BBC's Walt Disney: From Fantasia to Fantasyland (1978)

In the 1970's there was a movement giving the golden age of 1930's Hollywood academic attention. Many of the people who had been part of these films were reaching their golden years and eager to share their stories and many of the up and coming filmmakers were eager to document them and hear them. For the first time old Hollywood was being treated as a serious academic subject worthy of study. This is one of these projects.

This 1978 BBC documentary captures Walt's studio at the end of the Walt era. We get a retrospective on the projects produced by Walt and his collaborators prior to the Eisner era. There's interviews with such Disney legends as Frank Thomas, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, James Algar, Marc Davis, Ken Anderson, Jimmy MacDonald, John Hench, Walt's daughter Diane Disney Miller, studio head Ron Miller, rising artist Andy Gaskill. and more. These are some of the first behind the scenes commentary ever captured on film from the people who were there and involved.

This documentary also reflects on Walt's values and morality and how they were still relevant in the 1970's. It explores Walt's role in popular culture touching on the animated films, live action, True Life Adventures, Disneyland, and beyond. We also see rare behind the scenes material on the then latest Disney animated feature release The Rescuers including material not in the final film. There's also material on Pete's Dragon. This is a great time capsule capturing how the studio carried on after Walt's passing.

*Historical note the nude photo of the woman hidden in the background of the Rescuers is present in one of the scenes. It was placed in the shot for two frames of film as a "joke" by one of the younger animators. This shot was used weekly n the intro to Walt's TV show as part of this "gag." In 1999 there was a massive recall of the 2nd VHS release of the film and the video was recalled. This image was then digitally removed from the film as new VHS tapes were issued. Since it's part of Walt Disney history, we're pointing out it's present in this documentary.

Original airdate 1978

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.