1994

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin opens at Disneyland.

begins the Aladdin television series. — *The Return of Jafar* begins the *Aladdin* television series.

opens at the . — The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opens at the Disney-MGM Studios.

story arc runs in . — *The Legend of the Chaos God* story arc runs in *Disney Adventures*.

begins its first American printing in #285. — *The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck* begins its first American printing in *Uncle Scrooge* #285.

*Beauty and the Beast* opens on Broadway.

An overview of all Disney-related events that occurred in the year 1994.

Theatrical releases[]

January 7 - Cabin Boy (Touchstone Pictures)
January 14 - Iron Will
February 4 - My Father the Hero (Touchstone Pictures)
February 11 - Blank Check is released to negative reviews.
March 11 - The Ref (Touchstone Pictures)
March 25 - D2: The Mighty Ducks is released to negative reviews, but was a financial success.
April 8 - Holy Matrimony (Hollywood Pictures)
April 15 - White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf
June 15 - The Lion King has a limited release playing in only two theaters, the El Capitain Theatre in Los Angeles, California and the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York.
June 24 - The Lion King is released to universal acclaim amongst many critics and audiences and becomes a major box office success in remembrance of Frank Wells, President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 1994.
July 12 - Angels in the Outfield premiered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (with Caravan Pictures)
July 15 - Angels in the Outfield (with Caravan Pictures)
August 12 - In the Army Now (Hollywood Pictures)
August 19 - Color of Night (Hollywood Pictures)
August 26
- Camp Nowhere (Hollywood Pictures)
- It's Pat (Touchstone Pictures; limited)
September 14 - Quiz Show (Hollywood Pictures)
September 23 - Ed Wood (Touchstone Pictures) (New York Festival)
September 27 - Ed Wood premiered in Los Angeles, California (Touchstone Pictures)
September 28 - Ed Wood (Touchstone Pictures; limited)
October 7 - Ed Wood (Touchstone Pictures)
October 14 - Pulp Fiction (Miramax Films)
October 15 - Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (Austin Film Festival)
October 28 - Squanto: A Warrior's Tale
November 11 - The Santa Clause is released to positive reviews. (with Hollywood Pictures)
November 18 - The Lion King (re-issue)
November 23 - A Low Down Dirty Shame (Hollywood Pictures with Caravan Pictures)
December 25 - Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
December 29 - Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (New York City, New York)

Theme parks[]

January 23 - Muppets on Location: Days of Swine and Roses has its final performance at Disney-MGM Studios.^[1]
January 26 - Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin opens at Disneyland for the 1 year anniversary of Mickey's Toontown.
March 26 - Food Rocks replaces Kitchen Kabaret at Epcot.
May 1
- Disney-MGM Studios celebrates its fifth anniversary.
- Pleasure Island celebrates its 5th anniversary at Walt Disney World Resort.
June
- Disney World's 20th Anniversary Celebration Parade at the Magic Kingdom ends.
- The Mickey Mania Parade debuts in the same month and same place.
June 1 - Disney's Typhoon Lagoon celebrates its fifth anniversary at Walt Disney World Resort.
July 6 - Captain EO closes at Epcot.
July 8 - The Legend of the Lion King opens at the Magic Kingdom.
July 22
- Sunset Boulevard opens at Disney-MGM Studios.
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opens at Disney-MGM Studios.
August 15 - Spaceship Earth closes for the third renovation at Epcot.
September 5 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage closes at the Magic Kingdom.
September 29 - Innoventions opens at Epcot.
October 14 - Snow White's Adventures closes down at Magic Kingdom.
November 9 - Skyway closes at Disneyland.
November 23 - Spaceship Earth reopens for the third renovation at Epcot, with a new narrator, Jeremy Irons.

Television[]

February 6 - Aladdin premieres as a "preview" on the Disney Channel; it began airing in syndication as part of The Disney Afternoon and on CBS' Saturday morning line-up on September 5.
October 24 - Gargoyles premieres on The Disney Afternoon.
November 25 - Disney's Greatest Hits on Ice airs on CBS as part of The Wonderful World of Disney.
December 25 - The twelfth annual Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade premieres on CBS.

