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Walt Disney anthology television series

 
Wikipedia: Walt Disney anthology television series
 
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For the Disney's California Adventure theme park show with the similar title, see Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

The Wonderful World of Disney

title screen
Genre Comedy
Drama
Format Anthology series
Created by Walt Disney
Starring Walt Disney (host, 1954–1966)
(No host, 1967-1985)
Michael Eisner (host, 1986–2005)
(No host, 2006-2008)
Opening theme "When You Wish Upon a Star"
Country of origin  United States
No. of seasons 52
No. of episodes 1,222
Production
Running time 60-180 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel ABC (1954-1961)
NBC (1961-1981)
CBS (1981-1983)
ABC (1986-1988)
NBC (1988-1990)
Disney (1990-1996)
ABC (1997-2008)
Picture format 480i (SD), 720p (HD)
Audio format 5.1 Surround Sound
Original run October 27, 1954 – December 24, 2008
Chronology
Related shows ABC Saturday Movie of the Week

The first incarnation of the Walt Disney anthology television series, commonly called The Wonderful World of Disney, premiered on ABC on October 27, 1954 under the name Disneyland. The same basic show has since appeared on several networks under a variety of titles. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television (see List of longest running U.S. primetime television series).

Contents

Overview

Originally hosted by Walt Disney himself, the series presented animated cartoons and other material (some original, some pre-existing) from the studio library. The show even featured one-hour edits of such then-recent Disney films as Alice in Wonderland, and in other cases, telecasts of complete Disney films split into two or more one-hour episodes.[1] This is significant because the series was the first one from a major movie studio. Other studios feared television would be the death of them.

1950s

The show spawned the Davy Crockett craze of 1955 with the miniseries about the historical American frontiersman, starring Fess Parker in the title role. Millions of dollars of merchandise were sold relating to the title character, and the theme song, "The Ballad of Davy Crockett", was a hit record that year. Three historically-based hour-long shows aired in late 1954/early 1955, and were followed up by two dramatized installments the following year. The TV episodes were edited into two theatrical films later on.

On July 17, 1955, the opening of Disneyland was covered on a live television special, Dateline: Disneyland,[2] which may be seen as an extension of the anthology series but is not technically considered to be part of it. It was hosted by Walt along with Bob Cummings, Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, and featured various other guests.[3] Programmes in this series also included Our Friend the Atom, and Man and the moon.

1960s and 1970s

The series moved to NBC in 1961 to take advantage of that network's ability to broadcast in color. [4][5] Also the relationship with ABC had soured as the network resisted selling its stake in the theme park before doing so in 1960. [6] In a display of foresight, Disney had filmed many of the earlier shows in color, so they were able to be repeated on NBC. To emphasize the new color feature, the series was re-dubbed Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and retained that moniker until 1969. The first NBC episode even dealt with the principles of color, as explained by a new character named Ludwig Von Drake, a bumbling professor and uncle of Donald Duck. The character's voice was supplied by Paul Frees (after his death, Corey Burton took over to replace him as the role of Ludwig Von Drake).

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color title sequence

When Walt Disney died in 1966, no one took over his role as host, as everyone agreed that his presence, characterized by a warm, folksy persona, was irreplaceable. The series, retitled The Wonderful World of Disney in 1969, continued to get solid ratings, often in the Top 20, until the mid-1970s. In 1976, Disney showed its classic 1961 film The Parent Trap on television for the first time, as a two-hour special. This was a major step in broadcasting for the studio, which had never shown one of its classic films on television in a two-hour time slot (although they had shown their 1972 film Napoleon and Samantha as a two-hour TV program in 1975). [7] At this time, Walt Disney Productions was facing a decline in fortunes, with falling box-office revenues. It also did not help that the annual telecasts of The Wizard of Oz, at that time a surefire TV-ratings smash, were being shown again by CBS after a nine-year stint on NBC, and were, until about 1978, invariably scheduled opposite the Disney program. (The NBC telecasts of Oz on NBC had almost always pre-empted Disney's show altogether.)

