TV Specials

In the late 1970's, Radio City Music Hall was in danger of being torn down. They needed a miracle. They found it with Snow White Live! Walt Disney had a history with Radio City Music Hall going back to the beginning of his career. That relationship remained in place after he died with many Walt Disney films premiering there. That loyalty carried on when the Music Hall needed an attraction to bring in audiences and remain open. That attraction was a Broadway show based on Walt Disney's Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs and it saved the Music Hall at a time when movie palaces were being demolished across the country. While there had been traveling stage productions using Disney characters for some time, this marked the first time Walt Disney Productions allowed an outside company to adapt one of their films in a stage production. That production was overseen by longtime Disney Parks vet, Robert F. Jani and first debuted in St. Louis in 1969 returning again in 1972. The decision was made to bring this production to New York City at a time when America's future looked bleak. Originally only intended for a 14 day run, it proved immensely popular and was not only held over but returned after Christmas. The original production opened on October 18, 1979, closing November 18, 1979 after 38 performances in order to put on the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. It then reopened on January 11, 1980 running 68 performances and closed on March 9, 1980, a total of 106 performances. It also went on national tour. A cast recording LP was released in 1979 and was the final Buena Vista label LP record release. The performance was recorded and released on home video as Snow White Live! at Radio City Music Hall in 1981. The Walt Disney Company had stated they would never release Walt's actual animated feature to home video and this took the place of it. This stage production was the only way to see Walt Disney's Snow White story for a generation of people. It aired on HBO in the early 1980's and, starting in 1987 to coincide with the original film's 50th anniversary, it aired on the Disney Channel. The VHS of this production is long out of print, fetching hundreds of dollars on Ebay and has never been released to DVD. The entire production is here. While the Walt Disney Company began a string of Broadway adaptations of their modern day animated features, this is the original and a faithful adaptation it is. The story was expanded to give the Prince more to do and added a great character moment for Dopey in the finale. It also added additional characters such as Luna, the servant of the evil Queen, and for the first time we got to meet Snow White's father the King. Verses to the established songs cut from the animated film were restored and new songs were written adding to the score and they fit rather well. In casting the role of Snow White a national casting call went out looking for an unknown to create the PR of the fairy tale discovery story. A fan produced documentary on the stage production featuring interviews with man of the key players can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR-AyeartfM It should also be noted that Howard Ashman attended a few of these performances. He would go one to revitalize Walt Disney animated features starting with 1989's The Little Mermaid. Cast Mary Jo Salerno as Snow White Richard Bowne as The Prince Anne Francine as The Evil Queen Charles Hall as The Hag & Magic Mirror Don Potter as Doc Benny Freigh as Grumpy Richard Day as Happy Jay Edward Allen as Bashful Louis Carry as Sneezy Jerry Riley as Sleepy Michael E. King as Dopey Bruce Sherman as The Huntsman Thomas Ruisinger as The King Yolande Bavan as Luna Heidi Coe as Greta Lauren Lipson as Mother David Pursley as Chamberlain Songs by Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, & Paul Smith Additional songs by Joe Cook & Jay Blackton Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

1984 was the 50th anniversary of Donald Duck and this TV special hosted by Dick van Dyke aired on CBS. Several celebrities of the time make appearances along with clips from Donald's cartoons. These types of specials were popular at the time, not just for Disney milestones but other characters as well. This was the last appearance of Donald Duck's original voice, Clarence Duck Nash. He would pass away a year later. The special only aired in America once but has reaired in Europe where the Disney Ducks are a popular institution. Original air date November 13, 1984 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

