The Wonderful World of Disney (1954)
Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC, Wednesday night, October 27, 1954. The show, which was hosted by Walt Disney until his death and then from 1996 to 2002 by then-CEO Michael Eisner (with one-off hosts or no hosts during other periods) has since aired continually as either a weekly program or an irregular series of specials on several networks and streaming services, most recently on ABC and Disney+. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television, behind its rival, Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame was a weekly program only during its first five seasons, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than forty years.
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Episode 1 - Antarctica: Past and Present
Release Date: 1956-09-12Walt Disney hosts a look at his plans for a brand new documentary on Antarctica.
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Episode 2 - The Great Cat Family
Release Date: 1956-09-19Walt talks about the cat family, primarily focusing on lions and domestic cats. It is explained particularly on the cats' importance to ancient Egypt and how some people would respect them, and others would fear them as superstitious beings.
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Episode 3 - Searching for Nature's Mysteries
Release Date: 1956-09-26Once again, Disneyland plays host to Winston Hibler, the familiar narrator (and sometimes writer/director) of Disney's ""True-Life Adventures"" short subject series. Hibler describes the various techniques used for making such up-close-and-personal nature documentaries as the then-upcoming Disney theatrical feature Secrets of Life, including the development of miniature lense and stroboscopic ""cold"" light. Highlights include a foray into a beehive and a visit to an ant colony, and a time-lapse-photography sequence of blossoming plant life to the tune of Maurice Ravel's ""Bolero"". Searching for Nature's Mysteries originally aired 2 months before the official November 20, 1956 release of Secrets of Life.
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Episode 4 - Rob Roy: Part 1
Release Date: 1956-10-03Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (1953) re-edited into a two-part television presentation.
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Episode 5 - Rob Roy: Part 2
Release Date: 1956-10-10Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (1953) re-edited into a two-part television presentation.
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Episode 6 - Goofy's Cavalcade of Sports
Release Date: 1956-10-17 -
Episode 7 - Behind the Cameras at Lapland/The Alaskan Eskimo
Release Date: 1956-10-24 -
Episode 8 - The Plausible Impossible
Release Date: 1956-10-31Walt explains a principle of his style of animation called ""the plausible impossible,"" in which things that cannot be done in reality can be done in animation if there is a plausible basis for it. He uses clips from several cartoons and features to demonstrate.
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Episode 9 - Cameras in Samoa/The Holland Story
Release Date: 1956-11-07 -
Episode 10 - Along the Oregon Trail
Release Date: 1956-11-14Walt takes us on the famous Oregon Trail, a pathway from Kansas City to Oregon, where the settlers moved westward. And speaking of westward, We also go behind the scenes of the new Disny feature Westward Ho the Wagons! with the famous Fess Parker himself.
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Episode 11 - At Home with Donald Duck
Release Date: 1956-11-21It's Donald's birthday, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie are thrown a party by their uncle in honor of his own birthday! He treats the boys to special home screenings of his own movies on 8mm film reels, but they want to watch the Mickey Mouse and Goofy cartoons. Adding insult to injury, the boys would rather watch the Mickey Mouse Club on TV.
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Episode 12 - Pluto's Day
Release Date: 1956-12-12 -
Episode 13 - Your Host, Donald Duck
Release Date: 1957-01-16Donald Duck convinces Walt Disney to let him take over the hosting duties for one episode. Then he goes on to host an episode that he calls "The Duckland Four-In-One Show", where he goes through his own versions of the lands of Disneyland.
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Episode 14 - Our Friend, the Atom
Release Date: 1957-01-23"Our Friend the Atom" is a 1957 episode of the television series Disneyland describing the benefits of atomic power.
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Episode 15 - All About Magic
Release Date: 1957-01-30Walt Disney explores the Basement of the Disney Studios to show us the art of magic with the help of the magic Mirror from Snow White.
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Episode 16 - Tricks of Our Trade
Release Date: 1957-02-13Walt explains the methods by which motion picture animation is made, using recreations of studio study sessions, clips from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, and Fantasia and some new footage of Mickey Mouse.
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Episode 17 - The Crisler Story/Prowlers of the Everglades
Release Date: 1957-02-27 -
Episode 18 - Man in Flight
Release Date: 1957-03-06 -
Episode 19 - The Adventure Story
Release Date: 1957-03-20Goofy? An Adventure Story? That's the theme for today's episode.
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Episode 20 - Donald's Award
Release Date: 1957-03-27Walt finds himself troubled by Donald Duck's constant outbursts; he then promises his feathered star a medal if an entire week passes without any complaints about his behavior.
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Episode 21 - Disneyland the Park/Pecos Bill
Release Date: 1957-04-03Walt treats the audience to a tour of Disneyland, followed by the Pecos Bill segment of Melody Time (1948), which had been re-edited for television presentation.
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Episode 22 - People of the Desert
Release Date: 1957-04-10 -
Episode 23 - More About the Silly Symphonies
Release Date: 1957-04-17 -
Episode 24 - The Yellowstone Story/Bear Country
Release Date: 1957-05-01 -
Episode 25 - The Liberty Story
Release Date: 1957-05-29The first half of this story is an excerpt from the upcoming theatrical release ""Johnny Tremain."" The second half is an airing of the 1953 cartoon ""Ben and Me,"" in which a church mouse named Amos befriends Benjamin Franklin.
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Episode 26 - Antarctica: Operation Deep Freeze
Release Date: 1957-06-05