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The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
has produced an
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The program moved among the
Big Three television networks In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their longev ...
in its first four decades, but has aired on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
since 1997 and
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 ...
since 2020. The original version of the series premiered on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
in 1954. The show was broadcast weekly on one of the
Big Three television networks In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their longev ...
until 1990, a 36-year span with only a two-year hiatus in 1984–85. The series was broadcast on Sunday for 25 of those years. From 1991 until 1997, the series aired infrequently. The program resumed a regular schedule in 1997 on the ABC fall schedule, coinciding with Disney's purchase of the network in 1996. From 1997 to 2008, the program aired regularly on ABC. Since then, ABC has continued the series as an occasional special presentation from 2008 onward, the most recent being a holiday music special in 2019. In 2020, the series returned with movies from the
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 ...
library. The show has had only two hosts, founder and former president,
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
, and former chairman and C.E.O.,
Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
. The show is the second longest-running prime-time program on U.S. television, behind ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...
''.


Titles

*''Walt Disney's Disneyland'' (1954–1958;
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
) *''Walt Disney Presents'' (1958–1961; ABC) *''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'' (1961–1969;
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
) *''The Wonderful World of Disney'' (first era; 1969–1979; NBC) *''Disney's Wonderful World'' (1979–1981; NBC) *''
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
'' (1981–1983;
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
) *''
The Disney Sunday Movie The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The p ...
'' (1986–1988; ABC;) *''
The Magical World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...
'' (1988–1991; NBC) *''
The Wonderful World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...
'' (1991–1997;
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
) (third era; 1997–present; ABC) **'' The Wonderful World of Disney: Presented by Disney+'' (2020–present)


History

The anthology series was an outgrowth of Walt Disney looking for funding for
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 ...
with his brother Roy Disney approaching all the big-three networks with
American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc. (originally United Paramount Theatres, later the American Broadcasting Companies and ABC Television) was the post-merger parent company of the American Broadcasting Company and United Paramount Thea ...
taking the
deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...
for programming for ABC.


''Walt Disney's Disneyland'' (1954–1958)

Although Walt Disney was the first major film producer to venture into television, two established independent film producers successfully ventured into television production before Disney,
Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...
and
Jerry Fairbanks Gerald Bertram Fairbanks (November 1, 1904, San Francisco — June 21, 1995, Santa Barbara, California) was a producer and director in the Hollywood motion picture and television industry. Biography Fairbanks survived the 1906 San Francisco eart ...
. Disney wanted to produce a television program to finance the development of the
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 ...
amusement park. After being turned down by both
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, Disney eventually signed a deal with ABC (which had merged with
United Paramount Theaters United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...
in 1953) on March 29, 1954. The show contained teasers for Walt's park, as well as episodes representing life in one of the park's main sections: Adventureland,
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 ...
,
Fantasyland Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle ri ...
, and
Frontierland Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by Disney around the world. Themed to the American Frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and pioneers, saloons, red rock buttes and gol ...
, with the opening titles used from its inception until the show's move to NBC in 1961, showing the entrance to Disneyland itself, as well as the four aforementioned lands, one of which was then identified as the main feature of that evening's program. Consequently,
Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...
and other pioneers of the
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
, and American history in general, appeared in "Frontier Land". Similarly, ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' might be the focus of an evening spent in "Adventure Land", although a documentary on the film could also be possibly presented as a topic for such episodes, including clips from the actual film. Topics for "Fantasy Land" would include either actual cartoons, and animated films, or documentaries on "The Making of ..." (such as behind-the-scenes presentation of
Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
singing the duet of the wicked Siamese cats in ''
Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hami ...
'', or the barbershop quartet of lost dogs in the municipal Dog Pound); excerpts from a '' True-Life Adventure'' documentary might also be included (for example, one on the life and works of
beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
s and their dam-building) or those using stroboscopic stop-action photography (such as investigating what really happened when a rain-drop fell in a puddle, as part of a "Fantasy Land" episode), explaining the techniques of cartoon animation. The multiplane camera used to create the three-dimensional effects of ''
Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...
'' was also a topic for a "Fantasy Land"-set telecast. In one episode, four different artists were given the task of drawing the same tree, with each artist using his own preferred ways of drawing and imagining a tree; this led to cartoon examples of differently animated trees, as in some of the early ''
Silly Symphonies ''Silly Symphony'' is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Silly Symphonies'' were originally inte ...
'' shorts, and later full-length animated films. "Tomorrow Land" was an opportunity for the Disney studio staff to present cutting-edge science and technology, and to predict possible futures, such as futuristic automobiles and highways, and featured
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 an on-air technical consultant in Man and the Moon, which aired December 28, 1955. This format remained basically unchanged through the 1980s, though new material was scarce in later years. Other episodes were segments from Disney films such as '' Seal Island'' and ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'', or cartoons of
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
and other Disney standbys. The program spawned the
Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...
craze of 1955 with the airing of a three-episode series (not shown over the course of consecutive weeks) about the historical American frontiersman, starring
Fess Parker Fess Elisha Parker Jr. (born F. E. Parker Jr.;Weaver, Tom.Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers p. 148 (McFarland 2012). August 16, 1924 – March 18, 2010),(March 18, 2010Daniel Boone Actor Fess Parker Dies at 85" ''CBS ...
in the title role. Millions of dollars of merchandise relating to the title character were sold, and the theme song, "
The Ballad of Davy Crockett "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" is a song with music by George Bruns and lyrics by Thomas W. Blackburn. It was introduced on ABC's television series ''Disneyland'', in the premiere episode of October 27, 1954. Fess Parker is shown performing the ...
", became a hit record that year. Three historically based hour-long programs aired during late 1954/early 1955, and were followed up by two dramatized installments the following year. The TV episodes were later edited into two theatrical films. On July 17, 1955, the opening of Disneyland was covered on a live television special, ''Dateline: Disneyland'', which is not technically considered to be part of the series. It was hosted by
Art Linkletter Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of ''House Party'', which ran on CBS radio a ...
, with whom Walt Disney had worked out a deal prior to the opening to allow Linkletter to lease a shop on Main Street in return for the broadcast. Art Linkletter was assisted by
Bob Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...
and
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, and the program featured various other guests, including various appearances of Walt himself as he dedicated the various lands of Disneyland.


