Every day at laughinplace.com is special, but today (September 17th) is extra special because today is Apple Dumpling Day! Yes, you read that correctly. There is indeed an Apple Dumpling Day and that day is today.
If you don’t live within driving distance of Epcot to go enjoy this all-American dessert at the Liberty Inn, then you’ll have to make them yourself. Disney’s spoonful.com has an excellent recipe, complete with tips on how you can make them as a family. Dig in!
Now let’s talk about what to watch while enjoying this delicious treat. The obvious choice is The Apple Dumpling Gang, the 1975 comedy classic from Walt Disney Productions. The less obvious choice is the less popular sequel, 1979’s The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. To celebrate Apple Dumpling Day, we take a look back at these two films.
Set in Quake City, CA during the Gold Rush, The Apple Dumpling Gang is about three orphaned kids who find themselves in the care of a gambling bachelor. During an earthquake, the kids stumble upon a gold nugget and dub themselves “The Apple Dumpling Gang” while celebrating over an all-you-can-eat serving of this tasty confection. Their newfound wealth causes them more harm than good, so the kids plan to let two bumbling crooks steal it from them. The only problem is somebody else is trying to beat them to it.
While not the stars of the film, Tim Conway and Don Knotts stole the show as the bumbling outlaws. The cast fondly remembers the details put into the sets, including the full fire station interior that was built in one of the soundstages and before-and-after exteriors constructed on the backlot. The western backlot at the Disney Studio was frequently used during this film. The child actors (Clay O’Brien, Brad Savage and Stacy Manning) remember director Norman Tokar being extremely patient with them, attributing this to the fact that he directed nearly 100 episodes of Leave It to Beaver. Shortly after this film, Bill Bixby who plays Donovan went on to play Dr. David Banner on the beloved series The Incredible Hulk (#itsallconnected).
The Apple Dumpling Gang was a big success, so successful that it’s one of the few Disney films that has a sequel, which was released in 1979. The only characters to appear in the sequel are Amos and Theodore (Tim Conway and Don Knotts). In the follow-up, the duo arrives in Junction City where they refer to themselves as “The Apple Dumpling Gang.” They find themselves in trouble when they are mistaken for bank robbers that recently passed through town.
The sequel loses a lot of the charm and heart from the original by not having kids involved. In 1982, Disney made a TV movie follow up called Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang starring Ed Bagley Jr. A short-lived TV series was also produced based on the film called Gun Shy starring Barry Van Dyke (son of Dick Van Dyke).
The catchy theme song to The Apple Dumpling Gang was written by Shane Tatum, son of the president of Disney (1971-1980) Donn Tatum. An instrumental version of the song can be heard in Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World (music from the score can be heard near Big Thunder Mountain in Disneyland).
Whichever way you chose to celebrate, I wish everybody a happy Dapple Lumpling… Lumple Dapling… Apple Dumpling Day!
