"Man in Space" is an episode of the American television series ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

'' which originally aired on March 9, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honored ...

. This ''Disneyland'' episode (set in

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...

), was narrated partly by Kimball and also by such scientists

Willy Ley Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scr ...

Heinz Haber Heinz Haber (May 15, 1913 in Mannheim – February 13, 1990 in Hamburg) was a German physicist and science writer who primarily became known for his TV programs and books about physics and environmental subjects. His lucid style of explaining ...

, and

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

; as well as

Dick Tufeld Richard Norton Tufeld (December 11, 1926 – January 22, 2012) was an American actor, announcer, narrator and voice actor from the late 1940s until the early 21st century. He was a well-known presence on television as an announcer, but his ...

of ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' fame. The show begins with a brief, lighthearted history of rockets, then presents discussions of satellites, a practical look (through humorous animation) at what humans will have to face in space (both physically and psychologically, such as momentum, weightlessness, radiation, even space sickness) and an imaginary view of a rocket's takeoff into space. The next episodes in this series were " Man and the Moon" and " Mars and Beyond," airing in seasons 2 and 4, respectively.

Reuse

"Man in Space" was edited into a featurette to play in theaters, accompanying "

Davy Crockett and the River Pirates ''Davy Crockett and the River Pirates'' is a 1956 American Western film produced by Walt Disney Productions. A prequel to '' Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier'', the feature film is an edited and recut compilation of the last two episode ...

". An adaptation of the episode was published (under the title "Walt Disney's Man in Space: A Science Feature from Tomorrowland") by

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

as "

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

" #716 in 1956, scripted by

Don R. Christensen Donald Ragnvald Christensen (July 6, 1916 – October 18, 2006) was an American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, writer and inventor. He was sometimes credited as "Don Arr". Christensen was a graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Des ...

with art by Tony Sgroi. It was a " novelization" in comic book form of two Walt Disney television programs, "Man in Space" (1955) and "Man and the Moon" (1955). Also found as a 1956 UK reprint as ''A

World Distributors World Distributors (known colloquially as "Pembertons") was a British publisher and distributor of magazines and comic books. The company was known for repackaging American comics and producing comic book annuals based on licensed properties. For ...

Movie Classic'' (#45) and a 1959 combined reprint with the other two Dell Comics adaptations of "Man in Space" films as ''Walt Disney's Man in Space'' (''Dell Comics Giant'' #27).

Educational use

Part of this episode was excerpted and released in 1964 as ''All About Weightlessness''. It was also made into a "Tomorrowland adventure" book for classroom use in 1959 as ''Man in Space: A Tomorrowland Adventure''. Walt Disney Productions. Adapted for school use by Willy Ley, Illustrated by Carbe, Nino. Syracuse, NY: LW Singer Co. Inc. (48 p.) 21 cm. Softcover.

Critical reception

About 40 million people watched the episode. It was nominated for Best Documentary Short.

Government interest

A copy of the show was requested by United States President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

to show to the Pentagon rocket experts. The chair of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

commission for spaceflight,

Leonid I. Sedov Leonid Ivanovich Sedov (russian: Леонид Иванович Седов; 14 November 1907 – 5 September 1999) was a leading Soviet expert on hydro- and aerodynamics and applied mechanics. In 1930 Sedov graduated from the Moscow State Universit ...

, also requested a copy.

Home media

The episode was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrow Land''. The episode, along with " Mars and Beyond", was added to

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

in June 2020.

References

External links

* * {{Ward Kimball 1955 American television episodes American documentary television films Television episodes directed by Ward Kimball Walt Disney anthology television series episodes Wernher von Braun