''Walt Disney Presents'' (1958–1961)

In 1958, the series was retitled ''Walt Disney Presents'' and moved to a Friday-night timeslot; by 1960, ABC had switched it to Sunday nights, where it remained for 21 years. During this iteration, ''The Peter Tchaikovsky Story'', an episode made to promote Walt's latest animated feature, ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'', was one of the first stereo
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
s on TV; in this case it was 3 channel stereo. FM radio stations across the country carried the left channel at the same time as ABC broadcast the TV show in mono, which served as a center channel, and AM radio stations broadcast the right channel. In the second half of the show, a lengthy clip of ''Sleeping Beauty'' was shown, with its 6 channels (70mm version) mixed down into 3 for the broadcast. Walt apparently wanted people to see ''Sleeping Beauty'' in 70 mm, so, in the introduction, he explained the difference between 35 mm and 70 mm and held up a card with both sizes on it. In addition to episodes devoted to the latest additions at Disneyland, many episodes during this period were Westerns such as " Texas John Slaughter" and " Elfego Baca", while others talked about the United States' burgeoning efforts to explore outer space and others, such as "Moochie of the Little League", were set in the then-present day. Some episodes even mixed live-action and animation, showing
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
,
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
,
Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled f ...
,
Chip 'n' Dale Chip and Dale (also spelled Chip 'n' Dale) is a cartoon duo of anthropomorphic chipmunks created in 1943 by The Walt Disney Company. Concept The characters were first drawn by Bill Justice and introduced in the 1943 Pluto short '' Private ...
,
Professor Owl Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
and
Jiminy Cricket Jiminy Cricket is the Disney version of the " Talking Cricket" (Italian: ''Il Grillo Parlante''), a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'', which Walt Disney adap ...
talking with Walt himself, while one 1959 episode (titled The Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale) turned the spotlight on Chip 'n' Dale, combining their theatrical cartoons with mixed media wrap-around footage including the chipmunks' own theme song. The episode's
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
is a live action/animated musical comedy, and as the title suggests, it stars the titular chipmunks. At the end of the episode, Chip 'n' Dale say (singing) their goodbyes to the audience and return to their nut home on the counter hoping the audience enjoyed their show.


''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'' (1961–1969)

Although the basic format remained the same, the series moved to
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
on September 24, 1961, to take advantage of that network's ability to broadcast programming in
color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
. In addition, Walt Disney's relationship with ABC had soured as the network resisted selling its stake in the theme park before doing so in 1960. In a display of foresight, Disney had filmed many of the earlier shows in color, allowing them to easily be repeated on NBC; since all but three of Disney's feature-length films were also made in color (the three
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
exceptions were '' The Shaggy Dog'', ''
The Absent-Minded Professor ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' is a 1961 American science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the short story "A Situation of Gravity" by Samuel W. Taylor, originally published in the May 22, 1943 issue of ''Li ...
'', and ''
Son of Flubber ''Son of Flubber'' is a 1963 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The sequel to ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' (1961), Fred MacMurray reprises his role from the first film as ...
'', all family comedies starring
Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...
), they could now also be telecast in that format. To emphasize the new feature, the series was retitled ''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'' when NBC began airing it. The first NBC episode even dealt with the principles of color, as explained by a new character named
Ludwig Von Drake Professor Ludwig Von Drake is a cartoon character created in 1961 by The Walt Disney Company. He is the paternal uncle of Donald Duck. He was first introduced as the presenter (and singer of " The Spectrum Song") in the cartoon ''An Adventure in ...
(voiced by
Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...
), a bumbling professor with a thick German accent, who was the uncle of
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
. Von Drake was the first Disney character created specifically for television. Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, 12 years after the anthology series premiered. While the broadcast that aired three days after his death featured a memorial tribute from '' Huntley-Brinkley Report'' anchor
Chet Huntley Chet is a masculine given name, often a nickname for Chester (given name), Chester, which means ''fortress'' or ''camp''. It is an uncommon name of England, English origin, and originated as a surname to identify people from the city of Chester, En ...
with film and television star
Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...
, the introductions that Walt already filmed prior to his death continued to air for the remainder of the season. After that, the studio decided that Walt's persona as host was such a key part of the show's appeal to viewers that the host segment was dropped.


''The Wonderful World of Disney'' (1969–1979)

The series was retitled ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' in September 1969, by which time the color distinction was no longer needed as all
big three networks In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and American Broadcasting Company, ABC (Amer ...
were broadcasting in color. It continued to gain solid ratings, often ranking in the top 20, until the mid-1970s. In 1976, Disney showed its hit 1961 film '' The Parent Trap'' on television for the first time, as a 2½-hour special. This marked a major step in broadcasting for the studio, which had never shown one of its more popular films on television in a time slot longer than an hour (although it had shown ''
Now You See Him, Now You Don't ''Now You See Him, Now You Don't'' is a 1972 American science fiction comedy film starring Kurt Russell as a chemistry student who accidentally discovers the secret to invisibility. It is the sequel to the 1969 film '' The Computer Wore Tennis S ...
'' and ''
Napoleon and Samantha ''Napoleon and Samantha'' is a 1972 American adventure drama film directed by Bernard McEveety and written by Stewart Raffill. Filmed in and around John Day, Oregon, it stars Johnny Whitaker and Jodie Foster (in her feature film debut) in the tit ...
'' in a two-hour format in 1975). Walt Disney Productions also began running some of its multiepisode television programs, such as 1962's ''Sammy The Way-Out Seal'', as televised feature films on the anthology series. A slightly edited version of the 1954 Disney film ''
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...
'' made its television debut as a two-hour special on NBC in October 1976. Several other Disney films, some of them not especially successful (such as ''
Superdad ''Superdad'' is a 1973 American comedy film by Walt Disney Productions starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Kathleen Cody. Directed by Vincent McEveety, the film marks the motion picture debut of Bruno Kirby. Plot Cha ...
'', which was an outright flop in its initial theatrical release) were also aired on the program in the form of two-hour broadcasts that year. However, the multiepisode format for feature films had not been discontinued; as late as 1981, films such as ''
Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...
'' were still being shown on the Disney program in several installments running a week apart. During the early 1970s, the show began to increasingly concentrate less on animated cartoons and dramatic or comedy films, and began to place an emphasis on nature-oriented programs (such as the ''
True-Life Adventures ''True-Life Adventures'' is a series of short and full-length nature documentary films released by Walt Disney Productions between the years 1948 and 1960. The first seven films released were thirty-minute shorts, with the subsequent seven films ...
''). The show's continued ratings success in the post-Walt era came to an end during the 1975–76 season. At this time, Walt Disney Productions was facing a decline in fortunes due to falling box-office revenues, while NBC as a whole was also slipping in the ratings. The anthology series became even more dependent on airings of live-action theatrical features, its ''True-Life Adventures'', reruns of older episodes, and cartoon compilations. Nothing from the
Disney animated features canon Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California, the original feature film division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's films are also often called "Disney Classics", or "Disney Animate ...
aired, with the exceptions of ''Alice in Wonderland'' and ''
Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...
'', as part of a long-standing policy placed on the program by Disney. Additionally, in 1975, when CBS regained the broadcast rights to the 1939
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
film '' The Wizard of Oz'', it was scheduled opposite ''Disney'', as it had been between 1960 and 1968. At that time, telecasts of that film were highly rated annual events, which largely attracted the same family audience as the Disney series. From 1968 to 1975, when NBC held the television rights to ''Oz'' (which it had acquired from CBS in 1967), it usually pre-empted ''Disney'' to show it. However, the show's stiffest weekly competition came from CBS's newsmagazine ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
''. In 1975, an amendment to the
Prime Time Access Rule The Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) was a broadcasting regulation that was instituted in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1970 to restrict the amount of network programming that a local television station either ...
gave the Sunday 7:00 pm
Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
slot back to the networks, allowing NBC to move ''Disney'' back by a half-hour. It also allowed CBS to schedule ''60 Minutes'' at 7:00 pm Eastern Time starting on December 7; prior to this, ''60 Minutes'' had aired at 6:00 pm Eastern and did not begin its seasons until after the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
season ended. ''Disney'' fell out of the top 30, while ''60 Minutes'' had its ratings rise significantly.