Comics[]

July - Marvel Comics begins publishing comic books with modern Disney characters, starting with the first issues of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
August - Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of their Aladdin comic book.
October - Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of their Disney Afternoon comic book.
December - Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of their Gargoyles comic book.

Books[]

Goofy Gets Goofy

Video games[]

January - Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2 for NES
February - Mickey's Ultimate Challenge for Super NES, Genesis, Game Boy, and Game Gear
April - The Jungle Book for NES
July - The Jungle Book for Super NES, Genesis, and Game Boy
July: The Lion King Print Studio (Windows)
August or earlier: Math Antics with Disney's 101 Dalmatians (Sega Pico)
November Beauty and the Beast for NES and Super NES
November: Bonkers (Sega Genesis)
November 18 - Aladdin: Activity Center and Animated StoryBook: The Lion King
December - Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse for Super NES, Genesis, and Sega CD
Mickey's Adventures in Numberland (NES)
December 16 - Mickey's Great Adventure in Tokyo Disneyland (Super Famicom)
Mickey's Blast into the Past (Sega Pico)
The Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey and Minnie (SNES and Sega Genesis)
A Year at Pooh Corner (Sega Pico)
Aladdin the Series: The Tower of Gold Adventure (Tiger Handheld LCD)
Disney's Aladdin (Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System)
The Lion King (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, SNES, DOS, Windows, NES, Game Boy, Amiga, Game Gear, Master System)
The Lion King (Tiger Handheld LCD)
Bonkers (SNES)

Live shows[]

Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical opens

Home video releases[]

VHS releases[]

January 28 - Disney Favorite Stories: Mickey and the Beanstalk, Peter and the Wolf, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and The Prince and the Pauper
February 18
- Winnie the Pooh Storybook Classics: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, and Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore
- Winnie the Pooh Playtime: Cowboy Pooh, Detective Tigger, and Pooh Party
March 4
- The Fox and the Hound
- Bonkers: Going Bonkers, Basic Spraining, and I Oughta Be in Toons
March 17 - The Brave Little Toaster
April 13
- Cool Runnings
- The Incredible Journey
April 20 - Another Stakeout
April 22
- Mickey's Fun Songs: Let's Go to the Circus! and Campout at Walt Disney World
- Disney Sing Along Songs: The Bare Necessities, Under the Sea, Disneyland Fun, Be Our Guest, and Friend Like Me (re-issues)
May 6 - Winnie the Pooh Learning: Making Friends, Sharing and Caring, and Helping Others
May 20 - The Return of Jafar (first direct-to-video full-length feature from Disney)
June 29 - Iron Will
July 13 - Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
July 27 - Blank Check
August 24 - D2: The Mighty Ducks
September 9 - Hocus Pocus
September 30
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- The Brave Little Toaster (re-issue)
October 19 - White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf
October 28
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs becomes the first video in the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection line of videotapes, along with new releases of Mary Poppins, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood, The Sword in the Stone, Pete's Dragon, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Three Caballeros, and So Dear to My Heart
- Old Yeller
- The Parent Trap
- Swiss Family Robinson
- Pollyanna
- Escape to Witch Mountain
- Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- The Shaggy Dog
- That Darn Cat!
- The Love Bug
- Herbie Rides Again
- The Apple Dumpling Gang
- The Three Lives of Thomasina
November 11 - Cool Runnings (re-issue)
November 18 - Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too
December 14 - Disney Sing Along Songs: Very Merry Christmas Songs and The Twelve Days of Christmas (re-issues)
December 16
- Disney Sing Along Songs: Circle of Life, Supercalifragilisticexpalidocious, Heigh Ho and You Can Fly (re-issues)

Laserdisc releases[]

September 21 - Aladdin
October 28 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Events[]

After 10 years, The Fox and the Hound is the last video in the Walt Disney Classics VHS series.
The Neon Mickey logo makes a surprise appearance on the 1994 French Canadian Masterpiece Collection VHS of Pete's Dragon, while later versions used the 1994 previews.
Disney begins releasing direct-to-video titles.
Walt Disney Computer Software is shut down and renamed Disney Interactive.
The Walt Disney Company pays a tribute to Frank Wells.
Donald Duck's 60th anniversary is celebrated.
Disney's 30-year license with Sears for exclusive Winnie the Pooh merchandising rights ends, allowing Disney to expand its licensing of Pooh merchandise.
April 29 - The first EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival is held run until June 4.