Nor did the scheduling of 60 Minutes as a weekly Sunday CBS program opposite Disney make things easier. The Disney show continued to slip in the ratings until NBC canceled it in 1981. An attempt to modernize the show in the fall of 1979 was purely cosmetic with the shortened name Disney's Wonderful World. The decline is often partially attributed to the reduced amount of new material. The show became increasingly dependent on airings of theatrical features and cartoons and reruns of older episodes.

1980s

CBS picked up the program in the fall of 1981 [8] under the umbrella title Walt Disney and moved it to Saturday night; the format remained unchanged, and ratings were marginally improved. It lasted two years there, its end coinciding with the birth of The Disney Channel on cable TV. While ratings were a factor, the final decision to end the show came from then-company CEO E. Cardon Walker, who felt that having both the show and the new channel active would cannibalize each other.

After the studio underwent a change in management, the series was revived on ABC as a two-hour program in 1986,[9] under the title The Disney Sunday Movie (in the summer, the series was temporarily titled, "Disney's Summer Classics"), with new CEO Michael Eisner hosting. The show moved to NBC in 1988 under the title The Magical World of Disney before moving to the Disney Channel in 1990, where it ran sporadically until 1996.

Sometimes the NBC station refused to air it, in which case it was syndicated on another local network, including even a PBS station.[10]

1990s and 2000s

The series was revived again on ABC in 1997 [11] after Disney purchased ABC, running on Sundays until 2003, when it moved to Saturday night; it continued in that time slot until 2008 (airing in the midseason of 2005-2006 and the summers of 2007 and 2008). Since 2005, Disney features have been split between ABC, NBC, the Hallmark Channel, ABC Family Channel, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network via separate broadcast rights deals. The show aired during the television midseason and/or the summer as an anthology series similar to Hallmark Hall of Fame with features such as the December 2005 revival of Once Upon a Mattress or commercial TV broadcasts of various films. The series finale aired Wednesday 8:00 P.M. ET on December 24, 2008, with a presentation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Recently, Disney films such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Absent-Minded Professor, and Son of Flubber have been telecast commercial-free, uncut and letterboxed on Turner Classic Movies.

Telemundo still airs the series monthly in Spanish as El Maravilloso Mundo de Disney.

Reruns

Reruns of the shows were a staple of the Disney Channel for several years under the title Walt Disney Presents (which used the same title sequence as the 1980s CBS incarnation), when it was an outlet for vintage Disney cartoons, TV shows and movies, basically serving the same function that the anthology series served in the days before cable. When the channel purged all vintage material as of September 16, 2002,[12] this show went with it. However, a few select episodes can be found on VHS or DVD, with the possibility of more being issued in the future.

All of the episodes and existing material used in the series through 1996 are listed in the book The Wonderful World of Disney Television, by Bill Cotter (Hyperion Books, 1997 ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.

Format

The original format consisted of a balance of theatrical cartoons, live-action features, and informational material. Much of the original informational material was to create awareness for Disneyland. In spite of being essentially ads for the park, entertainment value was emphasized as well to make the shows palatable. Some informational shows were made to promote upcoming studio feature films such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Some programs focused on the art and technology of animation itself.

Later original programs consisted of dramatizations of other historical figures and legends along the lines of the Davy Crockett mini-series. These included Texas John Slaughter, Elfego Baca, Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox", and Kit Carson and the Mountain Man (1977), with Christopher Connelly as Kit Carson, Robert Reed as John C. Fremont, and Gregg Palmer as mountain man Jim Bridger.

Also included were nature and animal programs similar to the True-Life Adventures released in theatres, as well as various dramatic installments which were either one part or two, but sometimes more.

This format remained basically unchanged through the 1980s, though new material, as discussed earlier, was scarce in later years.

When the show was revived in 1986, the format was similar to a movie-of-the-week, with family-oriented TV movies from the studio making up much of the material. Theatrical films were also shown, but with the advent of cable television and home video, they were not as popular. The 1997 revival followed this format as well, with rare exceptions. A miniseries entitled Little House on the Prairie ran for several weeks under the TWWOD banner. Incidentally, one offering in this ABC revival, The Sound of Music, was allowed to air under the "Wonderful World of Disney" banner from 2003 to 2006, although this was originally released by 20th Century Fox. Films from the Harry Potter series also occasionally aired under the banner even though they were released by Warner Bros.