''Disney's Wonderful World'' (1979–1981)

In September 1979, the studio agreed to then-NBC president
Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...
's request for changes to the program. The show shortened its title to ''Disney's Wonderful World'', and updated the opening sequence with a computer-generated logo and
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
-styled theme song, but largely kept the same format. The problems for the show continued. As a result of the ratings strength of ''60 Minutes'', compounded by low ratings, increasingly less original material, and frequent pre-emptions (primarily due to sporting events such as NFL game telecasts), NBC cancelled ''Disney'' in 1981. One factor that was beyond the control of either Disney or NBC was a 94-day strike by the
Screen Actors' Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
that cut the number of shows for the 1980–1981 season, but the damage was done nonetheless.


''Walt Disney'' (1981–1983)

Following NBC's announcement that it would drop the anthology series,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
picked up the program and began airing it on Saturdays at 8:00 pm Eastern Time, in September 1981. Despite a more elaborate credit sequence and another title change, to simply ''Walt Disney'', the series' format remained unchanged. During the 1981–1982 season, the series had a full season's worth of material again, but little of it was new. Among the little that actually was new were a handful of pilots based on ''
Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...
'', ''
Escape to Witch Mountain ''Escape to Witch Mountain'' is a science fiction novel written by Alexander Key in 1968. It was adapted for film by Disney as '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' in 1975 which spawned the ''Witch Mountain'' franchise. The novel was illustrated by ...
'', and ''
The Apple Dumpling Gang ''The Apple Dumpling Gang'' is a 1971 novel by Jack Bickham, about a group of orphaned children during the California gold rush. They encounter a gambler who reluctantly helps them, as well as a pair of hapless robbers who are after the gold ...
'', but only the last of the three pilots was sold and became the half-hour sitcom '' Gun Shy'' the following season, one of the studio's first entries in that genre but only lasted six episodes. The 1982–1983 season had enough material to fill the time slot, but almost all of it was pre-existing material, the lone exception being the celebrity-laden opening ceremony of
Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...
on October 23. It also did not help matters that NBC slotted the family-friendly sitcoms ''
Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...
'' and ''
Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the fi ...
'' at 8:00 pm and 8:30 pm up against it to draw children away from CBS. After moving to Tuesday at the beginning of 1983, it went on hiatus on February 15 while the aforementioned ''Gun Shy'' took up the second half of its time slot. When it came back for summer reruns on May 3, it was still on Tuesday at 8:00 pm; its final network broadcast was on September 24, bringing an uninterrupted 29-year run on all three networks to a close. The end of the show coincided with the launch of the studio's
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
network, the
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
. While ratings were a factor, the final decision to end the show came from Walt Disney Productions' then-CEO
Card Walker Esmond Cardon Walker (January 9, 1916 – November 28, 2005), commonly known as E. Cardon Walker or Card Walker, was an American businessman who served as a top executive at Walt Disney Productions during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He was born in ...
, who felt that having both the show and the new channel active would result in cannibalization of viewership. The new channel would provide a home for the show in reruns for the next two decades, but for the time being, Disney's presence on U.S. network TV would be limited to the occasional holiday special, theme park anniversary, or cartoon compilation.


''The Disney Sunday Movie'' (1986–1988)

After the studio – which was rechristened as the Walt Disney Company in 1986 – underwent a change in management, Disney sought to bring back some sort of programming to broadcast television. Their efforts led to the premiere of ''The Disney Sunday Movie'', which debuted on February 2, 1986, on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. Many names were considered to serve as presenter for the revived show, including
Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...
,
Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...
,
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...
,
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
,
Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
,
Roy E. Disney Roy Edward Disney KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company, which was founded by his father, Roy O. Disney, and his uncle, Walt Disney. At the ti ...
(who closely resembled his uncle), and even
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
. The studio finally decided to have
Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
, the company's recently hired CEO, host the series. Although he was not a performer, after filming a test video with his wife Jane and a member of his executive team (which required multiple takes), studio management believed he could do the hosting job. Eisner hired Michael Kay, a director of political commercials for then-
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...
, to help him improve his on-camera performance. ''The Disney Sunday Movie'' initially aired as ABC's lead-off program on Sundays, running from 7:00 to 9:00 pm Eastern Time. By this point, the format was similar to a movie-of-the-week. Gary Barton, a Disney senior vice president, was in charge of the program. ''Help Wanted: Kids'' was the first episode's film. Other first revival year films were, ''Young Again'', ''The Richest Cat in the World'', ''I-Man'' (starring Scott Bakula), and ''My Town''. Sometimes the slot would feature a special instead of dramatic material, such as "Disney Goes to the Oscars" featuring the studio's Academy Award winners, and "The Greatest Moments in Disney Animation". A handful of
Disney Channel original films Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner n ...
made their network television debuts during these iteration as well, but the program did not present any film made by Disney's Touchstone subsidiary, as such films were not considered appropriate for children. However, ''
Splash, Too ''Splash, Too'' is a 1988 American made-for-television film sequel to the film '' Splash'' (1984) produced by The Walt Disney Company. Directed by Greg Antonacci and written by Bruce Franklin Singer. It stars Todd Waring as Allen Bauer and Amy ...
'', a sequel to the 1984 film, aired on the series over two weeks in May 1988. The series had increased Disney park attendance and ABC's Sunday night ratings for the evening by an average 27% for the rest of the season. Disney, wanting to make it a regular viewing habit, gave ABC additional films from its library, including ''
Old Yeller ''Old Yeller'' is a 1956 children's literature, children's novel written by Fred Gipson and illustrated by Carl Burger. It received a Newbery Medal, Newbery Honor in 1957. The title is taken from the name of the yellow dog who is the center of t ...
'', ''
The Apple Dumpling Gang ''The Apple Dumpling Gang'' is a 1971 novel by Jack Bickham, about a group of orphaned children during the California gold rush. They encounter a gambler who reluctantly helps them, as well as a pair of hapless robbers who are after the gold ...
'' and ''
Candleshoe ''Candleshoe'' is a 1977 American-British family adventure–comedy film, directed by Norman Tokar in a screenplay by David Swift and Rosemary Anne Sisson, produced by Walt Disney Productions, and distributed by Buena Vista. Based on the Mich ...
'' for the normal rerun mid-year period. ''The Last Electric Knight'' series movie produced a spin-off, originally to be called ''
Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the '' Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and ...
'' for ABC's 1987 season. Despite improving ABC's numbers, the program's ratings were never strong as the established ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' and scripted mystery series ''
Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'' on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, both of which Disney was competing with for viewers, remained the leading primetime programs on Sunday nights. In 1987, ABC reduced ''The Disney Sunday Movie'' from two hours to one. The move did not help drive ratings, and the network decided not to renew its contract with Disney or pick up a fourth season of the second iteration of the anthology series. ''The Disney Sunday Movie'' was also being run on the
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
, also hosted by Eisner.