1987 was the year of Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. It was the films 50th anniversary and being the first major film to enjoy such a milestone, the pop culture red carpet was brought out to observe it. (MGM’s The Wizard of Oz, always following in Snow White’s foot steps would follow this same template in 1989.) There was merchandise, sweepstakes, high-end collectibles, even the declaration of a Snow White week made by act of congress! A high point of the celebration was this TV special that aired on NBC in celebration of the film. Several such TV specials were produced at Disneyland in this era when Disney was just starting its transition away from a family feeling company and into the global entertainment conglomerate we know today. It was still a company with a heart because there were still a lot of people around from the Walt/Roy/Ub era who cared. This wasn’t just a job for them, this was an institution and it showed. For Snow White’s 50th anniversary a special program was created that was part narrative story, part documentary, and part pop culture celebration. The major plot of the story is Dick van Dyke is hanging out with his buddies, the seven dwarfs, when the evil Queen, played by Jane Curtin, casts a spell on Grumpy so he’ll retire and she can finally do away with Snow White. Sherman Helmsley plays the Slave in the Magic Mirror (Yeah, that certainly wouldn’t fly today...) and does so in an urban update of the original, much like Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio or even the Magic Mirror as played by Hans Conreid on Walt’s TV show. Through the course of the story, van Dyke convinces Grumpy and the others to stay in the film by reminding them of the story on its making. Through the course of the production we get to see historical footage and animation art from the original production, including glimpses of deleted scenes. In the end Dick van Dyke and the Dwarfs celebrates in singing a deleted song from the film, You’re Never Too Old To Be Young. Throughout the show there’s cameos of then current TV stars celebrating Snow White and finally Linda Ronstadt sings Someday My Prince Will Come for the finale. For a time, TV specials like this on network television were a staple of the Walt Disney Company in both celebrating their historical milestones and their new releases but Snow White’s Golden Anniversary is one of the most special among them. Audiences today have no idea how revered Walt Disney’s history was back then when many of the people who’d participated in it were still with us. It’s certainly not like this anymore under Woke Disney. Original air date May 22, 1987 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

1988 marked a year long celebration for the 60th birthday of Mickey Mouse. There were publicity events throughout the year including many you see in this special. There was a Mickey Mouse hot air balloon sailing around the world, a cow with Mickey Mouse's head shape in its spots, a farmer's field with a Mickey Mouse silhouette that could be viewed from outer space and more. At Disneyland Mickey Mouse's Birthdayland debuted, it would later become Mickey Mouse's Toontown. A highlight of this 1988 celebration was a one hour TV special that aired on NBC. Because this was an NBC spectacular, the show includes the casts of several contemporary NBC television shows from that time, including Family Ties, Cheers, Hunter, L.A. Law and The Cosby Show. You also see cameos by such celebrities as Carl Reiner, John Ritter, Cheech Marin, Jill Eikenberry, and more. Several real life NBC affiliate newscasters also cameo throughout the special. The plot of the special is simple enough. Mickey Mouse steals the hat from the sorcerer used in the infamous Sorcerer's Apprentice short and the sorcerer casts a spell on Mickey so no one recognizes them. (Oddly enough, this sorcerer isn't Yen Sid from the cartoon but a new design.) The world tries to find the hidden Mickey in time for his big birthday bash and Donald Duck is suspected of murdering the mouse to take his place. The new animated star is also presented as Mickey's best friend, a role that would have been much better suited for Goofy. Who Framed Roger Rabbit had just premiered a few months before this and there was already high hopes for all on the future of this character. At the time, Roger had been integrated into the stable of main Disney shorts characters. Because the copyright on the character is shared with Steve Spielberg, Roger was eliminated after Dreamworks was founded as Disney's greatest competitor of the 1990's and 2000's. This imaginative special demonstrates just how important Disney and Mickey Mouse was to American pop culture in 1988. It also shows how the past and Walt Disney's legacy was still very much revered. This special only aired once and was never released to VHS or DVD but it should be. In hopes of generating interest in it again, we present it here for your rediscovery. Starring Carl Reiner as Mel Fellini Charles Fleischer as Charlie the Stage Manager & Roger Rabbit John Ritter as Dudley Goode Jill Eikenberry as Mia Loud Michael Eisner as Himself Brian Bonsall as Andy Keaton Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton Tina Yothers as Jennifer Keaton Ed McMahon as Himself Fred Dryer as Sergeant Rick Hunter Michael Tucker as Stuart Markowitz Jimmy Smits as Victor Sifuentes Alan Rachins as Douglas Brackman, Jr. Richard A. Dysart as Leland Mackenzie Corbin Bernsen as Arnie Becker Blair Underwood as Jonathan Rollins Harry Hamlin as Michael Kuzak George Wendt as Norm Peterson Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd Ted Danson as Sam Malone Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe Cheech Marin as the Disneyland custodian Phylicia Rashad as the Disneyland dancer Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux Betty White as Rose Nylund Burt Reynolds as Himself Dyan Cannon as Herself Phil Collins as Himself Annette Funicello as Herself Bette Midler as Herself Barbara Hershey as Herself Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck Peter Cullen as the Wizard Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse Original air date November 13, 1988 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

