1997

Theatrical releases

 * February 14 - That Darn Cat
 * March 7 - Jungle 2 Jungle
 * June 6 - Con Air (Touchstone Pictures)
 * June 27 - Hercules
 * July 16 - George of the Jungle and Nothing to Lose (Touchstone Pictures)
 * August 1 - Air Bud
 * August 22 - G.I. Jane (Touchstone Pictures)
 * October 10 - RocketMan
 * October 31 - The Wind in the Willows
 * November 17 - The Little Mermaid (reissue)
 * November 26 - Flubber (remake of The Absent-Minded Professor)
 * December 25 - Mr. Magoo

Television

 * April - Nightmare Ned premieres on ABC
 * September - The Disney Channel becomes a basic cable channel as opposed to a premium service. They also get a new logo as well, which had a TV with Mickey Mouse ears on it with Mickey Mouse inside the TV (which will be changed again in 2002). The channel also drops the "the" in its name, becoming simply "Disney Channel".
 * September 1 - 101 Dalmatians: The Series premieres in syndication and ABC.
 * September 13 - Recess and Pepper Ann premiere on ABC as part of the new One Saturday Morning programming block.

Theme park happenings

 * April 6 - Disneyland's Captain EO closes.
 * June 1 - Disneyland's Lion King Celebration parade ends its near three-year-run.
 * September - Disneyland's Rocket Jets closes.

Live shows

 * The Lion King musical premieres
 * Disney On Ice: The Little Mermaid begins touring

Deaths

 * January 19 - Adriana Caselotti (b. 1916)
 * December 16 - Lillian Disney, wife of Walt Disney, named Mickey Mouse and was an ink artist for Plane Crazy (b. 1899)

VHS releases

 * Disney's Doug (3 tapes)
 * Sailor Moon (6 tapes) (English adaptation by DiC (which was in a contract with Disney at the time), VHS distribution by Buena Vista Home Video)
 * January 21 - D3: The Mighty Ducks
 * February 4 - Bambi, That Darn Cat!, Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, and Summer Magic.
 * March 4 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Treasure Island, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Kidnapped, and Swiss Family Robinson.
 * March 17 - Pete's Dragon
 * April 15 - 101 Dalmatians
 * July 15 - Fun and Fancy Free
 * July 29 - Jungle 2 Jungle
 * August 26 - Mary Poppins, The Love Bug, Herbie Rides Again, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, and Herbie Goes Bananas
 * September - Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too (Re-issue)
 * September 2 - First Kid
 * September 9 - Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, Johnny Tremain, and The Light in the Forrest.
 * September 16 - Sleeping Beauty
 * October 7 - The Shaggy Dog, The Shaggy D.A., Son of Flubber, and Old Yeller.
 * October 14 - The Jungle Book
 * December 2 - George of the Jungle and The Absent-Minded Professor
 * December 23 - Air Bud

Direct-to-video releases

 * August - Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
 * November 11 - Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

Character debuts

 * June 27 - Hercules, Megara, Hades, Pain and Panic, Philoctetes, Zeus
 * August 1 - Buddy
 * September 1 - Cadpig, Spot
 * September 2 - Tripod
 * September 13 - TJ Detweiler, Vince LaSalle, Ashley Spinelli, Gretchen Grundler, Mikey Blumberg, Gus Griswald, Miss Finster, Randall Weems, King Bob, Miss Grotke, Pepper Ann Pearson, Lydia Pearson, Nickey Little