''The Magical World of Disney'' (1988–1990)

In early 1988, NBC decided to renew its association with the company after it cut ties to the anthology series seven years earlier; the network brought the series, now named ''The Magical World of Disney'', to serve as the lead-in of its Sunday lineup in September 1988. As the program had done during its last season as ''The Disney Sunday Movie'', ''The Magical World of Disney'' ran for one hour, airing at 7:00 pm Eastern Time; Michael Eisner also returned as its presenter. During this period, the show attempted to reintroduce the rotating format the show started out with in 1954. It also introduced new versions of Walt-era movies and TV shows such as ''
The Absent-Minded Professor ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' is a 1961 American science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the short story "A Situation of Gravity" by Samuel W. Taylor, originally published in the May 22, 1943 issue of ''Li ...
'', a reboot of ''
Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...
'', and the musical ''
Polly Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Paula (g ...
'', which was based on the book ''
Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...
'' by Eleanor H. Porter and the Walt Disney's 1960 film adaptation of it. In the 1989–1990 season, during which the company was negotiating with
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
to buy
The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...
, they aired two Muppet specials; one of them was ''
The Muppets at Walt Disney World ''The Muppets at Walt Disney World'' is a television special starring Jim Henson's The Muppets, Muppets at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The special aired on NBC as part of Walt Disney anthology television series, ''The Magical ...
'', which turned out to be Henson's last Muppet special. He died May 16, 1990, 10 days after the special aired, and the company only acquired The Muppets more than a decade later. After two seasons experiencing the same lackluster ratings as it had accrued during the end of its initial NBC run and its subsequent runs on CBS and ABC, Disney elected to end the broadcast television run of ''The Magical World of Disney'' and began airing the anthology on the Disney Channel – in the same time slot it had been airing for the past decade – starting in September 1990, expanding back to a two-hour format. Since the Disney Channel operated as a
premium channel Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
at the time, films presented on the series were presented without commercial interruption. ''The Magical World of Disney'' originally aired on the cable channel as a weekly Sunday-only program for its first 5½ years; but in September 1996, as part of the first phase of a programming revamp that culminated in its formal conversion into a commercial-free basic cable channel in April 1997, the Disney Channel expanded the ''Magical World'' brand to encompass its Monday through Saturday primetime film block, maintaining its 7:00 pm Eastern time slot.


''The Wonderful World of Disney'' (1991–present)

''The Wonderful World of Disney'' returned in 1991 as an umbrella title for Disney specials airing on major networks (CBS airings used the historical title ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' for the first few years, while other networks broadcast the show with another title, ''A Disney Special''). In 1997, with Disney acquiring ABC the previous year, ABC gave the series a regular slot in the schedule. Disney CEO Eisner formed Disney Telefilms by 1995 to supply original films to the series and program together with ABC. It led the network's Sunday night lineup at the 7:00 p.m. Eastern time slot, resulting in the displacement of Sunday mainstay ''
America's Funniest Home Videos ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, based on the Japanese variety show ''Kato-chan Ken-chan Gok ...
'', which had occupied the slot since 1992. On September 28, 1997, the all-new ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' premiered with the network television premiere of ''
Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...
''. On October 5, 1997, Disney Telefilms' first production, '' Toothless'', debuted on the series. In addition to the planned 16 original Disney telemovies, ABC and Disney added a few direct-to-video movies and films from other sources. In 2001, a Spanish-language version of the program premiered on
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
(which, incidentally, was acquired by the English version's former home,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, that same year 2001–2010) as ''El Maravilloso Mundo de Disney'', with more of a focus on Disney theatrical films than the English broadcasts at the time for Spanish version's former
Disney Channel (Latin America) Disney Channel is a Latin American pay television Television network, network broadcasting throughout Hispanic America and Brazil. It was officially launched on July 27, 2000 as a premium-label channel in Hispanic America, and also in Brazil b ...
. In September 2003, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' moved to Saturdays at 8:00 pm Eastern, with the previous Sunday time slot being ceded to ''AFV'' (which moved back to Sundays that season) and drama series in the 8:00 pm hour. Rare exceptions to the program's format occurred during this time; for example, a ''
Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...
'' miniseries ran for several weeks in 2004 under the ''Wonderful World of Disney'' banner. For most of its second run on ABC, the program aired throughout the television season, with the exception of the 2005–06 season (when it aired during the midseason only), and in 2007 and 2008 (when it was relegated to the summer months), with a broader array of films occupying the network's Saturday primetime slot at other times, when sports programming did not air. The series ended as a regular program in 2008. At this point, the series began to shift focus toward Disney theatrical films, relying less on original television films; however, the series aired two Disney Channel Original Movies (2002's ''
Cadet Kelly ''Cadet Kelly'' is a 2002 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano. The film premiered with 7.8 million viewers. It is Duff's second starring film role, her first being ''Casper Meets Wendy''. This was Disney ...
'' and 2008's ''
Camp Rock ''Camp Rock'' is a 2008 American musical television film directed by Matthew Diamond from a screenplay by Karin Gist, Regina Hicks, Julie Brown, and Paul Brown. The 73rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), the film stars Demi Lovato, Joe ...
'', currently the only Disney Channel television films to have aired on non-Disney Channel-branded network domestically) during its ABC run. The second ABC revival also included some family-oriented films produced by studios other than Disney under the ''Wonderful World'' banner, such as ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...
'' from
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
( which is presently owned by Disney) and the ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' film series and ''
Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel ...
'' from
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, as well as television films such as '' Princess of Thieves'' from
Granada Productions ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...
and the 2001 remake of ''
Brian's Song ''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo (James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro in 1965, told through his friendship with teammate Gale Sayer ...
'' from
Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company that was active from 1994 to 2002. It was operated as the third name of the early television studio Screen Gems and the fourth ...
(now known as
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...
). On December 12, 2015, ABC's ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' officially returned to its anthology format with a showing of ''
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
'' for the first time on ABC since 2002, hosted by Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke took viewers on a tour through the Disney Archives, as they explored props and costumes from the production of ''Mary Poppins'' and discussed the film's history and context within the Disney legacy. It was then shown on February 21, 2016, with the special '' Disneyland 60'', which honored Disneyland's 60th anniversary; on November 24, 2016, for their Magical Holiday Celebration, filmed at Walt Disney World; and on December 11, 2016, for the network television premiere of '' Frozen''. On August 5, 2019, it was announced that ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' would present '' The Little Mermaid Live!'' on November 5 of that year with
Auliʻi Cravalho Chloe Auliʻi Cravalho (; born November 22, 2000) is an American actress and singer who made her acting debut as the voice of the titular character in the 2016 Disney 3D computer-animated musical feature film '' Moana''. She went on to star in ...
,
Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...
and
Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer * Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse * Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspor ...
starring as Ariel, Ursula and Sebastian, respectively. The cast also included
John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...
as Chef Louis and Graham Phillips as Prince Eric. The special featured music from both the film and the Tony Award-nominated Broadway stage version and was performed in front of a live audience with giant projection surface. The title was used again on November 28, 2019, for a two-hour music special, ''The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration'', hosted by
Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and media personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice. With over 100 million recor ...
and
Matthew Morrison Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter, best known for his role as Will Schuester on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television show ''Glee (TV series), Glee'' (2009–2015). He has s ...
. On May 7, 2020, it was announced that ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' would bring back its banner for a series of theatrical movies from the
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 ...
library, which includes '' Moana'', '' Thor: The Dark World'', '' Up'', and '' Big Hero 6'', for four weeks beginning May 20, 2020. A fifth week was later added, featuring the 2010 Disney/Pixar film, ''
Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 2'' (1999). It was d ...
'', marking ten years since its theatrical release. The program returned on September 23, 2020, featuring the 2014
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
film, ''
Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
'', filling a gap in ABC's fall 2020 schedule. On October 9, 2020, ABC announced the program would return on October 14, with the broadcast television premiere of the 2017 Disney/Pixar film, '' Coco''. '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' aired on January 12, 2021. The 2015 live action film ''
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'' aired on January 19, 2021. On April 28, 2021, it was announced that the program would return on May 3, 2021, for five weeks with a series of theatrical movies from the Disney+ library, which includes the broadcast television premieres of ''
Incredibles 2 ''Incredibles 2'' is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it is the sequel to ''The Incredibles'' (2004) and the second ...
'' and ''
Finding Dory ''Finding Dory'' is a 2016 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton, produced by Lindsey Collins and written by Stanton and Vict ...
'', ''
Monsters, Inc. ''Monsters, Inc.'' (also known as ''Monsters, Incorporated'') is a 2001 American computer-animated Monster movie, monster comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring the voices of John Goodman, B ...
'', ''
Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the Grimms' Fairy Tales, German fairy tale ''Rapunzel'' ...
'' and ''
The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American Animation, animated musical film, musical fantasy film, fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The List of Walt Disney Anima ...
''. On October 28, 2021, the program returned with the broadcast television premiere of the 2019 Disney/Pixar film ''
Toy Story 4 ''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 3'' ( ...
''. '' Hocus Pocus'' aired on September 29, 2022 to promote ''
Hocus Pocus 2 ''Hocus Pocus 2'' is a 2022 American fantasy comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Jen D'Angelo and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. A sequel to the 1993 film '' Hocus Pocus'', it stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Naji ...
'', which premiered on Disney+ a day later.


