1978

Return from Witch Mountain

The-cat-from-outer-space

The Small One Title

Matterhorn yeti

Hot Lead and Cold Feet

An overview of all Disney-related events that occurred in the year 1978.

Theatrical releases

Feature films

February 10 - Candleshoe
March 10 - Return from Witch Mountain
June - In Search of the Castaways (re-issue)
June 9
- The Cat from Outer Space
- The Jungle Book (re-issue)
July 5 - Hot Lead and Cold Feet
December 16 - Pinocchio (re-issue)

Shorts

March - The Eyes Have It (re-issue)
July 5 - The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad
September 1 - Alice in Wonderland: A Lesson in Appreciating Differences
September 3 - Lady and the Tramp: A Lesson in Sharing Attention
September 4 - Pinocchio: A Lesson in Honesty
September 5 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Lesson in Cooperation
December 16 - The Small One

Events

November 23 - The Mickey Mouse balloon makes its eighth appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Character debuts

Theme parks

June - Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland reopens after improvements have been made to the interior, adding the Yeti (three of them), an ice cavern with glowing crystals and snow storms.
July 14 - The American Egg House restaurant opens on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland.
September 1 - The Stage Door Café restaurant opens in Frontierland at Disneyland.

Television

November 19 - Mickey's 50 airs on NBC.

Books

Donald Duck, Instant Millionaire

Home video releases

LaserDisc releases

December - On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends
MCA released several Disney laserdiscs

People

Births

January 24 - Kristen Schaal (actress, voice actress-comedian, and writer)
January 26 - Kelly Stables (actress and voice actress)
February 2 - Eden Espinosa (actress and singer)
February 7 - Ashton Kutcher (actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model)
February 14 - Danai Gurira (actress and playwright)
February 20 - Jay Hernandez (actor and fashion model)
February 21 - Kumail Nanjiani (comedian, actor, screenwriter, and podcaster)
March 4 - Geno Segers (actor)
March 17 - Patrick Seitz (voice actor, ADR director, and script writer)
April 15 - Chris Stapleton (singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer)
April 19 - James Franco (actor, director, producer, and writer)
April 28 - Robert Oliveri (actor)
April 29 - Tyler Labine (actor and voice actor)
May 10 - Kenan Thompson (actor, voice actor, and comedian)
May 12 - Jason Biggs (actor and comedian)
May 15 - David Krumholtz (actor, voice actor, comedian, and producer)
May 22 - Ginnifer Goodwin (actress and voice actress)
June 2
- Justin Long (actor, comedian, and humorist)
- Nikki Cox (actress and voice actress)
- Dominic Cooper (actor)
June 7 - Bill Hader (actor, voice actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director)
June 11 - Joshua Jackson (actor)
June 12
- Shiloh Strong (actor, screenwriter, photographer, and film director)
- Timothy Simons (actor, voice actor, and comedian)
June 16 - Daniel Brühl (actor and filmmaker)
June 19 - Zoë Saldaña (actress and dancer)
June 29 - Nicole Scherzinger (singer and actress)
July 1 - Hillary Tuck (actress)
July 6 - Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry (twin actresses)
July 12 - Topher Grace (actor)
July 19
- R.J. Williams (actor, voice actor, television host, television producer, and entrepreneur)
- Chiara Zanni (comedian, actress, voice actress, and singer)
July 23 - Travis Oates (actor, voice actor, director, and writer)
August 7 - Alex Timbers (writer and director)
August 18 - Andy Samberg (actor, voice actor, comedian, writer, rapper, and producer)
August 21 - Christopher Willis (composer)
August 22 - James Corden (actor, comedian, writer, producer, and presenter)
August 23 - Andrew Rannells (actor, voice actor, comedian, and singer)
August 25 - Kel Mitchell (actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, rapper, and singer)
September 4 - Wes Bentley (actor)
September 18 - Billy Eichner (comedian, actor, voice actor, writer, and television personality)
September 23 - Anthony Mackie (actor)
October 4 - Dana Davis (actress and voice actress)
October 7 - Omar Benson Miller (actor)
October 14 - Usher (singer, songwriter, dancer, businessman, philanthropist, and actor)
October 26 - Jac Schaeffer (screenwriter, producer, and director)
November 12 - Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (filmmaker, director, journalist, and activist)
November 17
- Rachel McAdams (actress)
- Nonso Anozie (actor)
November 23 - Destin Daniel Cretton (film director and screenwriter)
November 24 - Katherine Heigl (actress and producer)
November 28 - Aimee Garcia (actress and voice actress)
November 29 - Ace Gibson (actor and voice actor)
November 30
- Gael García Bernal (actor, voice actor, director, and producer)
- Timm Sharp (actor)
December 1
- Camille Cottin (actress and comedian)
- Stefan Kapičić (actor and voice actor)
December 7 - Kristofer Hivju (actor)
December 18 - Josh Dallas (actor)
December 29 - Ali Hillis (actress and voice actress)

Deaths

January 18 - Junius Matthews (actor and voice actor)
April 21 - Thelma Boardman (voice actress and writer)
May 28 - Basil Davidovich (animator and layout artist)
July 26 - Mary Blair (visual development artist)
August 24 - Louis Prima (singer, actor, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter)
September 30 - Edgar Bergen (actor, comedian, radio performer, and ventriloquist)
October 8 - Karl Swenson (actor and voice actor)

Artists joined

Chris Buck - Director/Animator who worked on The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, and Frozen.
Phil Nibbelink - Animator on The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Darrell Van Citters - Animator who worked on The Fox and the Hound and directed the shorts Fun with Mr. Future and Sport Goofy in Soccermania.
Michael Peraza Jr. - Art Director/Layout Artist on The Fox and the Hound, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
Glenn Vilppu - Layout Artist on The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron.
Ben Burgess - Assistant Animator who worked on The Fox and the Hound, Mickey's Christmas Carol, and The Black Cauldron.
Ray Harris - Assistant Animator on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.

1978