I’m happy to
be hosting another evening of Treasures
from the Disney Vault this Wednesday on Turner Classic Movies beginning at
8pm EST/5pm PST. What makes it even more special for me is that they shot my
introductions at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, a wondrous
place that demands repeated visits—and lots of time to take it all in.
As for our
film program, the centerpiece is 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea (1954), followed by the hour-long TV show about its
creation, Operation Undersea. Today, “making-of”
documentaries are commonplace, but it was rare in the 1950s and, as usual, Walt
Disney was ahead of the curve. The program even won an Emmy Award. In keeping
with the nautical theme, we’re also showing such vintage cartoons shorts as The Whalers, Sea Scouts, and Merbabies.
Secrets of Life (1956) is one of my
favorite True-Life Adventures, and for this showing the folks at Disney have
restored the final segment, which originally appeared in CinemaScope.
And for animal
lovers there’s Nikki, Wild Dog of the
North (1961), an entertaining yarn (based on a novel by James Oliver
Curwood) about the unlikely friendship between a dog and a bear.
I’m so glad
the folks at Turner Classic Movies have made this long-term commitment to
Disney programming, and I feel fortunate to be involved. You can check the
schedule HERE.