''The Magical World of Toons''

''The Magical World of Toons'' was the daily prime time programming block featuring character's key series episodes coinciding with the launch of Disney's new channel,
Toon Disney Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...
, on April 18, 1998. It continued at least until 2003.


''The Magical World of Disney Junior''

In 2012,
Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven yea ...
launched a variant of the movie night anthology as ''The Magical World of Disney Junior'' on its new 24/7 channel. The channel also premiered its first Disney Junior Original Movie, ''Lucky Duck'' during ''Magical World'' on Friday, June 20, 2014.


Reruns

Prior to the launch of the Disney Channel, several of the films and specials made for the anthology series were licensed to pay-TV networks such as
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
; in HBO's case, the kaleidoscopic-pattern titles that preceded them in the original run were retained. Around the same time that the 1980s incarnations aired on ABC and NBC, reruns of older episodes of the Disney anthology series, airing under the ''Wonderful World of Disney'' banner, were syndicated to broadcast television stations throughout the United States as well as in various international markets. In Australia, the program aired on Network Seven on Saturdays at 6:30 pm, before it was dropped in 1994 due to
Optus Vision Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus. History Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between Optus and Continental Cablevision, with small shareholdings by media ...
(later
Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
)'s launch of a domestic version of the
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
, with ''
Saturday Disney ''Saturday Disney'' is a long running Australian children's television program which aired on the Seven Network in Australia for over 26 years, with the first episode going to air on 27 January 1990. The show was a television block which aired ...
'' replacing it as the channel's main block of Disney films. Reruns of the shows were a staple of the Disney Channel for several years under the title ''Walt Disney Presents'' (which used the same title sequence as the 1980s CBS incarnation), when it was an outlet for vintage Disney cartoons, television series, and films, basically serving the same function that the anthology series served in the days before cable. The original opening titles were restored to the episodes in 1997. Reruns of the anthology series were discontinued when the channel exclude all vintage material with the removal of its Vault Disney late-night block on September 8, 2002. However, a few select episodes are available on VHS or DVD (some of which are exclusive to the Disney Movie Club), with the possibility of additional future releases. From 2014 to 2019, live-action Disney films from the 1950s to the 1980s including special episodes from Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color aired on
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
, without commercial interruption, and presented uncut and with letterboxing on the network's
standard-definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
feed. All of the episodes and existing material used on the series up to 1996 are listed in the Bill Cotter book ''The Wonderful World of Disney Television'', which was released in 1997 by Hyperion Books (which was owned by the Walt Disney Company at the time of the book's publication).


Programming

Originally hosted by Walt Disney himself, the original format of the Disney anthology series consisted of a balance of theatrical
animated cartoon Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...
s, live-action features, and other informational material (some original, some pre-existing) from the studio's library. For many years, the show also featured edited one-hour versions of such then-recent Disney films as ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'', and in other cases, telecasts of complete Disney films that were split into two or more one-hour episodes. Later original programs consisted of dramatizations of other historical figures and legends along the lines of the
Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...
mini-series. These included a miniseries based on Daniel Boone (not the Fess Parker characterization), Texas John Slaughter, Elfego Baca,
Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...
(the " Swamp Fox") and 1977's ''Kit Carson and the Mountain Man'' (with
Christopher Connelly Christopher Connelly (September 8, 1941 – December 7, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role as Norman Harrington in the successful prime time ABC soap opera '' Peyton Place''. He stayed with the series during its entire f ...
as
Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and n ...
,
Robert Reed Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama '' The Defenders'' from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as the ...
as John C. Fremont, and
Gregg Palmer Palmer Edwin Lee (January 25, 1927 – October 31, 2015), known by his stage name Gregg Palmer, was an American film and television actor. Born in San Francisco, California, Palmer served in the United States Army Air Corps as a cryptographer i ...
as mountain man
Jim Bridger James Felix "Jim" Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) was an American mountain man, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century. He was known as Old ...
). Occasionally, a more educational segment would be featured (such as '' The Story of the Animated Drawing''), including nature and animal programs similar to the ''True-Life Adventures'' that were released in theaters, as well as various dramatic installments which were either structured as single-part, two-part, and sometimes, multipart editions. Much of the original informational excerpts were to create awareness of Disneyland. In spite of essentially serving as advertisements for the park, entertainment value was emphasized, as well to make the shows palatable. Some of the program's informational content was formatted to promote upcoming feature film releases by the studio (such as ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' and ''
Darby O'Gill and the Little People ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the ''Darby O'Gill'' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence ...
''), with some programs focusing on the art and technology of animation itself.


