Events in 1951 in animation.
Events
January
January 6: Hanna-Barbera's Tom & Jerry cartoon Casanova Cat premieres, produced by MGM.
February
February 3: Friz Freleng's Tweety & Sylvester cartoon Canned Feud premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
March
March 10: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Bunny Hugged premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons in which Bugs participates in a wrestling match. March 29: 23rd Academy Awards: John Hubley's Gerald McBoing-Boing, produced by UPA, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
April
April 7: Hanna-Barbera's Tom & Jerry cartoon Jerry's Cousin premieres, produced by MGM.
May
May 19: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck short Rabbit Fire premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, the first short in his Hunting Season trilogy. It also marks a significant change in Daffy's personality, where the originally mad character now transforms into a more selfish, unsympathetic loser. May 26: Hanna-Barbera's Tom & Jerry short Sleepy-Time Tom premieres, produced by MGM.
June
June 16: Chuck Jones' Chow Hound premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Tex Avery's Symphony in Slang premieres, produced by MGM.
July
July 7: Hanna-Barbera's Tom & Jerry cartoon His Mouse Friday premieres, produced by MGM. This particular short was deemed controversial for its heavy depictions of African American stereotypes as its availability became limited since the 1990s. July 26: The Walt Disney Company releases Alice in Wonderland, produced by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske.
Fall
The U.S. government educational short Duck and Cover, by Anthony Rizzo, begins airing in U.S. schools. The film teaches children what to do in case of a nuclear attack and features an animated sequence starring Bert the Turtle.
November
November 15: John Hubley's Rooty Toot Toot, produced by UPA, premieres. November 17: Chuck Jones' Daffy Duck cartoon Drip-Along Daffy premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It marks the debut of recurring villain Nasty Canasta. Tex Avery's Droopy cartoon Droopy's Double Trouble premieres, produced by MGM in which confusion arises around Droopy's twin brother.
December
December 29: Jack Kinney's Goofy cartoon No Smoking, produced by the Walt Disney Company, premieres. It is controversial and rarely broadcast because the plot revolves around Goofy trying to quit smoking.
Specific date unknown
Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg's The Night Before Christmas premieres.
Films released
January 13 - Amazon Symphony (Brazil) January 26 - Prince Bayaya (Czechoslovakia) July 26 - Alice in Wonderland (United States) December 31 - The Night Before Christmas (Soviet Union)
Births
January
January 12: Rush Limbaugh, American conservative political commentator (voice of a Galactical Political Commentator and The Rancor in the Family Guy episodes "Blue Harvest" and "It's a Trap!", voiced himself in the Family Guy episode "Excellence in Broadcasting"), (d. 2021). January 30: Phil Collins, English drummer and musician (wrote and sang the songs in Tarzan and Brother Bear), and actor (voice of Muk and Luk in Balto, Lucky in The Jungle Book 2).