The first feature-length True-Life Adventure, The Living Desert, was originally released on this day in 1953. Following the success of the True-Life Adventure featurettes, The Living Desert took audiences into the world of desert tortoises, rattlesnake, wildcats, and other desert dwellers. In addition to winning the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature, The Living Desert marks another milestone for Disney, as it is the first movie released under the Buena Vista Distribution Company. When Walt and Roy Disney decided to create their own film distribution division under Walt Disney Productions, they called on Irving Ludwig to help make it happen. Over the next 27 years, Ludwig helped grow the division to 20 regional offices, with locations including Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, which arranged exhibition of Disney movies at theaters throughout the United States and Canada.
