The Wonderful World of Disney
Season 2
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 2
26 Episodes
- MOVIE: DumboE1
MOVIE: DumboThis is an airing of the beloved 1941 animated feature, edited to run in the allotted time slot. Mrs. Jumbo, a circus elephant receives a baby with large ears. The other elephants ostracize him, and his mother is locked up for attacking a heckling human. As Dumbo, the mocking nickname for the baby elephant given to him, finds himself without any friends, an ambitious mouse named Timothy befriends him and helps him overcome his problem. - Davy Crockett's Keelboat RaceE10
Davy Crockett's Keelboat RaceIt seems the only way Mr. Disney could bring his dead hero, Davy Crockett, back to life was to pass this story off as a ""tall tale"". It involves Davy and his pal Georgie Russel in a keelboat race to New Orleans against swaggering Mike Fink, the ""king of the river"". This episode is avalible on DVD as part of a 2-disc set. - The Story of the Animated DrawingE11
The Story of the Animated DrawingThe first of three shows based on Disney's ""Art of Animation"" book. Walt Disney explores the history of Animation from primitive cave drawings, to Windsor McKay's ""Gertie the Dinosaur"" and Pat Sullivan's Felix the Cat, up to Fantasia. Two cartoons are featured: The Skeleton Dance (1929) and the Nutcraker Suite segmest from Fantasia. This episode is avalible on the ""Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studios"" 2-disc DVD. - Davy Crockett and the River PiratesE13
Davy Crockett and the River PiratesThe final Davy Crockett story (the second ""Legend"" tale) has Davy and ex-foe Mike Fink on the same side, fighting some nasty pirates who are passing themselves off as Indians in order to start a war. This episode is avalible as part of a 2-disc DVD set. - A Trip Thru Adventureland/ Water Birds
E21A Trip Thru Adventureland/ Water Birds"A Trip Thru Adventureland/Water Birds" is actually an episode of Disneyland. Another of the "progress reports" presented on the TV anthology Disneyland to promote the new theme park of the same name, this episode was designed to bring viewers up to date on the section of the park known as "Adventureland." While there is a great deal of emphasis on "Davy Crockett" tie-ins, the centerpiece of the segment is a filmed trip along the new Jungle Cruise ride. Afterwards, the rest of the episode features the True-Life Adventure film, Water Birds.