A list of animated feature films first released in 1978.
| Title | Country | Director | Studio | Technique | Format | Notes | Release | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 Group's Secret | South Korea | Samdo Film Co., Ltd. | July 23, 1978 | 70 minutes | |||||
| The Ballad of the Daltons | France | March 10, 1978 | 82 minutes | ||||||
| Black Beauty | United States | Originally aired as the 26th installment of the CBS animated anthology series Famous Classic Tales (1970–1984). | October 28, 1978 | 50 minutes | |||||
| Captain Future: The Great Race in the Solar System | Japan | December 31, 1978 | 58 minutes | ||||||
| Dallyeora Majingga X | South Korea | Sekyung Heung Industry Co., Ltd. | December 7, 1978 | 67 minutes | |||||
| Donald Duck's Cartoon Mania | United States | Film compiled from Disney theatrical animated shorts; originally released theatrically for overseas markets and never in the United States. | July 16, 1978 | 78 minutes | |||||
| Fantasia's Attic | Spain | 75 minutes | |||||||
| Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love | Japan | Second feature film in the Space Battleship Yamato series; same storyline later reused and expanded on for the TV series Space Battleship Yamato II (1978–1979). | July 14, 1978 | 151 minutes | |||||
| Ferda the Ant. How Ferda Lived in the World and Stories about his Friend Little Back | Czechoslovakia Soviet Union | Hermína Týrlová | Filmové Studio Gottwaldov Ústrední Pujcovna Filmu | First Soviet full-length animated film made in the commonwealth with other countries. | 60 minutes | ||||
| United States | April 6, 1978 | 60 minutes | |||||||
| Gold Wing 123 | South Korea | Sejong Cultural Corporation | January 5, 1978 | 71 minutes | |||||
| The Island of Nevawuz | Australia | Paul Williams | 48 minutes | ||||||
| King Fang | Japan | September 23, 1978 | 70 minutes | ||||||
| Kongjui & Patchui | South Korea | U Production | January 23, 1978 | 72 minutes | |||||
| Krabat – The Sorcerer's Apprentice | Czechoslovakia West Germany | Bavaria Atelier Ceskoslovenský Filmexport Filmové Studio Gottwaldov Krátký Film Praha Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR) Ustredni Pujcovna Filmu | Theatrical | March 1, 1978 | 73 minutes | ||||
| The Light Princess | United Kingdom | Andrew Gosling | December 24, 1978 | 56 minutes | |||||
| The Lord of the Rings | United States United Kingdom | First American animated feature to be presented in Dolby Stereo; at a running time of 133 minutes, the film is the longest American animated feature. | November 15, 1978 | 133 minutes | |||||
| Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo | Japan | First animated feature film installment in the Lupin III manga and anime franchise. | December 16, 1978 | 102 minutes | |||||
| The Magic Flute | Italy Australia | Thalia Film | 54 minutes | ||||||
| Metamorphoses | Japan United States | Terry Ogisu Takashi Hiro Tsugawa | Later edited down to 82 minutes and reissued on May 3, 1979, under the title Winds of Change. | October 27, 1978 | 89 minutes | ||||
| Mickey Mouse Jubilee Show | United States | Walt Disney Ben Sharpsteen James Algar Riley Thomson Charles Nichols Milt Schaffer | Film compiled from Disney theatrical animated shorts; originally released theatrically for overseas markets and never in the United States. | June 30, 1978 | 76 minutes | ||||
| Not Everything that Flies is a Bird | Germany Yugoslavia | Stockmann Film Verlag | Compilation film of several shorts. | November 25, 1978 | 79 minutes | ||||
| One Million-Year Trip: Bander Book | Japan | First two-hour animated television special, the first installment of the Tezuka Star System series of specials and the inaugural animated special produced for Nippon TV's 24 Hour TV "Love Saves the Earth" telethon.[1] | August 27, 1978 | 94 minutes | |||||
| The Phoenix | Japan | Animated hand drawn elements in otherwise mostly live action feature film. | August 19, 1978 | 137 minutes | |||||
| Popeye vs. the Red Indians | United States Italy | Compilation of 12 Famous Studios Popeye the Sailor theatrical animated shorts; originally released theatrically for overseas markets and never in the United States. | December 23, 1978 | 80 minutes | |||||
| Puff the Magic Dragon | United States | Murakami Wolf Swenson Yarrow/Muller-My Company | October 30, 1978 | 30 minutes | |||||
| Ringing Bell | Japan | March 11, 1978 | 47 minutes | ||||||
| Robot Taekwon V vs. Golden Wings Showdown | South Korea | Sejong Cultural Corporation | July 26, 1978 | 66 minutes | |||||
| Run, Wonder Princess! | South Korea | U Production | July 31, 1978 | 75 minutes | |||||
| | Japan | Alternate retelling of the plot of the animated television series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, compiling the first three minutes of original material with key footage through episodes 1 to 2, 51 to 53 and 102 to 105. | May 12, 1978 | 110 minutes | |||||
| The Stingiest Man in Town | United States Japan | Arthur Rankin Jr. Jules Bass Katsuhisa Yamada | Animated adaptation of the live action musical TV special of the same title, that first aired as a part of The Alcoa Hour on NBC in December 23, 1956. | December 23, 1978 | 56 minutes | ||||
| Los Supersabios | Mexico | November 4, 1978 | 78 minutes | ||||||
| The Talking Parcel | United Kingdom | December 26, 1978 | 40 minutes | ||||||
| The Thralls | Denmark | March 27, 1978 | 84 minutes | ||||||
| Thumbelina | Japan | Second film in the anthology film series Sekai Meisaku Dōwa (lit. "World Masterpiece Fairy Tales"); Osamu Tezuka provided the character designs for this feature. | March 18, 1978 | 64 minutes | |||||
| The Water Babies | United Kingdom Poland | Pethurst International Ltd. Studio Miniatur Filmowych | June 23, 1978 | 105 minutes | |||||
| Watership Down | United Kingdom United States | First ever animated feature film to be presented in Dolby Stereo. | October 19, 1978 | 102 minutes | |||||
| Wilhelm Busch – Die Trickfilm-Parade: Max und Moritz und andere Streiche | Germany | Studio Hamburg Polyphon | May 15, 1978 | 82 minutes | |||||
| Xigua pao | China | Jin Xi | 45 minutes |
| Rank | Title | Studio | Gross | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato | Group TAC | [2] [3] | ||
| 2 | The Lord of the Rings | Fantasy Films | $30,471,420 | [4] [5] |