Films not yet televised

As of 2008, there are still three classic Disney films that have never been shown on television at all in their entirety. They are Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, and Song of the South. Though it has been re-released to U.S. theatres several times,[13], and the Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah and Tar Baby segments have been shown on television, Song of the South has never been released on VHS or an authorized DVD in the U.S., due to the company's unease over the portrayal of Uncle Remus, a key black character in the film. No reason has been given for the withholding of the other two films. Several segments of Fantasia have been shown on television on the Disney TV program, notably The Sorcerer's Apprentice, as well as the uncensored Pastoral Symphony, but never the entire film from start to finish. And as with Fantasia, several segments of Snow White have also been shown on television, but never the whole film.

Theme music

  • For its first four years, the series used the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" as its theme. The recording was taken directly from the soundtrack of the movie Pinocchio
  • From 1961 to 1969, an original song was used, "The Wonderful World of Color", written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. This song helped to emphasize the use of color with its lyrics.
  • From 1969 to 1979, orchestral medleys of various Disney songs from movies and theme parks were used as theme songs.
  • From 1979 to 1981, a disco-styled theme was written to emphasize the new visual changes, even though the format remained the same. The song was by John Debney and John Klawitter.
  • From 1981 to 1983, a short disco arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star," arranged by Frank Gari, served as theme against some elaborate, then-state-of-the-art computer graphics. During the show's three-year hiatus from American television (1983-1986), CBC Television in Canada continued to use this title sequence and theme music for its own version of the show. The sequence was also used as the opening sequence on international Walt Disney Home Video releases from 1981 to 1987.
  • From 1986 to 1996, a synthesized, pop-rock arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" was the theme. (This includes the Disney Channel run).
  • From 1997 to 2000, an orchestral medley of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "A Whole New World" (the latter was used in the movie Aladdin) were used; also used occasionally was the Louis Armstrong hit "What a Wonderful World".
  • From 2000 to 2007, a newer orchestral arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" with a wordless choir was used. This theme music and opening is still used for CBC telecasts.
  • In Season 50, a brand-new orchestral arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and a brand-new opening title sequence were used on ABC telecasts in the United States.
  • In Seasons 51 and 52, another brand-new orchestral "When You Wish Upon a Star" (the theme from Walt Disney Pictures) and a brand-new opening title sequence were shown.

Dates of network affiliation, show titles, and time slots

(all times ET/PT)

ABC:

  • Disneyland
    • October 27, 1954 – September 3, 1958: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  • Walt Disney Presents
    • September 12, 1958 – September 25, 1959: Friday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • October 2, 1959 – September 23, 1960: Friday, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
    • September 25, 1960 – September 17, 1961: Sunday, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

NBC:

  • Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
    • September 24, 1961 – September 7, 1969: Sunday, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  • The Wonderful World of Disney
    • September 14, 1969 – August 31, 1975: Sunday, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
    • September 7, 1975 – September 11, 1977: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    • September 18, 1977 – October 23, 1977: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • October 30, 1977 – September 2, 1979: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  • Disney's Wonderful World
    • September 9, 1979 – September 13, 1981: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

CBS:

  • Walt Disney
    • September 26, 1981 – January 1, 1983: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • January 4, 1983 – February 15, 1983: Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • July 9, 1983 – September 24, 1983: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

ABC:

  • The Disney Sunday Movie
    • February 2, 1986 – September 6, 1987: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • September 13, 1987 – September 11, 1988: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

NBC:

  • The Magical World of Disney
    • October 9, 1988 – July 2, 1989: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    • July 9, 1989 – July 23, 1989: Sunday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • August 6, 1989 – February 25, 1990: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    • March 4, 1990 – April 15, 1990: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • April 22, 1990 – May 6, 1990: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    • May 27, 1990 – July 22, 1990: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • August 5, 1990 – September 9, 1990: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Disney Channel:

  • The Magical World of Disney
  • September 23, 1990 - December 1, 1996: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. (various formats)

ABC:

  • The Wonderful World of Disney
    • September 28, 1997 – September 2003: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • September 2003 – September 2004: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
    • September 2004 – September 2005: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. (or until 10:00 p.m., depending on the length of the movie)
    • June 2007 - August 2007: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
    • June 2008 - July 2008: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. (or until 10:00 p.m., depending on the length of the movie)
    • December 24, 2008: Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

During the late-1980s and early-1990s, repeats of The Wonderful World of Disney was syndicated to local stations in the US.

