Time for a look back at an early concept that developed and one that didn’t in this week’s “Wednesdays with Walt” feature in “The Fourth Anniversary Show.”
It’s September 11, 1957, and time to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the “Disneyland” TV series. Why celebrate the fourth anniversary? Isn’t the fifth anniversary more of a milestone? Well, it’s actually the fourth season premiere of the “Disneyland” TV series. Walt has some things to share, including a look at how the development of “Peter and the Wolf” came about.
Walt recalls the day in 1938 that composer Sergei Prokofiev, portrayed by Ingolf Dahl, sat at a piano at the Studios and played themes from the score. Each character has their own theme in the short, and several characters in the original story were given names. Walt was ready to begin production on “Peter and the Wolf,” but the events of World War II prevented that from happening. Finally in 1946, Walt’s dream came true as the short was released theatrical as a segment in ‘Make Mine Music.’ Sterling Holloway, voice of Adult Flower, Cheshire Cat, and many more memorable characters, was the voice of the narrator.
In Disney’s adaptation of “Peter and the Wolf,” Young Peter decides to go hunting for a wolf that’s been prowling around the village. Along the way, he’s joined by his friends the bird, the duck and the cat. There are some differences in this adaption compared to the original. As the short begins, Peter and his friends already know there is a wolf nearby, and are preparing to catch him. Peter also daydreams of hunting and catching the wolf. He exits the garden carrying a wooden “pop-gun” rifle with the purpose of hunting the wolf down.
After a look at “Peter and the Wolf,” Walt is getting ready to tell the audience more, but Cubby, one of the Mouseketeers, walks in and interrupts Walt. Apparently the Mouseketeers want to see Walt as they have some surprises for him. The Mouseketeers gather around Walt, and ask him about future show and convince him to give them a special preview. Fess Parker makes an appearance and gives the Mouseketeers (and viewers at home) a preview of an upcoming series starring Jerome Courtland, who would plays Andy Burnett, in “The Saga of Andy Burnett.” After that preview, Moochie asks Walt about Zorro. Walt tells Cubby that Moochie is not a historical figure, but rather a fictional character. Guy Williams, as Zorro, makes an appearance, and we are given a preview of “Zorro.”
At this point, Walt thinks he is done with the Mouseketeers, but they aren’t as they have one more thing to show him. “Rainbow Road to Oz,” inspired by the Oz books, was to have starred some of the Mouseketeers. Darlene was to play Dorothy, Annette was to portray Ozma the Princess of Oz, Bobby was cast as the Scarecrow, and Tommy as the villainous son of the Wicked Witch of the West. Sets were already being worked on, and musical numbers had been produced for this feature. While some were shown in this special, the movie never came to fruition.
In doing some research as to why “Rainbow Road to Oz” was never released, it seems that by February 1958 that nothing further had been heard about the project. It was replaced by “Babes In Toyland,” which coincidentally starred Annette and Roy Bolger, who played the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz.” The musical numbers and sequences shown in “The Fourth Anniversary Show” looked interesting, but we will never know how it would have come together.
At the end of the show, the Mouseketeers had a birthday cake for Walt and the show. They sang “Happy Birthday,” and the show ended with previews of what was to come. (Note: These are being shown out of order so what you see in the preview may not be shown the following week.) We were even shown Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Betty Crocker commercials. These were fun to see, and it brought back memories for those who remember these commercials from the 1950s.
“Wednesdays with Walt” continues every Wednesday through July 22. For information about show themes, go to http://www.disneyland.com/news/passholder-wednesdays-with-walt/. Showtimes are announced on the Disneyland Annual Passholders Facebook page every Tuesday around 10am.