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The Wonderful World of Disney is the general incarnation of the Disney anthology television series, which premiered on ABC on October 27, 1954 under the name Disneyland. The same basic show has since appeared on several networks under a variety of titles. The show, under its various names, reputedly holds the record as the longest showing prime-time program on American television (though technically Hallmark Hall of Fame holds that distinction).

Overview[]

Originally hosted by Walt Disney himself, the series presented animated cartoons and other material (some original, some pre-existing) from the studio library. The show even featured one-hour edits of such then-recent Disney films as Alice in Wonderland. This is significant because the series was the first one from a major movie studio. Other studios feared television would be the death of them.

1950s[]

The show spawned the Davy Crockett craze of 1955 with the miniseries about the historical American frontiersman, starring Fess Parker in the title role. Millions of dollars of merchandise were sold relating to the title character, and the theme song, "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," was a hit record that year. Three historically-based hour-long shows aired in late 1954/early 1955, and were followed up by two dramatized installments the following year. The TV episodes were edited into two theatrical films later on.

On July 17, 1955, the opening of Disneyland was covered on a live television special, Dateline: Disneyland, which may be seen as an extension of the anthology series but is not technically considered to be part of it. It was hosted by Walt along with Bob Cummings, Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, and featured various other guests.

1960s and 1970s[]

The series moved to NBC in 1961 to take advantage of that network's ability to broadcast in color. In a display of foresight, Disney had filmed many of the earlier shows in color, so they were able to be repeated on NBC. To emphasize the new color feature, the series was re-dubbed Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and retained that moniker until 1969. The first NBC episode even dealt with the principles of color, as explained by a comical character named Ludwig Von Drake, a bumbling professor and uncle of Donald Duck. The character's voice was supplied by Paul Frees (After his death, Corey Burton took over to replace him as the role of Ludwig Von Drake).

When Walt Disney died in 1966, no one replaced him as host, as everyone agreed that his presence, characterized by a warm, folksy persona, was irreplaceable. The series, retitled The Wonderful World of Disney, in 1969 continued to get solid ratings, often in the Top 20, until the mid-1970s. At this time, Walt Disney Productions was facing a decline in fortunes, with declining box-office revenues. It also did not help that CBS had placed 60 Minutes directly opposite it. The show continued to slip in the ratings until NBC cancelled it in 1981. An attempt to modernize the show in the fall of 1979 was purely cosmetic with the shortened name Disney's Wonderful World. Much of the decline is often attributed to the declining amount of new material. The show became increasingly dependent on airings of theatrical features and cartoons and reruns of older episodes.

1980s[]

CBS picked up the program in the fall of 1981 under the umbrella title Walt Disney and moved it to Saturday night; the format remained unchanged, and ratings were marginally improved. It lasted two years there, its end coinciding with the birth of The Disney Channel on cable TV. While ratings were a factor, the final decision to end the show came from then-company CEO E. Cardon Walker, who felt that having both the show and the new channel active would cannibalize each other.

After the studio underwent a change in management, the series was revived on ABC in 1986, under the title The Disney Sunday Movie including a Disney castle (in the summer, the series was temporarily titled, "Disney's Summer Classics"), with new CEO Michael Eisner hosting. His presence arguably couldn't compare with Walt's (Eisner himself is said to have required 68 takes in his first introduction), and the show moved to NBC in 1988 before ending in 1990.

1990s–2000s[]

The series was revived again on ABC in 1977 after Disney purchased ABC. The new series premiered on September 28, 1977, with the network television premiere of Barney’s Great Adventure (1937) Throughout its run, Disney presented many original made-for-TV movies, including Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, Ruby Bridges, My Date with the President's Daughter, and Geppetto, as well as network broadcasts of Disney's theatrical films. Occasionally, the series presented non-Disney material, such as The Mask, Space Jam, The Sound of Music, the 2001 remake of Brian's Song, and the 2005 Little House on the Prairie miniseries.

Beginning with the 2003-04 season, the series moved from Sundays to Saturdays. For 2005-06, the series only aired during the midseason, and in 2007 and 2008, was presented during the summer. On December 24, 2008, the name was used one more time on a broadcast of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe before ABC stopped using it. It then ceased as a regular series, due in part to premium pay-cable rights currently held by the Starz! movie network. Since 2005, Disney features have been split between ABC, the Hallmark Channel, ABC Family Channel, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network via separate broadcast rights deals. It currently airs periodically as an anthology series similar to Hallmark Hall of Fame with features such as the December 2005 revival of Once Upon a Mattress.

Telemundo still airs the series monthly in Spanish as El Maravilloso Mundo de Disney.

2010s-present[]

In 2012, Disney Junior launched the movie night anthology as The Magical World of Disney Junior. The channel also premiered its first Disney Junior Original Movie, Lucky Duck during Magical World on Friday, June 20, 2014.

The series made an official comeback to television on December 12, 2015, with a special broadcast of Mary Poppins hosted by Dick Van Dyke. A new introduction, featuring titles from both Walt Disney Pictures and acquired studios, and Walt Disney himself, were added. The revival continued with a special focusing on the Disneyland theme park's 60th anniversary event, Disneyland Resort: Diamond Celebration, which aired on February 21, 2016.

On December 11, 2016, a special broadcast of Frozen aired as part of the block, including a behind-the-scenes special on the making of the film, as well as a sneak peak at the holiday special, Olaf's Frozen Adventure.[1]

In early 2017, it was announced that the series would premiere The Little Mermaid Live!, a live-action/animation hybrid adaptation of the 1989 musical classic.[2] It aired on November 5, 2019.