Theme music

* From 1954 to 1961, the series used the song " When You Wish Upon a Star" as its theme. The recording was taken directly from the soundtrack of the movie ''
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
''. Once the title was changed to "Walt Disney Presents" in 1958, the theme was used only over the ending credits. * From 1961 to 1969, an original song was used, "The Wonderful World of Color", written by
Richard M. Sherman Richard Morton Sherman (born June 12, 1928) is an American songwriter who specialized in musical films with his brother Robert B. Sherman. According to the official Walt Disney Company website and independent fact checkers, "the Sherman Brot ...
and
Robert B. Sherman Robert Bernard Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) was an American songwriter, best known for his work in musical films with his brother, Richard M. Sherman. The Sherman brothers produced more motion picture song scores than any ...
& composed by Buddy Baker. This song helped to emphasize the use of color with its lyrics. * From 1969 to 1979 (''The Wonderful World of Disney''), orchestral medleys of various Disney songs from movies and theme parks as theme songs. * From 1979 to 1980 (''Disney's Wonderful World''), a
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
-styled theme was written to emphasize the new visual changes, even though the format remained the same.
John Debney John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres including comedy, horror, thriller, and action-adventure. He is a ...
composed the melody and John Klawitter wrote the lyrics. ** From 1980 to 1981, the series discarded the Debney/Klawitter theme and went back to an earlier orchestral medley theme, while keeping the 1979 credits motif and title. * From 1981 to 1983 (''Walt Disney''), a short disco arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star", arranged by
Frank Gari Frank Daniel Garofalo (born April 1, 1944), known professionally as Frank Gari, is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Early life Gari was a popular singer and songwriter from the late 1950s and early 1960s. His best known songs as a ...
, served as theme against some elaborate, then-state-of-the-art computer graphics.
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
in Canada also used this title sequence and theme music for their own versions of the show. The sequence was also used as the opening sequence on international
Walt Disney Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
releases until 1987. * From 1986 to 1988, a synthesized,
pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and ...
arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" with some clapping was the theme. This was used again for the 1989–90 season of ''The Magical World of Disney'' and the 1991–96 run on The
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
. * In 1988, an orchestral medley of "
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is a song written and composed by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Walt Disney film ''Cinderella'' (1950). In the song, Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods) encourages her animal friends to n ...
" and "When You Wish Upon a Star" was used. This was switched back to the 1987 theme in 1989. * From 1991 to 1997, an orchestral medley of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "
Part of Your World "Part of Your World" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Disney's animated feature film ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989). Performed by American actress and singer Jodi Benson in the titular role as Ariel, a merm ...
" (the latter from Disney's then recent hit ''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...
''), composed by
Bruce Broughton Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed man ...
, was used for network airings of the show (known as ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' on CBS and ''A Disney Special'' on other networks) as well as ''
The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage ''Disney Presents The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage'' is an American fantasy comedy-drama television series broadcast in the United States by NBC and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions in association with Walt Disney Television. The show ...
'', a collaboration with Stephen J. Cannell Productions. This theme was also used internationally. * From 1997 to 2000, Vocals added, an orchestral medley of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "A Whole New World" (the latter used in the movie ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
''), composed by
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
, were used; also used occasionally was the Louis Armstrong hit "
What a Wonderful World "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. It topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poor ...
". This theme is still used currently internationally. * From 2000 to 2007, a newer orchestral arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" with a wordless choir, composed by
James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was in ...
, was used for ABC airings in the United States. * From 2007 to 2008, another orchestral arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" (in actuality, the theme from the then-current
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...
, written and composed by
Mark Mancina Mark Mancina is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed'', '' Bad Boys'', ''Twister'', ''Tarzan'', ''Training Day'', ''Brother Bear'', ''Cr ...
and co-arranged with and orchestrated by
David Metzger David "Dave" Metzger (born December 12, 1960) is an American orchestrator and composer who has orchestrated many Disney feature animation films, including '' Frozen'', '' Moana'', '' Planes'', ''Wreck-It Ralph'', ''Tarzan'', ''Haunted Mansion'', a ...
) and a brand-new opening title sequence (depicting a montage of the company's work with audio from Walt Disney himself) are used for ABC airings in the United States. * From 2015 on, "Heaven’s Triumph", composed by Robert Etoll via Q-Factory, is used alongside a brand-new opening title sequence (updated with a longer voice-over from Walt Disney and including ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' and
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
properties). The opening title sequence was updated in 2020 to add "Presented by Disney+" text to the show's title card (albeit with the animated Disney+ logo) as the 2006 Disney logo (without the text) was shortened, and 2022 to replace the 2006 Disney logo with the 2022 Disney logo, in celebration of
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's 100th anniversary in 2023, as in which the "Presented by Disney+" text (with the animated Disney+ logo) was shown earlier as the show's logo was being shown. After that, it transitions to the print Disney100 logo. A few months later, the intro was updated with the print Disney100 logo was temporary removed as the "Presented by Disney+" text was still shown for the rest of the intro, due to the addition of properties from
20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
, as the print Disney100 logo is mainly reserved for films produced by Disney. However, a scene from the featured movie is added as well.


International broadcasts


Argentina


The Telefe era

''El mundo de Disney'' (The World of Disney) aired for the first time on the OTA network
Telefe Telefe (acronym for Televisión Federal) is a television station located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The station is owned and operated by Paramount Global through Televisión Federal S.A. Telefe is also one of Argentina's six national television ...
in 1990, hosted by Leonardo Greco. He remained as the sole presenter of the show, lasting until 1995, when the series concluded. The programme started airing at 8:00 pm nightly from the second half of 1990 until December 1992. By 1993, it was moved to weekday afternoons at 5:00 pm. When it was coming to an end, around 1994, shifted to Sunday afternoons, and aired a long marathon of movies and cartoons. According to Greco, this programme was possible because of a distributor who acquired the material, and was allowed to be shown without following a strict format, because the company wanted to do so. Telefe wanted a comeback, and appointed chef and host Maru Botana (then network talent) to present ''Planeta Disney'' (Disney Planet) on Sunday evenings, at 8:00pm, beginning November 21, 2004. Starting on July 9, 2005, Botana was replaced with two personalities employed by Disney, Carolina Ibarra and Dani Martins. They both shared the duties of hosting this show and the South American edition of Zapping Zone, on
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
. This lasted for a year and a half, with relative success.


