Toon Talk: Walt Disney Treasures: Disneyland USA
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DISC 2:

Disneyland After Dark

When this program first aired on April 15, 1962 on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on NBC, it had been awhile since Walt had done a show from the park. For the twist needed to make it special, Walt takes us to Disneyland after the sun goes down and magic lights up the night.

This being B.M.S.E.P. (Before Main Street Electrical Parade), the show is filled with a host of popular musical guests for nighttime entertainment. Now you may not have heard a lot about, say, Bobby Rydell, but the line-up then was a big enough draw to warrant a theatrical release of this program abroad.

We start off on a Monorail ride from the Disneyland Hotel, where one can see the future site of Disney's California Adventure (a.k.a. the parking lot) and such Yesterland attractions as the Submarine Lagoon and the Sky Way. We meet Walt out in the hub as he tries to preside over the evening's entertainment. But in a clever nod to his increased fame since the start of the series seven years prior, he is constantly besieged by autograph seekers, a running gag that is repeated throughout the show.

We are treated to performances from all over the park: The Dapper Dans barber shop quartet entertains on Main Street. Former Mousketeers Annette Funicello and Bobby Burgess dance in Tomorrowland, with Annette singing a solo number, followed by Rydell's "Around the World". The Royal Tahitians knife dance and fire walk in Adventureland (complete with "Professional Stuntman - Do Not Attempt" disclaimer on screen for this, the age of Jackass). Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong leads a Dixieland combo on the deck of the Mark Twain. And from the Plaza Gardens, the Elliott Brothers Orchestra introduces the crowd (and the world, this being their network television debut) to the Osmond Brothers.

Actually, not much of the park is seen in this program, save for a vintage performance of "Fantasy in the Sky" fireworks, featuring Tinker Bell in her third career. But you do get to see some of the big-headed, clunky-costumed characters of the day and lots of groovy 1960s fashions and hairstyles.

Disneyland 10th Anniversary

To celebrate the "first fabulous decade" of the park, Walt previews what is to come, as "anything's possible at Disneyland". He is joined in this episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (original airdate January 3, 1965 on NBC) by Julie Reihm, the first Disneyland Ambassador, here so very quaintly referred to as "Miss Disneyland".

We are lead through the Imagineering department, where see Mary Blair designing the facade for the It's a Small World attraction, fresh from the 1964 New York World's Fair. Another legendary Imagineer and animator, Marc Davis is seen working on the Haunted Mansion. And we walk through the miniaturized layout of the Pirates of the Caribbean, including a "walking the plank" scene that was eventually cut.

Tinker Bell then leads us to Sleeping Beauty Castle for the 10th anniversary celebration. A parade of wooden soldiers is joined by such Disney favorites as Mickey, Pinocchio and newcomer Mary Poppins, who magically summons a giant birthday cake, complete with dancing candles singing the Sherman Brothers penned "Anniversary Song".

Walt then recaps the brief but busy ten years-plus history of the park up until that time, with footage of him pacing out the land amidst the orange trees and even pitching in on the construction.

Along with shots of various foreign dignitaries visiting the park with Walt, we get to see the infamous ribbon-cutting, or more appropriately, ribbon-tearing ceremony of the Monorail with Richard Nixon and family. And Walt seems especially proud of his fleet of submarines, the eighth largest in the world.

The Mills family, including father John (Swiss Family Robinson) and daughter Hayley (Pollyanna), tour the Swiss Family Treehouse followed by a behind-the-scenes peek at the Enchanted Tiki Room courtesy of Jose the Audio-Animatronic parrot. The day is capped off with a nighttime performance of various Dixieland bands on the Rivers of America , including the Firehouse Five Plus Two making a return engagement to the park.

What is a real treat here is Walt. All throughout this episode, he is particularly playful and charming, joshing with the Imagineers and fawning over Reihm like a proud uncle.

Bonus Features

Gallery
Includes all the cool color posters from the Main Street Train Station at Disneyland through the years. But what? No concept art?

The Magic Kingdom and the Magic of Television
A title that is a bit misleading, as the connection between the two are not really discussed. Most of what's included here is a repeat of material from the above four programs; the saving grace is the final montage of photos of Walt through the years at the happy place that he created.

Want List for Future Disneyland episodes on DVD:
One word:  chapters.

Toon Talk Rating: A-

Toon Talk Trivia:

• The Disneyland television series won an Emmy Award it's first season for Best Variety Series.
• Disneyland USA is also the name of a Peoples and Places featurette that was released theatrically in 1956.
• Hamilton Luske, who directed Disneyland After Dark and Disneyland 10th Anniversary, was originally an animator at the Disney Studios who worked on such early characters as Max Hare and Snow White. He eventually moved into directing, including such shorts as Ben and Me and Donald in Mathmagic Land and many features, including Pinocchio, Fantasia and Cinderella.
• George Bruns, who scored The Disneyland Story (which was also known as What is Disneyland?), contributed to many Disney productions throughout his career, including his Academy Award-nominated score for Sleeping Beauty and co-writing the song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett".
• Who, or what, may you ask is The Firehouse Five Plus Two? They were a Dixieland jazz group made up a members of the Disney Studios staff, including artists Ward Kimball, Harper Goff and Frank Thomas.

Final Word:

Discuss It

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Related Links

• Purchase Disneyland USA from Amazon.com

-- Kirby C. Holt

-- Posted December 10, 2001