Nedward "Ned" Flanders is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally loathed by Homer Simpson. A devout Christian, he is amongst the friendliest and most compassionate Springfield citizens and is generally considered a pillar of the Springfield community. He was one of the first characters outside of the immediate Simpson family to appear on the show, and has since been central to several episodes, the first being season two's "Dead Putting Society". His last name comes from Flanders St. in Portland, Oregon, the hometown of Simpsons creator Matt Groening. When he was created, he was intended to just be a neighbor who was very nice, but whom Homer loathed.

• ... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
• ... that, for the animated film Us Again, director and writer Zach Parrish considered a video of an elderly couple dancing to be visceral and ideal inspiration?
• ... that the 1937 Fleischer Studios strike in New York City was the first major labor strike in the animation industry?
• ... that the interactive cartoon Cat Burglar takes about 15 minutes to watch, but features 90 minutes of animation?
• ... 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 French animated film The Summit of the Gods is based on a Japanese manga series?

Steven Ross Purcell (born 1961) is an American cartoonist, animator and game designer. He is most widely known as the creator of Sam & Max, an independent comic book series about a pair of anthropomorphic animal vigilantes and private investigators, for which Purcell received an Eisner Award in 2007. The series has since grown to incorporate an animated television series and several video games. He performed freelance work for Marvel Comics and Fishwrap Productions before publishing his first Sam & Max comic in 1987. Purcell was hired by LucasArts as an artist and animator in 1988, working on several titles within the company's adventure games era. Purcell collaborated with Nelvana to create a Sam & Max television series in 1997, and briefly worked as an animator for Industrial Light & Magic after leaving LucasArts. He is currently employed in the story development department at Pixar. His main work for the animation studio has been with the 2006 film Cars and spin-off materials such as shorts and video games. Despite his employment with Pixar, Purcell has continued to work with comic books and came together with Telltale Games in 2005 to bring about new series of Sam & Max video games.

The Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game is awarded annually by ASIFA-Hollywood, a non-profit organization that honors contributions to animation, to the best animated video game of the year. It is one of the Annie Awards, which are given to the best contributions to animation, including producers, directors, and voice actors. The Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game was created in 2005, and has been awarded yearly since. To be eligible for the award, the game must have been released in the year before the next Annie Awards ceremony, and the developers of the game must send a five-minute DVD that shows the gameplay and graphics of the game to a committee appointed by the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood. As of 2011, the Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game has been awarded to five video games. The video game development company THQ has had six of its games nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game, and one of them, Ratatouille, has won the award.

• ...that Snake 'n' Bacon are a pair of cartoon characters, a snake and a strip of bacon, whose conversations are limited to hissing (on Snake's part) and making bacon-related comments (on Bacon's part)?
• ...that before beginning a career in animation, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh (pictured) worked as a vice president of sales and marketing for a computer company, where he "freaked out" and decided to quit?
• ...that A Jewish Girl in Shanghai, an animated film set in and around the Shanghai Ghetto, has been described as "China’s first homegrown Jewish film"?

Events

• 1977 – Nickelodeon, a children's channel, launches as The Pinwheel Network.

Films released

• 1922 – Felix Gets Left (United States)
• 1923 – Felix the Goat-Getter (United States)
• 1924 – Alice and the Three Bears (United States)
• 1924 – Felix Goes Hungry (United States)
• 1925 – James and Gems (United States)
• 1931 – The Restless Sax (United States)
• 1934 – Pop Goes Your Heart (United States)
• 1937 – A Sunbonnet Blue (United States)
• 1945 – Nasty Quacks (United States)
• 1950 – The Farmer and the Belle (United States)
• 1951 – Big Top Bunny (United States)
• 1960 – Carmen Get It! (United States)
• 1967 – Family Planning (United States)
• 1995 – Jesus vs. Santa (United States)

Television series and specials

• 1959 – Crusader Rabbit, the first American animated television series finishes airing in syndication
• 1966 – The Marvel Super Heroes, an American animated television series based on the Marvel Comics characters finishes airing in syndication
• 1989 – The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and The Legend of Zelda, an American animated television series based on the Nintendo video game characters Mario and Zelda finishes airing in syndication
• 1990 – Alvin and the Chipmunks, an American animated television series finishes airing on NBC
• 1990 – The Wizard of Oz, an American animated television series finishes airing on ABC