"Our Friend the Atom" is a 1957 episode of the television series ''
Disneyland
Disneyland is a 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 initially envision ...
'' describing the benefits of
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...
and hosted by
Heinz Haber. It was part of the publicity campaign for peaceful uses of atomic energy, following
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, ...
's "
Atoms for Peace
"Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953.
The United States then launched an "Atoms for Peace" program that supplied equipment ...
" speech at the UN General Assembly in December 1953. The episode was broadcast on January 23, 1957, and repeated on April 24 of the same year.
In 1956,
Golden Press published a children's book, ''The Walt Disney Story of Our Friend the Atom'', using artwork from the show.
[
]
Educational film
In 1980, an updated version called ''The Atom: A Closer Look'' was released by Disney's educational media division.
Production team
Animation
* Jack Boyd
* Cliff Nordberg
* John Lounsbery
John Mitchell Lounsbery (March 9, 1911 – February 13, 1976) was an American animator and director who worked for Walt Disney Productions. He is best known as one of Disney's Nine Old Men, of which he was the shortest lived as well as the fir ...
* Jack Campbell
* Jack Buckley
* Ed Parks
Animation Art Styling
* Claude Coats
Claude Coats (January 17, 1913 – January 9, 1992) was an American artist, background artist, animator and set designer, known for his work with the Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering. His pioneering work with the compa ...
* John Hench
John Hench (June 29, 1908 – February 5, 2004) was an American artist, designer and director at The Walt Disney Company. For 65 years, he helped design and develop various Disney attractions and theme parks.
Early life
Hench was born on June 2 ...
Layout
* Al Zinnen
* Thor Putnam
Backgrounds
* Jimi Trout
* Irv Wyner
Special Processes
* Ub Iwerks
Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentiou ...
* Eustace Lycett
Home media
The episode was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrow Land''.
References
External links
*
Walt Disney anthology television series episodes
1957 American television episodes
Documentary films about nuclear technology
Television episodes directed by Hamilton Luske
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