‘Old Yeller’: Remembering a Classic Featurette: “Certainly Old Yeller was a story that could have happened to Walt” states Roy E. Disney at the beginning of this justly reverential ‘making of’ documentary. Beverly Washburn (who played Lisbeth Searcy and hasn’t changed a bit) joins fellow cast members Kirk, Parker and Corcoran, along with Gipson’s son T. Beck Gipson and animal trainer Bob Weatherwax.

The featurette is divided into roughly six sections, highlighted here:

• The Book: Honoring the legacy of Fred Gipson and his writing. As is stated on his tombstone, “His books are his monument”. Old Yeller Dog was the original title of the book, which has remained in constant print, in many languages, since its debut in 1955.
• The Cast: Includes a special tribute to the late Dorothy McGuire, who passed away last September. Washburn relates her ‘hour and a half’ courtship with Kirk.
• The Production: Walt and director Stevenson strived for total authenticity, from the costumes down to the props the actors used. Stevenson receives credit for his expert handling of child actors, although one wishes he had not told Corcoran to "never stop moving".
• The Star: His Name Is Spike. The younger Weatherwax recounts how his father and uncle were responsible for training their enigmatic charge, a yellow lab/mastiff mix who was bought from the dog pound for $4. Weighing in at a hefty 170 pounds, Roy recalls “he was the biggest yellow dog I ever saw in my life”, thus the lack of any ‘stunt dog’ able to stand in for him. The Weatherwaxes also trained that other dog, Lassie.
• The Scene: You know which one I’m talking about …
• The Legacy: Fred Gipson was very pleased with the film, as noted in this quote from a newspaper article he wrote soon after Old Yeller’s release in 1957: “The ‘impossible’ dog had acted the role of Old Yeller with an incredible show of intelligence. I came away from the showing as pleased as a little boy with a new red wagon.”

Conversations with Tommy Kirk Featurette: The young leading man of Disney films from 1957 to 1965, Tom Kirk (who is now almost sixty-years old, believe it or not) talks about his work at the Studios, with a focus on Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson and The Absent-Minded Professor. He recounts an anecdote about his Shaggy/Absent-Minded co-star Fred MacMurray … lets just say you didn’t want to accuse him of stealing focus.

Not as engrossing as the Swiss Family featurette on James MacArthur, this interview skips over a lot of the films Kirk made during his tenure at Disney (such as Babes in Toyland and the Merlin Jones films) and abruptly stops short at Kirk’s post-Disney life. Considering his later drug problems and coming out, on a Disney produced family product this is to be expected, but not condoned; it still leaves a feeling of disingenuousness.

Regardless of rumors that Kirk left Disney on bad terms, here he has nothing but the highest praise for the man that made him a star, referring to Walt as “a genius”.

Dogs! Featurette: Musical montage of clips showing how Disney puts on the dog, from the animated (Fox and the Hound, Oliver and Company) to the real (Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, Air Bud) to, of course, Pluto and Old Yeller. Curiously missing is any footage from the Yeller sequel, Savage Sam.

Lost Treasures: Roy E. Disney introduces the Ranch of the Golden Oak, a highly informative look at this remote movie ranch, 25 miles north of Burbank, where a lot of the classic Disney live action movies and television shows were shot, including Old Yeller, Follow Me Boys!, Toby Tyler, Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, Blackbeard’s Ghost, Zorro, Swamp Fox and Daniel Boone.

The site where gold was first found in California, this 708-acre ranch (purchased by Disney in 1959 and now the only remaining movie ranch in Los Angels County) offers many evergreen, picturesque locations perfect for filming, and can be seen in such non-Disney productions as Back to the Future, Independence Day and Wild Wild West. Ranch manager Steve Sligh takes viewers on a tour, including many of the locations used in the filming of Old Yeller. A great supplement, offering something unexpected but entirely rewarding.