The Wonderful World of Disney
Season 3
Walt Disney, one of Hollywood's most ambitious producers, was first approached to do television in 1950, when The Coca-Cola Company offered him a one-hour special. The one hour special, "One Hour in Wonderland," aired December 25, 1950 on NBC and garnered 90% of the television viewing audience. A second special, "The Walt Disney Christmas Special," aired December 25, 1951 on CBS. When Walt had drawn up plans for a theme park, known as Disneyland, he found a hard time obtaining funding; critics, including Walt's brother Roy, thought that it was unfeasible and that it would be a fiasco. At the same time, the ABC television network offered him a deal for a television anthology series. Walt wouldn't agree to it unless they put up partial financing for Disneyland (a term that had kept CBS and NBC from signing with him). ABC agreed, and also paid him $50,000 per program, an exorbitant sum for the time. The show, titled Disneyland, premiered on October 27, 1954 and was an immediate success. The program showcased original works from the Disney Studios. Cartoons, documentaries, educational shorts, all were shown to a captive worldwide audience. Variety was the key to its success, as it kept most of what it did fresh, multi-cultural and constantly changing its entertainment.
Where to Watch The Wonderful World of Disney • Season 3
26 Episodes
- Searching for Nature's MysteriesE3
Searching for Nature's MysteriesOnce again, Disneyland plays host to Winston Hibler, the familiar narrator (and sometimes writer/director) of Disney's ""True-Life Adventures"" short subject series. Hibler describes the various techniques used for making such up-close-and-personal nature documentaries as the then-upcoming Disney theatrical feature Secrets of Life, including the development of miniature lense and stroboscopic ""cold"" light. Highlights include a foray into a beehive and a visit to an ant colony, and a time-lapse-photography sequence of blossoming plant life to the tune of Maurice Ravel's ""Bolero"". Searching for Nature's Mysteries originally aired 2 months before the official November 20, 1956 release of Secrets of Life. - The Plausible ImpossibleE8
The Plausible ImpossibleWalt explains a principle of his style of animation called ""the plausible impossible,"" in which things that cannot be done in reality can be done in animation if there is a plausible basis for it. He uses clips from several cartoons and features to demonstrate. - Along the Oregon TrailE10
Along the Oregon TrailWalt takes us on the famous Oregon Trail, a pathway from Kansas City to Oregon, where the settlers moved westward. And speaking of westward, We also go behind the scenes of the new Disny feature Westward Ho the Wagons! with the famous Fess Parker himself. - At Home with Donald DuckE11
At Home with Donald DuckIt's Donald's birthday, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie are thrown a party by their uncle in honor of his own birthday! He treats the boys to special home screenings of his own movies on 8mm film reels, but they want to watch the Mickey Mouse and Goofy cartoons. Adding insult to injury, the boys would rather watch the Mickey Mouse Club on TV.