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.
Q : I recently found out that an edited version of The Three Caballeros was paired up as a double feature rerelease with the 1968 Dick Van Dyke vehicle Never a Dull Moment in the ‘70’s. I believe that there was also a double feature rerelease of One Hundred and One Dalmatians and Swiss Family Robinson in the late ‘60s, or at least one of those with another film from around that period. Do you know of many other double feature rereleases Disney has done besides these and the 3D screenings of the first two Toy Story films before the third film came out?
Bobo, Melbourne, Florida
A: There have been a number of double feature rereleases, such as Dumbo/Saludos Amigos (1949), The Shaggy Dog/The Absent-Minded Professor (1967), The Living Desert/The Vanishing Prairie (1971), Dumbo/The Legend of Lobo (1972), One Hundred and One Dalmatians/Swiss Family Robinson (1972) Old Yeller/The Incredible Journey (1974), Treasure Island/Dr. Syn Alias the Scarecrow (1975), Never a Dull Moment/The Three Caballeros (1977), and The Jungle Book/The Sign of Zorro (1978). As you will notice, many of these came in the 1970s, when the company was not making a lot of new movies. During the days that theaters regularly showed double features, Disney would often release a reissue as a companion to a new feature.
Q : In Saving Mr. Banks, when P.L. Travers goes to Disneyland with Walt Disney, Walt is met by a group of fans wanting autographs. But instead of hand-signing everything for them, he hands out pieces of paper with his autograph already on them. Did Walt really do that and if so, were they authentic signatures?
Avi, Irvine, California
A: Walt found out that when he started signing autographs at Disneyland, he got this huge crowd around him, and he was unable to get his work done. So he made a point of hand-signing pages from his notepads, and he would hand them out to guests on request. The signatures were authentic.
Q : Hello. I was just wondering. I have what I was told is a “Cutting” or “Continuity” script for Pinocchio. It is about 200 pages and 11″ by 17″. Would you know how many of these existed? Also, how and when they were used. I think I have something fairly unique here. What do you think?
Jaimie, Chilliwack, British Columbia
A: Cutting continuities are prepared in a very limited edition for all films after they are completed. The continuities indicate the exact length of each scene, a description of the action, and any dialogue. They are used in many different departments at Disney, such as sound dubbing, foreign releases, selecting film clips for publicity, etc. Since they are primarily an internal document, there would be few outside the company, so you have a nice item. It would not have much monetary value, however.
Disney Animated Character Snow White
Q : There is currently a debate about Snow White’s eye color. Several people believe that when they saw the film in theaters years ago, her eye color was blue, not brown as normally depicted. Surviving cels, etc. seem to indicate that they were originally brown, but someone located a Golden Book from 1962 called Walt Disney’s Story Land, in which she is depicted with blue eyes. Did Disney ever produce material, or authorize material, in which Snow White had blue eyes?
Brian, Littleton, Massachusetts
A: Snow White’s eyes in the original film were brown. It is possible that in later uses—movie posters, books, merchandise, etc.—that she might sometimes have been given blue eyes.
Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks as P.L. Travers and Walt Disney on King Arthur's Carrousel
Q : In the movie Saving Mr. Banks when Walt and P.L. Travers were on King Arthur’s Carrousel in Disneyland. I noticed the carousel was playing “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” (Song of the South) and “A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes” (Cinderella). I’ve been frequently visiting Disneyland since 2002, and King Arthur’s Carousel has always played “Once Upon A Dream” (Sleeping Beauty) until about a few years ago when many different songs (including “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” and “A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes”). When Walt was around, did King Arthur’s Carrousel ever play other songs besides “Once Upon A Dream,” or did the soundtrack for the carousel ever change since the carousel officially opened a few years ago?
Stephie, Las Vegas, Nevada
A: In a 1955 Disneyland press release, King Arthur Carrousel was described as featuring “gay calliope tunes.” A 1969 issue of Disney News suggested that “The Skater’s Waltz” was played on the calliope. At some point later, Disney music was added.
Scar in Disney's Animated film The Lion King
Q : I hear many things about characters that to the big Disney fans remain unnamed, but others give them names. It’s been confirmed on here that Adam is not the name of the Beast, and Ferdinand is not the name of the Prince in Snow White. Lately I’ve been hearing that Scar from The Lion King‘s name was Taka before he got the scar on his face. Can you confirm or deny this rumor?
Dana, New York
A: That name appeared in a 1994 book series about The Lion King, and is not recognized as an official name of the character.