Gizmoduck debuts in Super DuckTales.
Disney-MGM Studios opens.
Tummy Trouble, the first Roger Rabbit short, is released.
Splash Mountain opens at Disneyland.
The DuckTales NES game is released.
Theatrical releases
Feature films
- January 27 - Three Fugitives (Touchstone)
- March 1 - New York Stories (Touchstone) (New York City, New York)
- March 10 - New York Stories (Touchstone)
- March 17 - The Rescuers (re-release)
- April 14 - Disorganized Crime (Touchstone)
- May 31 - The Brave Little Toaster premieres at the USA Film Forum.
- June 2 - Dead Poets Society (Touchstone) (limited)
- June 9 - Dead Poets Society (Touchstone)
- June 23 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
- July 14 - Peter Pan (re-release)
- July 28 - Turner & Hooch (Touchstone)
- August 18 - Cheetah
- October 6 - An Innocent Man (Touchstone)
- November 13 - The Little Mermaid premiered in New York City.
- November 17 - The Little Mermaid was released to overwhelmingly positive reviews and was a major box office hit, restoring critical and public interest in Disney and initiating the Disney Renaissance for nearly a decade.
Shorts
- May 1
- June 23 - Tummy Trouble
- July 27 - Mickey's Field Trips: The United Nations
- August
- August 10 - Goofy's Field Trips: Trains
- August 18
- Goofy's Field Trips: Planes
- Mickey and the Seal (re-release)
- September
- September 1 - Knick Knack (Siggraph Conference)
- September 22 - Knick Knack (Chicago, Illinois)
- October 30 - The Making of Me
- ? - Responsible Persons
Theme parks
- May 1
- Disney-MGM Studios (now known as Disney's Hollywood Studios), the third theme park at the Walt Disney World, opens.
- Pleasure Island, also opens at Walt Disney World.
- June 1 - Typhoon Lagoon opens at Walt Disney World.
- July 12 - Star Tours opens at Tokyo Disneyland.
- July 17 - Splash Mountain opens at Disneyland.
- October 19 - Wonders of Life opens at Epcot with Body Wars and Cranium Command.
- December 15 - Star Tours opens at Disney-MGM Studios.
Television
- March 4 - Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers officially premieres on the Disney Channel. It began airing in syndication on September 15.
- April 24 - A new version of The Mickey Mouse Club debuts on the Disney Channel. It gave popularity and the start of stardom to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Keri Russell, JC Chasez, and Ryan Gosling, among others.
Comics
Video games
- September 14 - DuckTales and Who Framed Roger Rabbit for NES.
- Roger Rabbit (Famicom Disk System) (Released in the US as The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle)
- Mickey Mouse (Game Boy) (Released in the US as The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle)
- Mickey Mouse Mahou no Yakata (Epoch Handheld LCD)
- Egg (Mickey Mouse version) (Nintendo Game and Watch) (Widescreen)
- Egg (Big Bad Wolf version) (Nintendo Game and Watch) (Widescreen)
- Oliver and Company (Amiga, Atari ST, DOS)
- Oliver and Company (Epoch Handheld LCD)
- Goofy's Railway Express (Commodore 64)
Home video releases
VHS releases
- April 18 - Cocktail (Touchstone Home Video)
- May 9 - DuckTales: Duck to the Future and Lost World Wanderers
- May 30 - Walt Disney Mini Classics: Ben and Me and Bongo
- June 28 - Heartbreak Hotel (Touchstone Home Video)
- August 23
- Beaches (Touchstone Home Video)
- Disorganized Crime (Touchstone Home Video)
- August 31
- Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Mickey & The Gang and Nuts About Chip 'n Dale
- Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Fun with Music
- September 28
- Bambi
- DuckTales: Accidental Adventures and Seafaring Sailors
- The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Newfound Friends, The Great Honey Pot Robbery and The Wishing Bear
- Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Double Trouble, Undercover Critters and Crimebusters
- Dumbo (re-issue)
- The Sword in the Stone (re-issue)
- Walt Disney Mini Classics: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore and Mickey's Christmas Carol
- October 12
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks
- The Boatniks
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Touchstone Home Video)
- November 1
- Ernest Saves Christmas (Touchstone Home Video)
- Three Fugitives (Touchstone Home Video)
Laserdisc releases
- ? - The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Newfound Friends/The Great Honey Pot Robbery
- ?
- September 28 - Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Mickey & The Gang/Nuts About Chip 'n Dale
Behind the scenes
- December - Production begins on The Lion King.
