The Wonderful World of Disney

September 14, 1955

This is an airing of the beloved 1941 animated feature, edited to run in the allotted time slot. Mrs. Jumbo, a circus elephant receives a baby with large ears. The other elephants ostracize him, and his mother is locked up for attacking a heckling human. As Dumbo, the mocking nickname for the baby elephant given to him, finds himself without any friends, an ambitious mouse named Timothy befriends him and helps him overcome his problem.

September 21, 1955

James Algar takes us behind the scenes of a True-Life adventure in The Everglades and in a desert with Bob Crandall.

September 28, 1955

A little circus bear runs away and finds more of his own kind. Rejected at first, he soon becomes a hero after standing up to a bully named Lumpjaw. This is actually the first half of the animated film, Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

October 5, 1955

This episode is from the People and Places theatrical series filmed by William N. Smith about his adventures in these exotic places.

October 12, 1955

Walt looks at the career of Mickey Mouse through a collection of his short cartoons.

October 19, 1955

This compilation of several of Disney's ""Silly Symphonies,"" a series of short cartoons from the 1930s has Walt telling viewers about the respective origins of many of the stories.

October 26, 1955

Features The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949), originally from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).

November 2, 1955

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) re-edited into a two-part television presentation.

November 9, 1955

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) re-edited into a two-part television presentation.

November 16, 1955

The fourth of five programs about Davy Crockett involves Davy and Georgie ending a particularly successful season of trapping and hunting with the hopes of easy sales, only for such hopes to be dashed by the self-proclaimed "King of the River", Mike Fink, and a band of renegade Indians that have been notorious for attacking passing boats.

November 30, 1955

The first of three shows based on Disney's ""Art of Animation"" book. Walt Disney explores the history of Animation from primitive cave drawings, to Windsor McKay's ""Gertie the Dinosaur"" and Pat Sullivan's Felix the Cat, up to Fantasia. Two cartoons are featured: The Skeleton Dance (1929) and the Nutcraker Suite segmest from Fantasia. This episode is avalible on the ""Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studios"" 2-disc DVD.

December 7, 1955

Goofy's rise to stardom is featured here, starting with a look at Hollywood, where talent scouts seek out the next superstar. They find Goofy in a movie theater watching a Mickey Mouse cartoon and laughing at it, and he is "discovered". And so begins the career of an actor with a unique laugh.

December 14, 1955

The final Davy Crockett story (the second ""Legend"" tale) has Davy and ex-foe Mike Fink on the same side, fighting some nasty pirates who are passing themselves off as Indians in order to start a war. This episode is avalible as part of a 2-disc DVD set.

December 28, 1955

This installment tells of many age-old legends and fantasies about the moon, upon which, at the time of this episode, man was still trying to land.

January 4, 1956

Sword and the Rose, The (1953) re-edited into a two-part television presentation.

January 11, 1956

Sword and the Rose, The (1953) re-edited into a two-part television presentation.

January 18, 1956

Walt looks at the history of Joel Chandler Harris, author of the Uncle Remus stories.

February 1, 1956

This episode follows the events of Donald Duck as he struggles through a typical day at the Disney Studio. Along the way, he meets Jimmie Dodd, Roy Williams, the Mouseketeers and the actor that does his voice, Clarence Nash.

February 8, 1956

No overview available.

February 15, 1956

"Our Unsung Villains" is a 1956 episode of Walt Disney anthology television series. The program has Walt Disney handing over the hosting duties to the Magic Mirror, who promptly decides to do a show devoted to the Disney villains. Hans Conried plays the role of the Magic Mirror and would reprise the role in many Disney television specials, including the 1977 followup "Disney's Greatest Villains." In this program, the Magic Mirror only focuses on four villains, whereas he covers twelve in "Disney's Greatest Villains."

February 29, 1956

No overview available.

March 7, 1956

Walt Disney, who is on vacation, gives Jiminy Cricket a phone call to take over hosting duties for one TV episode while he is away. Jiminy decides to gather the other Disney stars together to help him out. Unfortunately, they, too, are on vacation, but how they are spending their respective vacations helps put the show together for him.

March 14, 1956

No overview available.

March 21, 1956

Walt introduces the narrator, Spyrus Olympopolus, to demonstrate how the ancient sports practiced in foreign countries have evolved into the games of today. Spyros illustrates this using Goofy.

April 4, 1956

Walt answers the often-asked question of just where the stories for his studio's cartoons come from, which is from practically anywhere.

May 30, 1956

No overview available.