Behind the scenes[]

Jeffrey Katzenberg leaves Disney after being denied a promotion to president by Michael Eisner.^[2]

Character debuts[]

January 1 - Sonny Eclipse
January 14 - Will Stoneman, Borg Guillarson
January 26 - Lenny the Cab
February 6 - Mechanicles
February 9 - Seymour Sleazebottom and Limo
February 20 - Thundra
February 24 - Mole
February 27 - Fashoom
March 25 - Julie Gaffney, Dean Portman, Jan, Dwayne Robertson, Russ Tyler, Luis Mendoza, Ken Wu, Wolf Stansson, Team Iceland
March 26 - The Refrigerator Police, Pita Gabriel, Fud Wrapper, The Sole of Rock n' Roll, Richard, Neil Moussaka, Chubby Cheddar, The Get-the-Point Sisters, The U-tensils
April 3 - Daru Tavelevil
April 17 - Amin Damoola
April 18 - Belle (musical), Beast (musical), Gaston (musical), Maurice (musical), Lumiere (musical), Cogsworth (musical), Mrs. Potts (musical), Chip Potts (musical), Babette, Madame de la Grande Bouche
April 24 - Nefir Hasenuf, Nefir's Imps, Samir the "Destroyer", Sultan Pasta Al-Dente
May 1 - Merc, Sand Shark
May 20 - Abis Mal
June 24 - Simba, Scar, Mufasa, Sarabi, Nala, Zazu, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Sarafina, Hyena Clan, Wildebeests, Pridelanders, Mole, Nobi, Pride Animals, Crocodiles, Grubs, Great Lions of the Past, Vultures
July 13 - The Babysitter, Blarney
July 15 - George Knox, Mel Clark, Maggie Nelson, Roger Bowman, Ranch Wilder, David Montagnue, Hank Murphy, Miguel
July 20 - Stan
July 22 - Bellhops, Claire Poulet, Gilbert London, Dewey Todd, Sally Shine, Emeline Partridge, The Silver Lake Sisters
September - Mohatu
September 5 - Haroud Hazi Bin
September 6 - King Mamood
September 7 - Ray Gherkin
September 8 - Prince Wazoo, Fasir
September 13 - Sootinai
September 14 - Arbutus
September 22 - Captain Al Bahtross
September 23 - Sadira, Sand Monster, Jonathan Turner, Harley Keiner
September 24 - Machana, Claud and Claudia Crab
October 1 - Dr. Vile, Daniel, Rumpus McFowl
October 3 - Abnor Mal, Hamed, Kileem
October 6 - Malcho
October 8 - Prince Uncouthma
October 13 - Giant Scorpions
October 14 - Saleen
October 15 - Shaman, Apollo, Mervikings
October 17 - Akbar, Magma
October 18 - Ding and Oopo
October 19 - Georgie
October 22 - Ayam Aghoul, Howling Hairfish
October 24 - Goliath, Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, Bronx, Demona, Elisa Maza, Captain of the Guard, Hakon, Tom, Princess Katharine, Magus, Queen Kimbla, Sydney, Koala Kid
October 25 - David Xanatos, Owen Burnett,
October 26 - Margot Yale, Brendan Quarters, Street Thugs
October 27 - Zorasto, Marauders, Riders of Ramond
October 28 - Steel Clan
October 29 - Amuk Moonrah
October 31 - Mozenrath, Xerxes, Destane, Mamluk
November 2 - Kutato
November 4 - Mirage, The Pack
November 5 - Shakata, Razili, and Farida
November 8 - Sirocco
November 11 - Scott Calvin, Charlie Calvin, Laura Miller, Neil Miller, Bernard, Det. Nunzio, Miss Daniels, Judy, Mr. Whittle, Susan Perry, Bobby, Principal Compton, Dr. Pete Novos, Judge G. Whelan, Officer Malone, Fireman O'Hara, Santa 17, Brawnhilda, Runta
November 15 - General Gouda, Bud (Aladdin)
November 18 - Peter Maza, Diane Maza, Derek Maza, Beth Maza, Tony Dracon, Cagney, Matt Bluestone, Dr. Sato
November 19 - Queen Hippsodeth, Scara
November 21 - Dr. Nigel Channing, Gigabyte, Caliph Kapok
November 23 - Chaos, Evil Aladdin, Evil Genie
November 24 - Nigel Channing
November 26 - Little Evil, Brain Sponge, The Mukhtar, Ajed Al-Gebraic
December 3 - Amal, El Khatib
December 16 - Skippy, Shielded Frog
December 25 - Mowgli (Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book) William Boone, Katherine "Kitty" Brydon, Colonel Geoffrey Brydon, Dr. Julius Plumford, Lt. John Wilkins, Sergeant Harley, Nathoo, Buldeo, Tabaqui, Sergeant Claibourne, Grey Brother, Indian Bandits, Alice, Rose, and Margaret, Baloo (Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book), Bagheera (Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book), Shere Khan (Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book), Kaa (Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book), King Louie (Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book)
Kopa, Zuzu, Ahadi, Uru, Kula, Joka, Lulu (elephant), Boma
Lion Ringmaster
Powerline, Roxanne, Bobby Zimuruski

