Q: I had the pleasure of having Diamond Level access to the Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animated Features event in 2012. During the studio tour on day three, we had a presentation on the film media used during the history of Disney films. We were informed that many of the original films have been lost due to deterioration of the film stock. Have all of the Walt Disney’s Disneyland, Walt Disney Presents, and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color television shows that were filmed (from 1954 to 1966) when Walt was alive been restored to their original full color? Are there any plans to release these as Season Volumes on DVD or Blu-ray? Also, the Blu-ray release of Alice in Wonderland contains a 1950 TV Christmas special that Walt Disney filmed entitled One Hour in Wonderland. I read that there was a second TV Christmas special from 1951 entitled The Walt Disney Christmas Show. Are they available on DVD or Blu-ray?
Chuck, Columbus, Ohio
A: Disney has always been famous for taking care of its old films, when other studios let theirs disintegrate. So, no, there are not any Disney films that have been lost (except for some early Alice Comedies and Oswald cartoons). Thinking ahead, Walt Disney filmed most of his early television shows in color, even though they were being aired in black and white. Sometimes when the shows were later rerun, shown on Disney Channel, or released on videocassette/DVD, color prints were made from the original negatives. It is possible that some of the shows have never had a color print made. I know of no plans to re-release the seasons of the television series on DVD. The 1951 Christmas show has not been released on video or DVD.
Dave Smith