- February 24
- Frances Langford records "When You Wish Upon a Star" on Decca Records during a session in Los Angeles. [1357]
- February 29
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Short Subjects, Cartoons) to Disney for the film The Ugly Duckling. [13] [16] [23] [38.98] [39.386]
- March 11
- Walt Disney signs a seven-year contract with the Disney studio at US$2000 per week. [1102.329]
- March 15
- The Donald Duck film The Riveter is released to theaters. [16] [23] [501.472]
- March
- The Disney studio and Samuel Goldwyn, Inc. begin informal work on a collaborative film about the life of Hans Christian Andersen. Disney's studio would animate the fairy tales, and Goldwyn would produce the live-action sequences. [176.76]
- April 2
- Walt Disney Productions first offers shares in the company to the public. 155,000 shares of preferred stock are offered at US$25 per share, and 600,000 of common stock for US$5 per share. US$3.5 million is raised from the stock offering. [23] [24] [48.164] [267.140] [501.524] (US$4 million [34.117]) (US$8 million [40.192]) (April 1 [1102.331])
- April 5
- The Donald Duck film Donald's Dog Laundry is released to theaters. Pluto also appears. [16] [23] [228.147]
- April 26
- The Mickey Mouse film Tugboat Mickey is released to theaters. Donald Duck and Goofy also appear. [16] [23] [501.574]
- May 6
- Walt Disney Studios completes its move to Burbank, California. [22] [49.257] [92.83] [113.186] [228.248] [939.4]
- May 17
- The Donald Duck film Bill Posters is released to theaters. Goofy also appears. [16] [23] (Billposters [1378.79])
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- June 7
- The Donald Duck film Mr. Duck Steps Out is released to theaters. Daisy Duck (first time with that name) and Huey, Dewey, and Louie also appear. [16] [23] [113.210] [228.336] [1248.43]
- June 19
- The "Mickey Mouse" comic strip is published containing a small swastika in the last panel of the strip. [34.149]
- June 28
- Disney's first Pluto film, Bone Trouble, is released to theaters. Butch, the bulldog, debuts. [16] [23] [113.210] [1378.88]
- (month unknown)
- The "Dell Black and White Comics" comic book "Donald Duck" is first published. [113.330]
- Ub Iwerks returns to work at the Disney Studios, as head of the technical research division. [229.40] [38.114] [96.10]
- The Disney Studios' debt reaches US$4.5 million. [23]
- A compilation of six short films, La Grande Parade de Walt Disney, is released in France. [23]
- Thelma Boardman takes over from Marcellite Garner as the voice of Minnie Mouse. [96.35]
- Irving Ludwig joins the Disney company. (He manages the road show arrangements of the film Fantasia, later becoming president of the Buena Vista Distribution Company. He is named a Disney Legend in 1993.) [228.298]
- July 6
- Walt Disney shows a reel of Bambi to Bank of America executives. [1102.338]
- July
- The film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is re-released in theaters in Canada and the US, under the title The Walt Disney Festival, together with four animated short films. [177.72]
- July 19
- The Donald Duck film Put-Put Troubles is released to theaters. Pluto also appears. [16] [23] [228.403]
- August 9
- The Donald Duck film Donald's Vacation is released to theaters. [16] [23] [228.148]
- August 30
- The Pluto film Pluto's Dream House is released to theaters. Mickey Mouse also appears. [16] [23] [82.9] [228.393]
- September 1
- Disney delivers the animated film The Volunteer Worker to the Community Chests and Councils, Incorporated. Donald Duck appears in the film. [23] [501.589]
- September
- The last issue of the third Mickey Mouse Magazine is published. [113.145,151,328] [1378.148]
- A fourth Mickey Mouse Magazine is published in the US, consisting mostly of comic strips. (It lasts for only four issues.) [650.50]
- September 20
- The Donald Duck film Window Cleaners is released to theaters. Pluto also appears. [16] [23] [501.614]
- October 12
- Walt shows Igor Stravinsky the finished film of Fantasia. [35.117] [1102.344]
- October
- Dell Publishing Company begins publishing Walt Disney's Comics and Stories in the US. [75] [113.145,151] [501.597] [1378.148]
- October 23
- Igor Stravinsky sells the film rights to Disney for "Renard", "Fireworks", and "The Firebird". [35.117] [1102.345]
- November 1
- The Mickey Mouse film Mr. Mouse takes a Trip is released to theaters. Pluto also appears. [16] [23] [228.336]
- November 11
- Disney completes work on Fantasia. [35.12]
- November 13
- RKO Radio Pictures world premieres Disney's third animated feature film, Fantasia, at New York's Broadway Theater. The film introduces stereophonic sound to motion pictures via a special sound system called Fantasound. The film cost US$2.28 million to make. This is Mickey Mouse' feature film debut, in the segment The Sorcerer's Apprentice. This 10.5 minute segment alone cost US$125,000 to make. [5] [6] [8] [11] [13] [15] [17] [16] [22] [23] [35.9] [37.53] [34.136] [42.609] [49.258] [48.162] [56.216] [81] [92.82] [96.64] [97.156] [113.210] [176.128] [191] [192.105] [234.82] [228.70,173] [267.135] [370.38] [685.29] [911.70] [1073.49] [1102.341] [1378.100]
- November 22
- The Goofy film Goofy's Glider is released to theaters. [16] [23] [228.213]
- (month unknown)
- Disney issues its first Annual Report. [113.328]
- December 5
- The Screen Cartoonists Guild informs Disney it had collected cards from a majority of Disney employees, and would ask for recognition. [1102.357]
- December 6
- Walt Disney asks Art Babbit to reconvene the Cartoonists Federation union. [1102.357]
- December 7
- The Disney studio sends application slips to all employees to join the Cartoonists Federation. [1102.357]
- December 13
- The Donald Duck film Fire Chief is released to theaters. Huey, Dewey, and Louie also appear. [16] [23] [228.185]
- December
- The Los Angeles County Museum puts on an exhibition of Disney's work. The exhibit includes a Disney animator at work, a model of the multi-plane camera, sculptural models of Disney characters, music from Fantasia, and a screen showing 15 minutes of animation excerpts. [221.32]
- December 27
- The Pluto film Pantry Pirate is released to theaters. [16] [15] [23] [228.379] (1941 [16])
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