People[]

Births[]

January 21 - Booboo Stewart (actor)
January 26 - Joseph Quinn (actor)
February 23 - Dakota Fanning (actress, voice actress, and model)
March 14 - Ansel Elgort (actor, singer, and DJ)
March 19 - Hudson Thames (actor and voice actor)
March 23 - Bridger Zadina (actor)
April 12 - Saoirse Ronan (actress)
April 14 - Skyler Samuels (actress)
April 16 - Liliana Mumy (actress and voice actress)
April 18 - Moisés Arias (actor)
April 24 - Jordan Fisher (actor, singer, and dancer)
May 4 - Alexander Gould (actor and voice actor)
May 6 - Crystal the Monkey (animal actress)
May 11 - David Alvarez (dancer and actor)
June 7 - Aaron Pierre (actor and voice actor)
June 27 - Mitchell Hope (actor)
July 23 - Kelvin Harrison Jr. (actor and voice actor)
July 24 - Jaboukie Young-White (comedian, actor, and voice actor)
August 18 - Jessie Flower (voice actress)
August 25 - Josh Flitter (actor and voice actor)
September 17 - Denyse Tontz (actress and singer)
December 3 - Jake T. Austin (actor and voice actor)
December 26 - Samantha Boscarino (actress and singer)

Deaths[]

January 1 - Cesar Romero (actor and activist)
January 8 - Pat Buttram (actor)
January 28 - Hal Smith (actor and voice actor)
February 6 - Jack Kirby (comic book artist, writer, editor, designer, publisher, media producer, television host, and actor)
February 22 - Morgan Woodward (actor)
February 24 - Dinah Shore (singer, actress, and television personality)
March 4 - John Candy (actor, voice actor, and comedian)
April 3 - Frank Wells (businessman)
April 12 - Frank V. Phillips (cinematographer)
April 22 - Richard Nixon (politician and U.S. president)
May 15 - Royal Dano (actor)
June 11 - Jack Hannah (animator, writer, and director)
August 24 - Rickie Sorensen (actor)
September 17 - Iris Adrian (actress and dancer)
October 3 - Dub Taylor (actor, singer, and musician)
November 23 - Irwin Kostal (conductor, orchestrator, and musical arranger)