Disney anthology television series

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(Disney anthology television series)
Walt Disney and Ludwig Von Drake
Genre	Variety show
Running time	60 minutes per episode
Creator(s)	Walt Disney
Starring	Walt Disney (host, 1954–1966) Michael Eisner (host, 1986–present)
Country of origin	USA
Original channel	ABC (1954–1961, 1986–1988, 1997–2005, now airs periodically) NBC (1961–1981, 1988–1990) CBS (1981–1983), (1990–199?) Disney Channel (1990–1997)
Original run	1954–present
No. of episodes	770 (182 B&W, 588 color)

The first incarnation of the Disney anthology television series, commonly called The Wonderful World of Disney, premiered on ABC on October 27, 1954 under the name Disneyland.

1 Overview
2 Format
3 Theme music
4 Dates of network affiliation, show titles, and time slots
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Overview

Hosted by Walt Disney himself, the show presented animated cartoons and other material (some original, some pre-existing) from the studio library. 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.

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.

In July of 1955, the opening of Disneyland was covered on this show, hosted by Walt along with Bob Cummings, Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, and various other guests.

The series moved to NBC in 1961 to take advantage of that network's ability to broadcast in color. In a marvelous 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 comical 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).

When Walt Disney died in 1966, no one replaced him as host, as everyone agreed that his presence, characterized by a warm, folksy persona, was irreplaceable. The series continued to get solid ratings, often in the Top 20, until the mid-1970s. At this time, Walt Disney Productions was facing a decline in fortunes, with declining box-office revenues. It also did not help that CBS had placed 60 Minutes directly opposite it. The show continued to slip in the ratings until NBC cancelled it in 1981; an attempt to modernize the show in the fall of 1979 was purely cosmetic. Much of the decline is often attributed to the declining amount of new material. The show became increasingly dependent on airings of theatrical features and cartoons and reruns of older episodes.

CBS picked it up 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 in 1986, with new CEO Michael Eisner hosting. His presence argubly couldn't compare with Walt's (Eisner himself is said to have required 68 takes in his first introduction), and the show moved to NBC in 1988 before ending in 1990. The series was revived again on ABC in 1997 after Disney purchased ABC where it ran on Sundays until 2003 when it moved to Saturday night; it continued in that time slot until 2005 when it ceased as a regular series, due in part to premium pay-cable rights currently held by the Starz! movie network. Since 2005, Disney features have been split between ABC, the Hallmark Channel, and Cartoon Network via separate broadcast rights deals. It currently airs periodically, with features such as the December 2005 revivial of Once Upon a Mattress.

Reruns of the 1954-1983 shows were a staple of the Disney Channel for several years, 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, this show went with it. However, a few select episodes can be found on VHS or DVD, and there is no reason to suggest that more won't come out eventually.

All of the episodes from 1954-1990 are listed in the book The Wonderful World of Disney Television, by Bill Cotter, published in 1997.

Disneyland title sequence

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color title sequence

The current logo.

Image:The Magical World of Disney.jpg

The Magical World of Disney title sequence from 1988-1990

[edit] 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, and Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox."

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 1965 theatrical film version of The Sound of Music (aired generally during Christmas time), was actually released by 20th Century Fox, not Walt Disney Pictures, although it was allowed to air under the "Wonderful World of Disney" banner. Films from the Harry Potter series also occasionally aired under the banner even though they were released by Warner Bros.

[edit] Theme music

For its first four years, the series used the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" as its theme. The recording was the same one that was used in the movie Pinocchio
From 1961 to 1969, an original song was used, 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, various orchestral medleys of various Disney songs from movies and theme parks were used as theme songs.
From 1979 to 1983, 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," believed to have been 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, the CBC in Canada continued to use this title sequence and theme music for its own version of the show.
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 1988, The Magical World of Disney has both music of "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and "When You Wish Upon A Star".
From 1990 to 1997, an orchestral melody of When You Wish Upon a Star and Part of Your World (latter used in The Little Mermaid) served as theme whenever any of the Big 3 networks wanted to air A Disney Special.
From 1997 to present, an orchestral medley of When You Wish Upon a Star and A Whole New World (the latter was used in the movie Aladdin). This is the last theme music to date.

[edit] Dates of network affiliation, show titles, and time slots

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)
- Currently airs periodically

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Disney anthology television series

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Overview

[edit] Format

[edit] Theme music

[edit] Dates of network affiliation, show titles, and time slots

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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