The Canal 13 era

While Telefe had a major success carrying the animated movies and some TV series like '' Blossom'' or ''
Dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
'' (distributed by
Buena Vista Television Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Canal 13 saw the possibility of buying material from the company and airing it (sometimes competing against the Telefe's program) on Sunday afternoons, beginning in 1994, which at that time was filled with telecasts of ancient Argentinian films from the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s, and by reruns of ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
'' and ''
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
''. The only clear difference was that only movies starring human actors, like ''
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...
'' or ''
The Island at the Top of the World ''The Island at the Top of the World'' is a 1974 American live-action lost world fantasy adventure film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Winston Hibler. It was released by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distributi ...
'', could be broadcast, and not the cartoons. This experiment lasted until early 1996. By 2007, the network took off from Telefe the exclusive rights to show all the Disney franchise movies and programs, and began to air its movies on Sunday evenings at 7:00 pm, without a host. This also allowed Canal 13 to detain rights for other shows not related with Disney, but with the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
network, like ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' or ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...
'', and to produce a localized version of the high-grossing film ''
High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...
''.


Australia

For more than 30 years, The Wonderful World of Disney was broadcast on the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
, but in 2019, The Wonderful World of Disney moved to Saturday nights on the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
and Friday nights on Nine's sister network,
9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anim ...
. In 2020, The Wonderful World Of Disney moved to Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights on Seven's sister network,
7flix 7flix is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 28 February 2016. 7flix targets a variety of viewers and offers drama, comedy, reality, docusoap, and movies. History On 18 Decembe ...
.


Brazil

The ABC run of the program under ''The Magical World of Disney'' title originally aired in that country under the title ''Cine Disney'', now as ''O Mundo Mágico de Disney'' and ''Sessão de Domingo Disney'', on the Brazilian-Portuguese version of
Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão The Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (; SBT ; "Brazilian Television System") is a Brazilian television network founded on Wednesday, 19 August 1981, by the businessman and television personality Silvio Santos. The company was established after ...
(SBT) in partnership with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
. The ABC run of the program under ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' title originally aired in that country under the title ''O Maravilhoso Mundo de Disney'' on the Brazilian Portuguese version of
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
; the program moved to SBT as ''Mundo Disney'' in 2015, for return in partnership with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, for end partnership in 2018 from 2 years.


Canada

CBC aired Disney shows many years. Disney Movies were Simsubbed in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s on CBS, NBC and ABC with the CBC Broadcast vis Cable and later with satellite. CTV aired the Santa Claus but later moved to CBC. The movies moved to 4pm eastern many times to prevent Simsubbing.


Hong Kong


The TVB Pearl era


Episodes


Ratings


Nielsen seasonal ratings


Awards and nominations


Emmy Awards


Won

# Best Individual Program of the Year (''Operation Undersea'', 1955) # Best Television Film Editing (
Lynn Harrison Lynn Harrison (1907-1967) was an award-winning English film a TV editor who worked in Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1960s. Selected filmography * ''Sleep, My Love'' (1948) * ''Stork Bites Man'' (1947) * ''The Adventures of Don Coyote (f ...
, Grant K. Smith, ''Operation Undersea'', 1955) # Best Action or Adventure Series (1956) # Best Producer – Film Series (Walt Disney, 1956) # Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming (1963) # Outstanding Program Achievements in Entertainment (Walt Disney, 1965) # Special Classification of Outstanding Program and Individual Achievement – Programs ( Ron Miller, executive producer, 1971) # Outstanding Main Title Design (1998)


Nominated

# Best Television Film Editing (Chester W. Schaeffer, "Davy Crockett: Indian Fighter", 1955) # Best Single Program of the Year ("Davy Crockett and River Pirates", 1956) # Best Musical Contribution for Television (Oliver Wallace, 1957) # Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming (1962) # Outstanding Program Achievements in the Fields of Variety and Music – Variety (1962) # Outstanding Children's Program (Walt Disney, Ron Miller, ''Further Adventures of Gallagher'', 1966) # Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Programs (Ron Miller, executive producer, 1969) # Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Programs (Ron Miller, executive producer, 1970) # Special Classification of Outstanding Program and Individual Achievement – General Programming (Ron Miller, producer, 1972) # Special Classification of Outstanding Program Achievement (Ron Miller, executive producer, 1977) # Outstanding Children's Program (''The Art of Disney Animation'', 1981)


