yasuhiro 今川泰宏) (director, writer) born in Osaka.

Noburo Ofuji (Ofuji Noburo 大藤信郎) (June 1, 1900-July 28, 1961) (director, animator, character designer) dies.

August
The Pied Piper of Guadalupe (ss), Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt /Warner Bros.
(drawn animation)

September
The Dick Tracy Show (tv)/(tvss), UPA.
(drawn animation)

Top Cat (tv), Hanna-Barbera.
(drawn animation)

The Yogi Bear Show (tv), Hanna-Barbera.
(drawn animation)
contains; Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo (tvss), Snagglepuss (tvss), and Yakky Doodle (tvss).

September
Munro (ss), Gene Deitch /Rembrandt. (Czechoslovakia [Czech Republic])
(drawn animation)
Academy Award: Best Short Subjects, Cartoons

Switchin' Kitten (ss), Gene Deitch /Rembrandt. (Czechoslovakia [Czech Republic])
(drawn animation)
first Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry cartoon for MGM

September
Yumi Takada (Takada Yumi [高田由美]) (September 21, 1961- ) (voice actress, singer) born in Tokyo.

October
The Alvin Show (tv), Format Films and Bagdasarian Film.
(drawn animation)
contains: Alvin (tvss) and Clyde Crashcup (tvss)

Calvin and the Colonel (tv)/(tvss), Kayro Production.
(drawn animation)
various shorts based on the old Amos and Andy radio show, transformed into animals

Jodi Benson (voice actress, singer) born in Rockford. Illinois.

October
Michie Tomizawa (Tomizawa Michie) (voice actress, singer) born in Nagano.

November
Beep Prepared (ss), Charles M. Jones /Warner Bros.
(drawn animation)

November
Arthur Melbourne-Cooper (director, animator, producer) dies in Barnet, Hertfordshire. (Great Britain)

December
Nelly's Folly (ss), Charles M. Jones /Warner Bros.
(drawn animation)

December
Curt Linda founds Linda-Film Produktion in Munich. (Federal Republic of Germany [Germany])

December
Nobuteru Yuki (Yuki Nobuteru) (character designer, animator) born in Tokyo.

no date
Of Stars and Men (sf), John Hubley /John and Faith Hubley Film.
(drawn animation)

Popeye (tv)/(tvss), Jack Kenney Studios, Paramount, and Rembrandt Studios.
(drawn animation)

Tales of the Wizard of Oz (tv), Videocraft.
(drawn animation)

Bruce W. Smith (Bruce Smith) (director, animator, producer, writer, character designer) born in Los Angeles, California.

MGM hires Gene Deitch (Rembrandt Films) to make cartoons in Czechoslovakia [Czech Republic] for distribution in the United States.

no date
La pared ("The Wall") (ss), Catu. (Argentina)
(drawn animation)

no date
Bolshiye Problemi ("Great Troubles") (f), Valentina Brumberg and Zinaida Brumberg /Soyuzmultifilm. (Soviet Union [Russia])
(drawn animation)

Die Gartenzwerge ("The Garden Dwarves") (ss), Wolfgang Urchs. (Federal Republic of Germany [Germany])
(drawn animation)

Klyuch [Ключ] ("The Key") (f), Lev Atamanov /Soyuzmultifilm. (Soviet Union [Russia])
(drawn animation)

La lunga calza verde ("The Long Green Stocking") (f), Roberto Gavioli /Gamma. (Italy)
(drawn animation)

Pirospöttyös labda ("The Ball with White Dots") (ss), Tibor Csermák /Pannoniafilm. (Hungary)
(drawn animation)

Die Seltsame Historia von den Schiltburgern ("The Strange Story of the Inhabitants of Schiltsburg") (f), Johannes Hempel /Defa. (People's Republic of Germany [Germany])
(puppet animation)

Surogat ("Ersatz") (ss), Dusan Vukotic /Zagreb Film Studio. (Yugoslavia [Croatia])
(drawn animation)
Academy Award: Best Short Subjects, Cartoons

Paul Berry (animator) born. (Great Britain)

no date
Shaka no Shogai ("The Life of Buddha") (f), Noburo Ofuji /Sanko.
(cutout animation)

First Animation Sannin no Kai ("Animation Group of Three") festival held in Tokyo. This series sponsored independent animation in Japan until 1971.

no date
Da'nao tiangong ("Confusion in the Sky"; "Uproar in Heaven") [Part 1] (f), Wan Laiming /Shanghai Animation. (China)
(drawn animation)

"The Spirit of Ginseng" (ss), Wan Guchan /Shanghai Animation. (China)
(cut-out animation)

Xiao Kedou Zhao Mama [小蝌蚪找妈妈] ("The Tadpoles in Search of Their Mama") (ss), Te Wei and Qian Jajun /Shanghai Animation. (China)
(drawn animation)

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 1962

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