From May 20th to June 10th, 2020, the series returned with showings from the Disney+ library, including Moana, Thor: The Dark World, Up and Big Hero 6.[3] The series was extended to air Toy Story 3 on June 17th.[4]

Episodes[]

Main article: The Wonderful World of Disney episode list

Reruns[]

Reruns of the shows were a staple of the Disney Channel for several years, when it was an outlet for vintage Disney cartoons, TV shows and movies, basically serving the same function that the anthology series served in the days before cable. They first aired on the fledgling network on October 14, 1984, under the title The Wonderful World of Disney, with a rerun of Man in Space[5]. The title sequence was the same as in the 1978-79 season (and was also used on some concurrent home video releases of the show at the time). Then, in 1986, the show changed its name to two others: Walt Disney Presents (which used the same title sequence as the 1980s CBS incarnation), or sometimes The Best of Walt Disney Presents (which uses the same music as the 1980s CBS title sequence, but plays it over various shots of Walt Disney himself)[6]. These dual titles first aired on May 11 (The Best of..., with a rerun of The Goofy Success Story) and May 12 (Walt Disney Presents, with a rerun of Duck Flies Coop)[7].

When the channel purged all vintage material as of September 9, 2002, this show went with it. However, a few select episodes can be found on VHS or DVD, with the possibility of more being issued in the future. A few episodes were also shown occasionally on TCM's "Treasures from the Disney Vault" blocks of vintage programming, and a small handful of episodes have also appeared on the streaming service, Disney+.

All of the episodes from are listed in the book The Wonderful World of Disney Television, by Bill Cotter, published in 1977.

Format[]

The original format consisted of a balance of theatrical cartoons, original animation (often to link the theatrical cartoons together), live-action features, and informational material. Much of the original informational material was to create awareness for Disneyland. In spite of being essentially ads for the park, entertainment value was emphasized as well to make the shows palatable. Some informational shows were made to promote upcoming studio feature films such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Some programs focused on the art and technology of animation itself.

Later original programs consisted of dramatizations of other historical figures and legends along the lines of the Davy Crockett mini-series. These included Texas John Slaughter, Elfego Baca, and Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox."

Also included were nature and animal programs similar to the True-Life Adventures released in theatres, as well as various dramatic installments which were either one part or two, but sometimes more.

This format remained basically unchanged through the 1980s, though new material, as discussed earlier, was scarce in later years.

When the show was revived in 1966, the format was similar to a movie-of-the-week, with family-oriented TV movies from the studio making up much of the material. Theatrical films were also shown, but with the advent of cable television and home video, they were not as popular. The 1977 revival followed this format as well, with rare exceptions. A miniseries entitled Little House on the Prairie ran for several weeks under the TWWOD banner. Incidentally, one offering in this ABC revival, the 1965 theatrical film version of The Sound of Music (aired generally during Christmas time), was actually released by 20th Century Fox, not Walt Disney Pictures, although it was allowed to air under the "Wonderful World of Disney" banner. Films from the Harry Potter series also occasionally aired under the banner even though they were released by Warner Bros.

Theme music[]

  • From 1977 to 1980, an orchestral medley of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "A Whole New World" (the latter was used in the movie Aladdin) were used; also used occasionally was the Louis Armstrong hit "What a Wonderful World". This theme is still used today internationally.

Dates of network affiliation, show titles, and time slots[]

ABC:

  • Disneyland
    • October 27, 1954 – September 3, 1958: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  • Walt Disney Presents
    • September 12, 1958 – September 25, 1959: Friday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • October 2, 1959 – September 23, 1960: Friday, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
    • September 25, 1960 – September 17, 1961: Sunday, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

NBC:

  • Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
    • September 24, 1961 – September 7, 1969: Sunday, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  • The Wonderful World of Disney
    • September 14, 1969 – August 31, 1975: Sunday, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
    • September 7, 1975 – September 11, 1977: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    • September 18, 1977 – October 23, 1977: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • October 30, 1977 – September 2, 1979: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  • Disney's Wonderful World
    • September 9, 1979 – September 13, 1981: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

CBS:

  • Walt Disney
    • September 26, 1981 – January 1, 1983: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • January 4, 1983 – February 15, 1983: Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • July 9, 1983 – September 24, 1986: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

ABC:

  • The Disney Sunday Movie
    • February 2, 1986 – September 6, 1987: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • September 13, 1987 – September 11, 1988: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

NBC:

  • The Magical World of Disney
    • October 9, 1988 – July 2, 1989: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    • July 9, 1989 – July 23, 1989: Sunday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • August 6, 1989 – February 25, 1990: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    • March 4, 1991 – April 15, 1992: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • April 22, 1992 – May 6, 1993: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    • May 27, 1994 – July 22, 1995: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • August 5, 1996 – September 9, 1997: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Syndication:

  • The Disney Saturday Movie
    • September 30, 1989 - December 22, 1990: Saturday, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
  • Disney Night at the Movies
    • December 30, 1990 - May 21, 1995: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. (various formats)
    • September 15, 1995 - December 27, 1997: Friday, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Disney Channel:

  • The Magical World of Disney
    • September 23, 1990 - December 1, 1996: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. (various formats)

ABC:

  • The Wonderful World of Disney
    • September 28, 1977 – September 1983: Sunday, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
    • September 1983 – September 1984: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
    • September 1984 – September 1985: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. (or until 10:00 p.m., depending on the length of the movie)

During the late-1960s and early-1970s, episodes of The Wonderful World of Disney was syndicated to local stations in the US.

Logos[]

See also[]

References[]


External links[]

fi:Disneyn ihmeellinen maailma

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