Home media

Several home media releases have included episodes of the anthology series. * ''On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends'' * ''Kids Is Kids'' * ''The Adventures of Chip 'N' Dale'' * ''At Home with Donald Duck'' * ''
Disney's Halloween Treat "Disney's Halloween Treat" is a 1982 Halloween-themed episode of '' Walt Disney'' which originally aired on October 30, 1982. Plot The episode is narrated by a jack-o'-lantern puppet (voiced by Hal Douglas) and features a compilation of Disney ...
'' * ''
A Disney Christmas Gift "A Disney Christmas Gift" is an animated Christmas television special produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was originally broadcast on CBS on December 4, 1982 as part of the ''Walt Disney'' anthology series. Synopsis The special is a Christmas- ...
'' * ''Winnie the Pooh and Friends'' * ''
Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...
'' Platinum Edition ** Tricks of Our Trade (excerpt) * ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' Masterpiece Edition ** ''
One Hour in Wonderland ''One Hour in Wonderland'' is a 1950 television special made by Walt Disney Productions. It was first seen on Christmas Day, 1950, over NBC (4–5 pm in all time zones) for Coca-Cola, and was Walt Disney's first television production. It featured ...
'' (complete episode) ** Operation Wonderland Featurette ** ''
The Fred Waring Show ''The Fred Waring Show'' is an American television musical variety show that ran from April 17, 1949 to May 30, 1954 on CBS. The show was hosted by Fred Waring and featured his choral group "The Pennsylvanians". Synopsis Sponsored by General Ele ...
'' (first half) ** 1954 Introduction ** 1964 Introduction * ''Alice in Wonderland'' Special Un-Anniversary Edition ** ''One Hour in Wonderland'' (complete episode) ** Operation Wonderland Featurette ** ''The Fred Waring Show'' (first half) ** 1954 Introduction ** 1964 Introduction * ''Alice in Wonderland'' 60th Anniversary Edition ** ''One Hour in Wonderland'' (complete episode) ** Operation Wonderland Featurette ** ''The Fred Waring Show'' (first half) ** 1954 Introduction ** 1959 Introduction ** 1964 Introduction * ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
'' Special Edition ** ''The Peter Pan Story'' Featurette * ''Peter Pan'' Platinum Edition ** ''The Peter Pan Story'' Featurette * ''
Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...
'' 60th Anniversary Edition ** Walt Disney Introduction * ''Dumbo'' Big Top Edition ** Walt Disney Introduction * ''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
'' Platinum Edition ** ''Tricks of Our Trade'' (two excerpts) ** ''The Silly Symphony Story'' (excerpt) * '' Pete's Dragon'' Gold Collection/High Flying Edition ** ''
The Plausible Impossible "The Plausible Impossible" is an episode of the ''Disneyland'' television program, originally broadcast on October 31, 1956. Walt Disney explains how drawings and animation make things that are impossible seem plausible, as evidenced in ancient hi ...
'' (excerpt) * ''
The Aristocats ''The Aristocats'' is a 1970 American animated romantic musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. The 20th Disney animated feature film, the film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Ro ...
'' Special Edition ** ''The Great Cat Family'' * '' Disneyland, USA'' ** '' The Disneyland Story'' ** ''Disneyland After Dark'' ** ''Disneyland 10th Anniversary'' * '' Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studios'' ** '' The Story of the Animated Drawing'' ** ''
The Plausible Impossible "The Plausible Impossible" is an episode of the ''Disneyland'' television program, originally broadcast on October 31, 1956. Walt Disney explains how drawings and animation make things that are impossible seem plausible, as evidenced in ancient hi ...
'' ** ''Tricks of Our Trade'' * '' Tomorrow Land'' ** ''
Man in Space "Man in Space" is an episode of the American television series ''Disneyland'' which originally aired on March 9, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator Ward Kimball. This ''Disneyland'' episode (set in Tomorrowland), was narrated partly by Kimb ...
'' ** '' Man and the Moon'' ** '' Mars and Beyond'' ** ''Our Friend the Atom'' * '' The Complete Pluto, Volume 1'' ** ''A Story of Dogs'' (featuring excerpt from "Pluto's Picture Book") * '' The Chronological Donald, Volume Two'' ** '' A Day in the Life of Donald Duck'' * '' Your Host, Walt Disney'' ** ''I Captured the King of the Leprechauns'' ** ''Backstage Party'' ** ''Where Do the Stories Come From'' ** ''The Fourth Anniversary Show'' ** ''
Disneyland 10th Anniversary "Disneyland 10th Anniversary" is a 1965 episode of '' Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'', broadcast on both January 3 and May 30. The show begins with Walt Disney showing viewers and Disneyland ambassador Julie Reihm plans for upcoming attra ...
'' * ''
True Life Adventures ''True-Life Adventures'' is a series of short and full-length nature documentary films released by Walt Disney Productions between the years 1948 and 1960. The first seven films released were thirty-minute shorts, with the subsequent seven films ...
'' (4 volumes) * '' Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic'' ** ''The Golden Horseshoe Revue'' ** ''Disneyland Goes To the World's Fair'' ** ''Disneyland Around the Seasons'' * ''
So Dear to My Heart ''So Dear to My Heart'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Its world premiere was in Chicago, Illinois, on November 29, 1948. Like 1946's ''Song of the South'', the film comb ...
'' ** ''So Dear to My Heart'' (introduction) * ''
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...
'' ** ''Monsters of the Deep'' (excerpt) * ''
Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hami ...
'' Platinum Edition ** ''A Story of Dogs'' ("making-of" segment and excerpt) ** ''A Cavalcade of Songs'' (3-minute-long excerpt) * ''
Old Yeller ''Old Yeller'' is a 1956 children's literature, children's novel written by Fred Gipson and illustrated by Carl Burger. It received a Newbery Medal, Newbery Honor in 1957. The title is taken from the name of the yellow dog who is the center of t ...
'' ** ''Best Doggone Dog in the West'' * ''
Darby O'Gill and the Little People ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the ''Darby O'Gill'' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence ...
'' ** ''I Captured The King of the Leprechauns'' * ''
Johnny Tremain ''Johnny Tremain'' is a work of historical fiction written in 1943 by Esther Forbes that is set in Boston prior to and during the outbreak of the American Revolution. Intended for teen-aged readers, the novel's themes include apprenticeship, co ...
'' ** ''The Liberty Story'' (first half) ** ''Johnny Tremain, Part One'' (excerpt) ** ''Johnny Tremain, Part Two'' (excerpt) * ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' Special Edition ** ''An Adventure in Art'' (segment: "4 Artists Paint 1 Tree") ** ''The Peter Tchaikovsky Story'' (''Life of Tchaikovsky'' segment only) * ''Sleeping Beauty'' Platinum Edition ** ''An Adventure in Art'' (segment: "4 Artists Paint 1 Tree") ** ''The Peter Tchaikovsky Story'' (complete episode – two versions) * ''
Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...
'' ** ''Pollyanna, Part One'' (introduction) ** ''Pollyanna, Part Two'' (introduction) ** ''Pollyanna, Part Three'' (introduction) * ''
Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwreck ...
'' ** ''Escape to Paradise/Water Birds'' (first half) * '' The Parent Trap'' ** ''The Title Makers'' (first half) * '' The Sword in the Stone'' Gold Collection ** ''All About Magic'' (complete episode) * ''The Sword in the Stone'' 45th Anniversary Edition ** ''All About Magic'' (excerpt) * ''
A Goofy Movie ''A Goofy Movie'' is a 1995 American animated musical comedy-adventure film produced by Disney MovieToons and Walt Disney Television Animation. Directed by Kevin Lima, the film is based on The Disney Afternoon television series '' Goof Tro ...
'' Gold Collection ** ''The Goofy Success Story'' (complete episode without the Disneyland intro) * '' Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' ** ''From the Pirates of the Caribbean to the World of Tomorrow'' (first half) In the 1980s, Walt Disney Home Video released 15 volumes of the anthology series on VHS, while many episodes have been released on DVD from either the Disney Movie Club or the Disney Generations movies-on-demand (MOD) program on
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
.


See also

* ''Zorro'' (1957 TV series) *
Disneyland Park (Anaheim) 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 ...
* ''
The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...
'' *
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
*
List of Disney television films Beginning in the 1950s, The Walt Disney Company began producing made-for-television films in their long-running anthology series ''Disneyland'' (later to be popularly known as ''The Wonderful World of Color'' and ''The Wonderful World of Disney'' ...
* ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...
'' * ''
World Masterpiece Theater was a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year from 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji TV. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 and from 2007 to 2009. Commonly abbreviated to ...
''


References


External links

*
Disney interview in TV Guide (1961)
(regarding the move from ABC to NBC)

* ttps://www.billcotter.com/tvbook/appendix-b.htm Episode list (1954–1996)* * * {{Motion picture television series on NBC Television series by Disney American Broadcasting Company original programming NBC original programming CBS original programming First-run syndicated television programs in the United States 1950s American anthology television series 1960s American anthology television series 1970s American anthology television series 1980s American anthology television series 1990s American anthology television series 2000s American anthology television series 2010s American anthology television series 2012 American television series debuts American television series revived after cancellation American motion picture television series American television series with live action and animation Black-and-white American television shows Disney Channel original programming Peabody Award-winning television programs 1954 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings Disney-related lists Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series winners English-language television shows 2020s American anthology television series Television series created by Walt Disney