BEST OF DISNEY, THE: FIFTY YEARS OF MAGIC (TV)
Summary
This ABC special celebrates fifty years of entertainment
from the Walt Disney Company with celebrity
interviews, archival footage, and clips from many of the
studio's successful films. The program opens with a
reel of clips from animated and live-action features
including "Dumbo," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,"
"Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," "Honey I Shrunk the
Kids," and "Mary Poppins." After the highlights, Disney
chief executive officer Michael Eisner introduces the
program with an anecdote about the first Disney film he
saw as a child. Next, Dick Van Dyke presents a segment
about the origins of some of Disney's most iconic
characters. He explains that Mickey Mouse made his
debut in the silent short "Plane Crazy" in 1928. Pluto
was introduced in 1930, Donald Duck in 1934, and Goofy
(originally known as "Dippy Dog"), in 1935. In a series
of brief interview clips, Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, and
Roger Ebert identify some of their favorite Disney
characters. In the next segment, Long talks about the
recurring theme of love in Disney's films. Clips from
the films "The Jungle Book," "Bambi," "Lady and the
Tramp," "Sleeping Beauty," and "Pretty Woman" are
shown. Next, Daryl Hannah discusses Disney's two
live-action production banners, Touchstone Pictures and
Hollywood Pictures. Clips from these enterprises' films
are run, including bits of "Three Men and a Baby,"
"Splash," "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," and "Dead
Poets Society." After the clips, singer/composer Harry
Connick, Jr., introduces a section devoted to the music
in Disney films. Musical sequences from "Song of the
South," "The Little Mermaid," and "The Jungle Book" are
seen. Before the next segment, a filmed interview with
Walt Disney from August 29, 1964, at the premiere of
"Mary Poppins" is run. Teri Garr then sets up a
collection of clips of some of Disney's most memorable
villains, including Cruella deVille, the Headless
Horseman, and the witch from "Snow White." Garr also
introduces a "Heroes" montage, and a clip from "Old
Yeller" is run. The next section is devoted to the
"Mickey Mouse Club" television show, and film critics
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert identify their favorite
Mouseketeers. Special attention is paid to the
Mouseketeer who was always said to be the most
popular, Annette Funicello. Next, Neil Patrick Harris
offers a brief examination of how the process of
animation actually works. Barbara Walters then hosts a
segment about the creation of the Disneyland theme park
in Anaheim, California. The program concludes with
another clip montage and a special message from the
stars of Disney's upcoming summer film "The Rocketeer,"
Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly. Includes
commercials and promos.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the
Disney Channel, 2002.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 30, 1990
- RUNNING TIME: 1:58:11
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:21471
- GENRE: Specials; Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Motion picture studios; Motion pictures - History
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1991
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Jungle Book" videocassette
- TV - Commercials - Acuvue contact lenses
- TV - Commercials - Arrid deodorant
- TV - Commercials - Benadryl allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Burger King restaurant
- TV - Commercials - Century 21 real-estate brokers
- TV - Commercials - Diet 7-Up soda pop
- TV - Commercials - Doublemint chewing gum
- TV - Commercials - Dr. Pepper soda pop
- TV - Commercials - Frosted Mini-wheats cereal
- TV - Commercials - HBO cable channel
- TV - Commercials - Hefty garbage bags
- TV - Commercials - Heinz ketchup
- TV - Commercials - Huggies disposable diapers
- TV - Commercials - Johnson's baby oil
- TV - Commercials - Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo
- TV - Commercials - K-Mart department stores
- TV - Commercials - Kodak film
- TV - Commercials - Kraft macaroni and cheese
- TV - Commercials - Little Caesar's pizza pies
- TV - Commercials - Lunchables snack foods
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's fast food
- TV - Commercials - Ore-Ida frozen potatoes
- TV - Commercials - Oreo cookies
- TV - Commercials - Pine-sol disinfectant
- TV - Commercials - Real Cheese
- TV - Commercials - Saturn automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Sealy mattresses
- TV - Commercials - Stick Ups air fresheners
- TV - Commercials - Trident sugarless chewing gum
- TV - Promos - "Anything but Love"
- TV - Promos - "Dinosaurs"
- TV - Promos - "Father Dowling Mysteries"
- TV - Promos - "Full House"
- TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
- TV - Promos - "Growing Pains"
- TV - Promos - "My Life and Times"
- TV - Promos - "Roseanne"
- TV - Promos - "Stat"
- TV - Promos - "The Wonder Years"
- TV - Promos - "Thirtysomething"
- TV - Promos - "Who's the Boss?"
- TV - Promos - "World News Tonight"
CREDITS
- Don Mischer … Executive Producer, Director
- Harry Arends … Supervising Producer
- David J. Goldberg … Producer
- Phil Savenick … Co-Producer
- Sara Lukinson … Writer
- Bill Prady … Writer
- Peter Matz … Music by
- Bill Campbell
- Jennifer Connelly
- Harry Connick
- Walt Disney
- Roger Ebert
- Michael Eisner
- Annette Funicello
- Teri Garr
- Tom Hanks
- Daryl Hannah
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Shelley Long
- Gene Siskel
- Dick Van Dyke
- Barbara Walters