Character debuts
- March 4 - Gadget Hackwrench, Monterey Jack, Zipper, The Pi-Rats
- March 12 - Bric, Brac, and DTZ
- March 19 - Fat Cat, Fat Cat's Gang, Flash the Wonder Dog
- March 26 - Fenton Crackshell/Gizmoduck, M'Ma Crackshell, Gandra Dee, Megabyte Beagle, GICU-2
- April 9 - Jeffrey Wyatt, Lisa Wyatt, Jessie Wyatt, Megan Wyatt, Tammy
- April 16 - Roger, MacDuff, Lord Howie
- April 23 - Queenie, Irwina Allen
- April 30 - Mrs. Booby, Baby Booby
- May 1 - Merriweather Adam Pleasure, Colonel Critchlow Sunchbench, The Funmeister, Mugsy Toccata, Madame Zarkov, Pamelia Perkins
- May 21 - Cheddarhead Charlie and Camembert Kate
- June 23 - Wayne Szalinski, Diane Szalinski, Amy Szalinski, Nick Szalinski, Quark, Russ Thompson, Sr., Mae Thompson, Russ Thompson, Jr., Ron Thompson, Professor Brainard, Professor Frederickson, Antie, The Scorpion, Tommy Pervis, Don Forrester, Gloria Forrester
- July 17 - Br'er Gator
- August 18 - Ted and Susan Johnson, Morogo, Earl Johnson, Jean Johnson, Kipoin, Mr. Patel, Abdullah, Nigel
- September 1 - Knick, C.B. Maroon
- September 9 - Lady Bane, Troggles, Sir Thornberry
- September 14 - Dracula Duck
- September 15 - Donald Drake and Plato, Aldrin Klordane, Percy, Frenchie, Que Sera, The Siamese Twin Gang
- September 16 - Long John Cottontail
- October 3 - Spirit of the Lamp
- October 6 - Clyde Cosgrove, Kismet
- October 11 - Elliott, Captain Colonel, Ting-a-Ling & Ming-Ting, Bruin, Heebee & Jeebee
- October 16 - Sewernose de Bergerac
- October 18 - Hiram the Mummy, Wexler
- October 19 - Harry, Harriet, General Knowledge, Buzzy, Dr. Cynthia Lair
- October 20 - Tom
- November 9 - Robotica
- November 11 - King Jean-Claude
- November 13 - Captain Finn, Nemo, All Hands and Mr. Starfish
- November 15 - Cassandra, Quigley and Abba-Dabba
- November 17 - Ariel, Prince Eric, Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle, King Triton, Ursula, Flotsam and Jetsam, Glut the Shark, Chef Louis, Grimsby, Carlotta, Max, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, Alana, Ursula's Garden, The Seahorse Herald, Merpeople, Bishop, Lawrence Loudmouth, El Emenopio
- November 21 - Darby Spree, Banshee
- December 18 - Desiree D'Allure, Erol
- December 19 - Su Lin, Emperor Dim Sun
- December 20 - Spy Rats
- December 21 - Lahwhinie
People
Births
- January 17 - Kelly Marie Tran (actress)
- February 16 - Elizabeth Olsen (actress and singer)
- February 21 - Corbin Bleu (actor, singer-songwriter, model, dancer, and producer)
- March 1 - Daniella Monet (actress and singer)
- March 15 - Caitlin Wachs (actress and production assistant)
- March 25 - Alyson Michalka (actress, singer, and songwriter)
- April 5 - Lily James (actress)
- April 19 - Simu Liu (actor, writer, stuntman, and filmmaker)
- April 20 - Chris Houghton (animator, writer, storyboard artist, producer, director, and voice actor)
- May 11 - Prince Royce (singer, songwriter, actor, and voice actor)
- May 29 - Brandon Mychal Smith (actor, comedian, singer, dancer, and rapper)
- June 9 - Chloë Agnew (singer)
- June 14 - Lucy Hale (actress, voice actress, and singer)
- June 18 - Renee Olstead (actress and singer)
- June 27 - Kimiko Glenn (actress, voice actress, and singer)
- July 11 - David Henrie (actor, television writer, and producer)
- July 25 - Andrew Caldwell (actor)
- August 10 - Brenton Thwaites (actor)
- August 15 - Joe Jonas (singer, musician, actor, and dancer)
- August 18 - Anna Akana (actress, voice actress, filmmaker, comedian, entertainer, and producer)
- August 21 - Hayden Panettiere (actress, voice actress, singer, model, and activist)
- September 5 - Kat Graham (actress, model, singer, and dancer)
- September 6 - Hannah John-Kamen (actress)
- September 21 - Emma Wiggle (singer and actor)
- October 1 - Brie Larson (actress, singer-songwriter, and musician)
- October 4 - Dakota Johnson (actress and model)
- October 14 - Mia Wasikowska (actress, voice actress, and director)
- November 20 - Cody Linley (actor, singer, rapper, and dancer)
- December 6 - Della Saba (actress and voice actress)
- December 13 - Taylor Swift (singer, songwriter, musician, and occasional actress)
- December 18 - Ashley Benson (actress, dancer, and model)
- December 22 - Jordin Sparks (singer, songwriter, and actress)
- December 28 - Bridget Shergalis (actress)
Deaths
- February 10 - Herbert Ryman (artist and Imagineer)
- February 11 - George O'Hanlon (actor, voice actor, comedian, writer, and director)
- April 24 - Clyde Geronimi (animation director)
- April 30 - Guy Williams (actor and former fashion model)
- July 2 - Ben Wright (actor and voice actor)
- July 3 - Jim Backus (radio, television, film, and voice actor)
- July 10 - Mel Blanc (voice actor, actor, radio comedian, and recording artist)
- August 4 - Paul Murry (cartoonist and comics artist)
- August 6 - Robert Jani (creative director of Walt Disney Productions)
- November 17 - Billy Lee (actor)
In fiction
- (exact date unknown) - Kevin Flynn disappears. (Tron: Legacy)
1989