Disney’s first major TV show had a hidden ulterior motive

As much as Disneyland’s existence, Walt Disney had an ulterior motive in selling the theme park to the public during the first nine months of its existence (the first episode aired on October 27, 1954; Disneyland opened its doors on July 17, 1955). ), the show had a different ulterior motive in its pitching: Disney needed additional funding to complete the park and was essentially hoping that any network that aired its show would help finish the park’s streak. The eventual victor was ABC, although it should be noted that this was four decades before a different, much larger version of The Walt Disney Company purchased ABC. At the time, Disney I fell An agreement to make 21 hour-long episodes of the anthology series per season for three seasons, although the terms of the deal would eventually change. (Only the first season, which aired all the way before Disneyland opened, produced 21 episodes. Future seasons aired between 26 and 30 episodes, and the television series ended up airing, initially, for seven seasons on ABC.)

From the Outside in, the theme of “Walt Disney’s Disneyland” is quickly established in its introductory montage, showing that the episodes are divided into one of four groups: Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland. Eventually, these two-word combinations will turn into one word, aligning with the corresponding land at Disneyland Park. Because television was still so new and easy to experiment with, and because Disney only had so much money, the first season succeeded in setting the tone for the future ten or so seasons hosted by Walt Disney (before his death in 1966) while also capitalizing on the business of Previous studio. While the series premiere was appropriately titled “The Disneyland Story” and intended to illustrate what the park would include while also reminding audiences of the many beloved characters that inhabit Disney’s stories, future episodes presented condensed versions of the Disney films. (Literally, the second episode, broadcast on November 3, 1954, is an abridged version of The animated film “Alice in Wonderland”, 1951.) “The Disneyland Story,” as a premiere, recognizes that what it describes is entirely new, and that giving viewers a peek behind the curtain at how the park was built and how movies were ever produced was a fairly simple matter. reward. Even before Disney presents and unveils a massive map of what Disneyland will look like when it opens, we see glimpses of the behind-the-scenes production of Disney’s first blockbuster film, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” and early live-action reference work for The 1959 studio classic “Sleeping Beauty.”

But the crux of the episode is about Disneyland itself. As Disney himself says, “The Disneyland TV show and the Disneyland place are all part of the same thing.” In fact, when you watch “The Disneyland Story,” it becomes clear that the pilot is doing two things: First, making clear what the audience can expect From future episodes; and second, planting the idea that the Disneyland theme park itself will offer a similar range of experiences. The episode offers glimpses of what each of the four “worlds” at Disneyland will offer at Frontier Land Crockett short starring Fess Parker, as well as the character’s song In Adventure Land, you get a glimpse of what would amount to nature documentaries about different parts of the world In Tomorrow Land, you get a brief lecture and interview visuals about how humans try Invasion of outer space in the near future Before Disney himself uttered a line any passing fan would know well – “It all started with a mouse” – and showed clips of Mickey over the 25 years the character appeared in the shorts, Fantasy Land featured a section. Extended from the highly controversial 1946 film Song of the South.