A Spanish-language version, El Maravilloso Mundo de Disney (The Wonderful World of Disney) is seen occasionally on Sunday evenings on Telemundo.

Ratings

Seasonal Nielsen Ratings

Network Season Episodes Timeslot TV Season Season Premiere Season Finale Season
Rank		 Viewers
ABC 1 21 Wednesday 7:30 PM ET 1954–1955 October 27, 1954 July 13, 1955 #6 12.00 million
2 26 1955–1956 September 14, 1955 May 30, 1956 #4 13.05 million
3 26 1956–1957 September 12, 1956 June 5, 1957 #14 12.37 million
4 26 1957–1958 September 11, 1957 May 14, 1958
5 26 Friday 8:00 PM ET 1958–1959 October 3, 1958 May 29, 1959
6 26 Friday 7:30 PM ET 1959–1960 October 2, 1959 April 1, 1960
7 31 Sunday 6:30 PM ET 1960–1961 October 16, 1960 June 11, 1961
NBC 8 26 Sunday 7:30 PM ET 1961–1962 September 24, 1961 April 15, 1962 #23 11.02 million
9 25 1962–1963 September 23, 1962 March 24, 1963 #24 11.22 million
10 27 1963–1964 September 29, 1963 May 17, 1964 #21 11.87 million
11 25 1964–1965 September 20, 1964 April 4, 1965 #11 13.54 million
12 24 1965–1966 September 19, 1965 April 10, 1966 #17 12.49 million
13 25 1966–1967 September 11, 1966 April 2, 1967 #19 11.85 million
14 27 1967–1968 September 10, 1967 April 28, 1968 #25 11.73 million
15 22 1968–1969 September 15, 1968 March 23, 1969 #22 12.41 million
16 21 1969–1970 September 14, 1969 March 29, 1970 #9 13.81 million
17 21 1970–1971 September 13, 1970 March 14, 1971 #14 13.46 million
18 19 1971–1972 September 19, 1971 April 9, 1972 #19 13.66 million
19 20 1972–1973 September 17, 1972 April 1, 1973 #9 15.23 million
20 21 1973–1974 September 16, 1973 March 13, 1974 #13 14.76 million
21 17 1974–1975 September 15, 1974 March 23, 1975 #18 15.07 million
22 19 Sunday 7:00 PM ET 1975–1976 September 14, 1975 July 25, 1976
23 21 1976–1977 September 26, 1976 May 22, 1977
24 18 1977–1978 September 18, 1977 June 4, 1978
25 20 1978–1979 September 17, 1978 May 13, 1979
26 17 1979–1980 September 17, 1979 July 27, 1980
27 10 1980–1981 September 14, 1980 August 16, 1981
CBS 28 24 Saturday 8:00 PM ET 1981–1982 September 26, 1981 July 31, 1982
29 18 1982–1983 September 25, 1982 May 3, 1983
ABC 30 18 Sunday 7:00 PM ET 1985–1986 February 2, 1986 June 22, 1986
31 29 1986–1987 September 21, 1986 August 30, 1987
32 20 1987–1988 October 4, 1987 May 22, 1988
NBC 33 29 1988–1989 October 9, 1988 July 23, 1989
34 26 1989–1990 October 1, 1989 August 26, 1990
Disney 35 49 1990–1991 September 23, 1990 September 15, 1991
36 49 1991–1992 September 22, 1991 September 13, 1992
37 49 1992–1993 September 20, 1992 September 12, 1993
38 49 1993–1994 September 19, 1993 September 11, 1994
39 48 1994–1995 September 18, 1994 September 10, 1995
40 47 1995–1996 September 17, 1995 August 25, 1996
ABC 41 28 1997–1998 September 28, 1997 May 18, 1998
42 22 1998–1999 September 27, 1998 May 30, 1999
43 13 1999–2000 September 26, 1999 May 14, 2000
44 13 2000–2001 October 8, 2000 May 31, 2001
45 13 2001–2002 September 16, 2001 May 19, 2002 #38 11.20 million
46 14 2002–2003 November 3, 2002 July 27, 2003
47 9 2003–2004 September 27, 2003 May 10, 2004 #98 7.39 million
48 15 Saturday 8:00 PM ET 2004–2005 October 16, 2004 June 17, 2005 #112 5.93 million
49 15 2005–2006 November 3, 2005 July 8, 2006 #159 4.22 million
50 6 2006–2007 December 16, 2006 August 4, 2007 #195 4.28 million
51 11 2007–2008 December 23, 2007 July 26, 2008 #173 4.01 million
52 1 Wednesday 8:00 PM ET 2008–2009 December 24, 2008 #144 4.39 million

