Portal:Animation

The fandom of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic adopted the name brony (plural bronies), a portmanteau of "bro" and "pony". Though initially considered to propagate the humorous and ironic concept of people enjoying a show for young girls, the fandom has shown deeper appreciation for the show far beyond this concept, and is considered part of a New Sincerity trend. Its technology-savvy members have created numerous works in writing, music, art, and video based on the show, have established websites and fan conventions for the show, and have participated in charitable events around the show and those that create it. The appreciation of the show by an older audience came as a surprise to Hasbro, Faust, and others involved with its development, but they have embraced the older fans while staying focused on the show's intended audience. Such reciprocity has included participation in fan conventions by the show's voice actors and producers, recognition of the brony fandom in official promotional material, and incorporating background characters popularized by the fans (such as the fandom-named "Derpy Hooves") into in-jokes within the show.

• ... that "Arnold's Christmas", now considered one of the most memorable episodes from the animated series Hey Arnold!, was almost rejected by network executives because it depicted the Vietnam War?
• ... that at age 12, Shaylee Mansfield became the first deaf actor to be credited alongside the voice actors for a signed performance in an animated production?
• ... that the 1937 Fleischer Studios strike in New York City was the first major labor strike in the animation industry?
• ... that the Tuca & Bertie episode "The Jelly Lakes" employs a paper-cutout animation that helps to depict abuse in a way that centers the victim's story?
• ... that the stylized animation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was inspired by rough sketches in school notebooks?
• ... that the first lady of the Ivory Coast created an animated kids' show in 1989?

Bill Oakley (born February 27, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animate comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon. He worked on several short term media projects, including writing for the variety show Sunday Best, but was then unemployed for a long period. Oakley and Weinstein eventually penned a spec script for Seinfeld, after which they wrote "Marge Gets a Job", an episode of The Simpsons. Subsequently, the two were hired to write for the show on a permanent basis in 1992. After they wrote episodes such as "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)", "Bart vs. Australia" and "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", the two were appointed executive producers and showrunners for the seventh and eighth seasons of the show. They attempted to include several emotional episodes focusing on the Simpson family, as well as several high-concept episodes such as "Homer's Enemy", "Two Bad Neighbors" and "The Principal and the Pauper", winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for their work. After they left The Simpsons, Oakley and Weinstein created Mission Hill. The show was plagued by promotional issues and was swiftly canceled. They worked as consulting producers on Futurama, then created The Mullets in 2003. The two wrote several unsuccessful TV pilots, and were due to serve as showrunners on Sit Down, Shut Up in 2009. Oakley left the project over a contract dispute. He has since written for The Cleveland Show, without Weinstein. Oakley is married to fellow writer Rachel Pulido.

The Simpsons shorts are a series of 48 one-minute shorts that ran on the variety show The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, before the characters spun off into The Simpsons, their own half-hour prime time show. It features the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The series was created by Matt Groening, who designed the Simpson family and wrote many of the shorts. The shorts first aired on April 19, 1987 starting with "Good Night". The final short to air was "TV Simpsons", originally airing on May 14, 1989. The Simpsons later debuted on December 17, 1989 with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Only a few of these shorts have been released on DVD. "Good Night" was included on The Simpsons Season 1 DVD. Five of these shorts were later used in the clip show episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" on the half-hour show, which was released on the Season 7 DVD. These five shorts were "Good Night", which was featured in its entirety, and portions of "The Perfect Crime", "Space Patrol", "World War III", and "Bathtime". In "You Kent Always Say What You Want", the short "Family Portrait" replaces the entire opening sequence in celebration of the 400th episode. Groening has announced that all of the shorts will be available on mobile phones.

• ...that Jack-Jack Attack is the first Pixar short not to be given a theatrical release?
• ...that pixel artists are featured in an annual juried art show, "Into the Pixel", at the E3 trade show for computer and video game industries?
• ...that critics praised The Spectacular Spider-Man episode "Natural Selection" for its action and fight sequences?

Films released

• 1926 – Felix the Cat Trumps the Ace
• 1927 – The Banker's Daughter (United States)
• 1931 – Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (United States)
• 1936 – The Coo-Coo Nut Grove (United States)
• 1941 – The Mechanical Monsters (United States)
• 1947 – Chip an' Dale (United States)
• 1953 – Cat's A-Weigh (United States)
• 2007 – Shrek The Halls (DreamWorks Animation, Paramount Pictures, United States)
• 2019 – Ejen Ali: The Movie (Malaysia, computer-animated film)

Television series and specials

• 1981 – The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, an American animated television series finishes airing on ABC
• 1986 – M.A.S.K., an American animated television series finishes airing on USA Network
• 1990 – DuckTales, an American animated television series finishes airing in syndication
• 1997 – Beavis and Butt-head, an American animated sitcom television series finishes airing on MTV
• 2005 – Gerald McBoing-Boing, a Canadian animated television series finishes airing on Teletoon

Births

• 1954 – Marty Grabstein, American actor and voice actor