Chronology of Animation 1956
Return to 1955
United States The Americas (excluding U.S.) Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
 Japan
 		 Australasia (excluding Japan)
January
Robby Benson (Robin David Segal) (January 21, 1956- ) (voice actor) born in Dallas, Texas.

January
Akitaro Daichi (Daichi Akitaro 大地 丙太郎) (January 13, 1956- ) (director, writer, animator, storyboard artist) born in Takasaki, Gunma.
February
Gerald McBoing Boing on Planet Moo (ss), Robert Cannon /UPA.
(drawn animation)



March
Dana Delany (Dana Welles Delany) (voice actress) born in New York, New York.

Rob Paulsen (Robert Fredrick Paulsen) (March 11, 1956- ) (voice actor) born in Detroit, Michigan.

March
Tomoko Konparu (Konparu Tomoko 金春 智子) (March 13, 1956- ) (writer, storyboard artist) born in Nara, Nara Prefecture.
April
The Ostrich and I (ss), Alex Lovy /Lantz.
(drawn animation)
first Maggie and Sam series (1956-1957)



May
The Jaywalker (ss), Robert Cannon /UPA.
(drawn animation)

 May
The Peppermint Prince (tv), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
(drawn animation)
live action show with theatrical cartoons from various studios
May
Yoshiko Sakakibara (Sakakibara Yoshiko) (voice actress) born in Chiba.
June
CBS Cartoon Theatre (tv), CBS.
cartoon anthology program



United States The Americas (excluding U.S.) Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
 Japan
 		 Australasia (excluding Japan)
July
Magoo's Puddle Jumper (ss), Pete Burness /UPA.
(drawn animation)
Academy Award: Best Short Subjects, Cartoons

July
The Toei Film Company acquires and renames Nihon Doga, Toei Doga (later Toei Animation). Sanae Yamamoto is retained as head of production for the studio. Toei executive Hiroshi Okawa becomes the president of the studio.
August
Robot Rumble (tvss), Art Clokey /Clokey.
(clay animation, some model animation)
first Gumby cartoon which appeared on the Howdy Doody Show

August
Mika Doi (Doi Mika, Mika Itou, Itou Mika) (voice actress, singer) born in Sendai, Miyagi.
October
The Heckle and Jeckle Show (tv), Terrytoons.
collection of theatrical shorts

Craig Bartlett (October 18, 1956- ) (director, writer, producer, voice actor) born in Seattle, Washington.

October
Toshihiro Hirano (Toshiaki Hirano, Hirano Toshiaki, Hirano Toshihiro) (director, character designer, writer, storyboard artist) born in Osaka.
November
Our Mr. Sun (tvsp)/(edu), Frank Capra and William T. Hurtz (animation) /Frank Capra Productions and UPA.
(live action and some animation)
first Bell Laboratory Science series (1956-1964)
later animation in the series was produced by Shamus Culhane Productions and Disney
November
Jimmy Hibbert (November 23, 1956- ) (voice actor, writer) born at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. (Great Britain)

 November
Chibikuro Sambo no Tora Taiji [ちびくろさんぼのとらたいじ] ("Little Black Sambo versus the Tiger") (ss), Tadahito Mochinaga /Ningyo Eiga Seisaku-jo.
(model animation)
December
The Gerald McBoing McBoing Show (tv), UPA.
(drawn animation)
various theatrical UPA cartoons with some made for television cartoons

Bill Nolan (William C. Nolan) (director, animator) dies in Sawtelle, California.

December
Michihisa Abe (Abe Michihisa) (producer) born.
United States The Americas (excluding U.S.) Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
 Japan
 		 Australasia (excluding Japan)
no date
The Adventures of Pow Wow (tvss), Sam Singer Productions.
(drawn animation)
appeared within the Captain Kangaroo program

Petroushka (tvss), John Wilson.
(drawn animation)

Famous Studios renamed Paramount Studios.

 no date
Cordell Barker (director, animator, producer, writer) born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Canada)

 no date
The Battle of Wangapore (ss), John Daborn. (Great Britain)
(drawn animation)

Dvenadtzat Mesyatsev [Двенадцать Месяцев] ("The Twelve Months") (sf), Ivan Ivanov-Vano /Soyuzmultifilm. (Soviet Union [Russia])
(drawn animation)

Une fée... pas comme les autres ("Il paese di Paperino"; "The Secret of Magic Island") (f), Jean Tourane /Cino Del Duca. (France/Italy)
(drawn animation)

The Figurehead (ss), John Halas and Joy Batchelor /Halas and Batchelor. (Great Britain)
(model animation)

Ilya Muromets [Илья Муромец] ("The Sword and the Dragon" and "The Epic Hero and the Beast")(f), Alexander Ptushko /Mosfilm. (Soviet Union [Russia])
(live action, part model animation)

Indian Fantasy ("Around the World in Eighty Days") (ss), Hector Hoppin and Anthony Gross /London Films. (Great Britain)
(drawn animation)
This film was produced during the late 1930s as part of an attempt to make a feature version of "Around the World in Eighty Days". World War II interrupted the production which was never completed. The British Film Institute edited the completed film into this production.

Des Kaisers neue Kleider ("The Emperor's New Clothes") (ss), Herbert K. Schulz /DEFA Animation. (People's Republic of Germany [Germany])
(model animation)

"The Man from the Other World" (ss), Aron Aronov /Sofia Animation. (Bulgaria)
(model animation)

Nestasni robot ("Playful Robot") (ss), Dusan Vukotic /Zagreb Film. (Yugoslavia [Croatia])
(drawn animation)

Scurta istorie ("A Secret History") (ss), Ion Popesco-Gopo. (Romania)
(drawn animation)

Stvoreni Sveta ("The Creation of the World") (f), Eduard Hofman /Barrandov. (Czechoslovakia [Czech Republic])
(drawn animation)

Mike Young (Michael Young) (producer) born in Barry, Wales. (Great Britain)

Zagreb Film opens an animation division directed by Dusan Vukotic. (Yugoslavia [Croatia])

First Journées internationales du cinéma d'animation (JICA) held in Cannes. This was the first major festival devoted to animation. In 1960, it became a separate festival held in Annecy. (France)

 no date
Yurei sen [幽霊船] ("The Phantom Ship") (ss), Noburo Ofuji /Chiyogami Eigasha.
(drawn animation)

Hideyuki Motohashi (Motohashi Hideyuki, 本橋秀之) (1956- ) (animator, character designer) born.

Ryuichi Yokoyama names his animation business Otogi Production.

Tadahito Mochinaga forms a model animation studio, Ningyo Eiga Seisaku-jo.

 no date
Why Is the Crow Black-Coated (ss), Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan /Shanghai Animation. (China)
(drawn animation)
first color cartoon made in China

Animated toothpaste commercial made for television by Mun Dal-bu. This is the earliest known South Korean animation known to have been released. (South Korea)

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 1957 Last update: April 8, 2012
Comments to: Richard Llewellyn
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