Weekly Ratings, Season 50

Episode # Title Air Date Viewers (m)
1 Finding Nemo December 16, 2006 4.73
2 Monsters, Inc. July 7, 2007 4.70
3 Freaky Friday July 14, 2007 3.67
4 The Princess Diaries July 21, 2007 4.09
5 The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement July 28, 2007 4.85
6 Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen August 4, 2007 2.74

Weekly Ratings, Season 51

Episode # Title Air Date Viewers (m)
1 The Santa Clause 2 December 23, 2007 8.78
2 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl December 25, 2007 5.54
3 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe May 3, 2008 6.23
4 Finding Nemo June 7, 2008 4.94
5 Monsters, Inc. June 14, 2008 3.61
6 Camp Rock June 21, 2008 3.45
7 The Haunted Mansion June 28, 2008 3.55
8 Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen July 5, 2008 2.34
9 The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement July 12, 2008 4.07
10 Freaky Friday July 19, 2008 3.20
11 Peter Pan July 26, 2008 3.14

Weekly Ratings, Season 52

Episode # Title Air Date Viewers (m)
1 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe December 24, 2008 4.39

Home video

Several home video releases have included episodes of the anthology series.

  • Lady and the Tramp Platinum Edition
    • A Story of Dogs ("making-of" segment)
    • A Cavalcade of Songs (excerpt)
  • Johnny Tremain
    • The Liberty Story (first half)
    • Johnny Tremain, Part One (excerpt)
    • Johnny Tremain, Part Two (excerpt)
  • Sleeping Beauty Special Edition
    • An Adventure in Art (segment: "Four Artists Paint One Tree")
    • The Peter Tchaikovsky Story (30 minute segment only)
  • Sleeping Beauty Platinum Edition
    • An Adventure in Art (segment: "Four Artists Paint One Tree")
    • The Peter Tchaikovsky Story (complete episode - two versions)
  • Pollyanna
    • Pollyanna, Part One (introduction)
    • Pollyanna, Part Two (introduction)
    • Pollyanna, Part Three (introduction)

See also

References

  1. ^ http://epguides.com/WaltDisneyPresents/
  2. ^ http://epguides.com/WaltDisneyPresents/
  3. ^ Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. New York: Hyperion Books. pp. 17. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.. 
  4. ^ http://epguides.com/WaltDisneyPresents/
  5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046593/companycredits
  6. ^ http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/disland/dl1960.htm
  7. ^ http://epguides.com/WaltDisneyPresents/
  8. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046593/companycredits
  9. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046593/companycredits
  10. ^ The third comment from the top confirms that a PBS station did indeed air the series at one point
  11. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046593/companycredits
  12. ^ Hill, Jim (0). "Vhat Vood Vault Do?". Jim Hill Media. http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2002/09/06/261.aspx. 
  13. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038969/releaseinfo

External links

v • d • e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
Complete list: (1951–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–present)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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