Events in 1983 in animation.
Events
February
February 3: The first Dutch animated feature film Als Je Begrijpt Wat Ik Bedoel (The Dragon That Wasn't (Or Was He?)) is first released. It is based on Marten Toonder's comics series Tom Poes and produced by Rob Houwer and Topcraft.
March
March 11: Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore premieres, produced by the Walt Disney Company. March 19: Tomoharu Katsumata's Final Yamato, the longest animated feature film ever at 163 minutes, is first released. March 31: Monty Python's Meaning of Life premieres which has animated opening credits and intermezzos by Terry Gilliam.
April
April 4: The first episode of Mrs. Pepperpot is broadcast, based on the Norwegian children's book series of the same name by Alf Prøysen. April 11: 55th Academy Awards: Tango by Zbigniew Rybczyński wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. April 15: Clive A. Smith's Rock & Rule is first released, the first film produced by the Canadian animation company Nelvana. MGM/UA picked up the film, reducing the mature content and changing the script for Omar to make it more fitting for the United States release. The release for its Canadian home country premieres uncut four months later. April 18: Disney Channel is launched.
July
July 21: Mori Masaki's Barefoot Gen, based on the manga series by Keiji Nakazawa, is first released.
August
August 5: The film Twice Upon a Time premieres. There’s been production battles between John Korty’s family-friendly version and Marshall Efron’s edgy version, as Korty urged distributors to release his version instead of Efron’s. August 26: Ralph Bakshi and Tom Tataranowicz's Fire and Ice premieres.
September
September 1: The first episode of Donald Duck Presents is broadcast. September 5: The first episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is broadcast. September 10: The first episode of Rubik, the Amazing Cube, an animated series based on the popularity of the Rubik's Cube is broadcast but will be cancelled after only one season. September 12: The first episode of Henry's Cat is broadcast. The first episode of Inspector Gadget is broadcast. September 17: The first episode of Alvin and the Chipmunks is broadcast. The first episode of Mr. T, an animated series based on and starring Mr. T , is broadcast. The first episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show is broadcast on CBS.
October
October 3: The first episode of Bananaman is broadcast, based on Steve Bright, Dave Donald and John Geering's eponymous comic strip.
December
December 16: The first Mickey Mouse short in 30 years, Mickey's Christmas Carol is first released in theaters.
Specific date unknown
Jan Švankmajer releases Dimensions of Dialogue. The first episode of Hanna-Barbera's Lucky Luke, based on the eponymous Belgian comic strip by Morris, is broadcast.