The Wonderful World of Disney
Season 26
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 Season 26
17 Episodes
- Major EffectsE5
Major EffectsAlthough the narrator speaks of the show's star, Major Effects, as being a hero of superhuman proportions, a 100-year-old man appears. It's all a bit of special effects, explains the Major, who is actually actor Joseph Bottoms (star of the studio's then-current theatrical releaseThe Black Hole). He introduces a wizard known as ""Bigger-Than-Life,"" who endows him with magical powers to explain how the effects are realized. - The Sultan and the Rock StarE14
The Sultan and the Rock StarSultan, a gentle Bengal tiger who appears on a popular (but unnamed) television series, is taken to Sportsman's Island by Alec Frost, a disreputable gamekeeper, and tortured in an attempt to make him vicious. Several days later, he is turned loose to be the object of a hunting party led by the island's cruel owner, George McKinzie. Meanwhile, Paul Winters, a young pop singer on tour near here, becomes tired of his busy schedule and runs off from his mother and manager. He finds himself on Sportsman's Island and befriends Sultan.