This companion special to Mickey Mouse's Birthday was released near the same time. Many forget that when it's Mickey Mouse's birthday, it's also Minnie's birthday too. This was the first time Minnie was showcased in a starring role ever. It's based on the 1986 album of the same name. Updating the animated shorts characters with contemporary music was nothing new. It had happened in the late 1970's with Disco. That album brought voice actress Russi Taylor to the role of Minnie Mouse. She was the first long term actress in the role. Prior to this, Minnie was voiced by whoever was available. The special included several popular stars of the era including Suzanne Somers and Elton John. This special demonstrates just how important Disney and Mickey Mouse was to American pop culture in 1988. It also shows how the past and Walt Disney's legacy was still very much revered and trying to be updated to the current times. This special only aired once and was never released to VHS or DVD but it should be. In hopes of generating interest in it again, we present it here for your rediscovery. Starring Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse Robert Carradine as Maxwell Dweeb Suzanne Somers as Director Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse Elton John as Himself Don Pardo as Announcer Vanna White as Herself Philip Michael Thomas as Himself Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck Will Ryan as Goofy, Pete Bill Farmer as Pluto Dancers: Tina Caspary, Mavis Vegas Davis, Peggy Holmes, Lise Lang, Thelma Smith, Andrea Paige Wilson, Cheryl Yamaguchi Original air date February 25, 1988 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

Everyone's favorite redneck, Ernest P Worrell, started out as a character used in local TV commercials in Nashville, Tennessee in 1980. Played masterfully by comedian Jim Varney, Ernest was a throwback to the sorts of characters that were seen in theatrical comedy shorts in films in the 1930's though the 1960's such as the Three Stooges, Abbott & Costello, and Ma & Pa Kettle. The character caught on and became so popular that he started appearing in national TV commercials. Soon Varney was making appearances as Ernest on talk shows and TV specials and, by 1983, the Ernest character was appearing in direct to video films that built his audience in the fledgling VHS rental market. By 1985, Ernest was appearing in theatrical films and the Walt Disney Company signed Varney as Ernest to make a film. That first film, Ernest Goes to Camp (1987) was a Touchstone Pictures release and a surprise hit. Varney was signed to a 7 picture deal with Disney, although only three more films were ever made. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) was the top grossing film of the series, having been adapted into an Ernest film from another project. It was also the first film to be show at the Disney/MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. That same year Ernest also got his own two-time Emmy award-winning Saturday morning TV show, Hey, Vern, It's Ernest!, on CBS. Several similar characters of the time had Saturday morning TV shows as well like PeeWee Herman, Ed Grimley, and ALF. Ernest Goes to Jail (1990) and Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) proved to be less than popular and the Disney deal ended before Ernest & the Voodoo Curse and a space parody with the character were filmed. Ernest made one final theatrical film, Ernest Rides Again (1993.) When it too bombed there were no more Ernest theatrical films and Ernest returned to the home video market for a string of annual releases. He still remained popular to a loyal base of fans who'd been with him since his pre-Disney days. All Ernest productions were primarily filmed in the Nashville area and included the same team from the days of the commercials until the very end. John Cherry and Coke Sams often co-write and directed the Ernest films with the same cast of character actors often appearing in many of the films. Varney took everyone up with him on his ride of success. The Ernest format usually featured Varney portraying multiple characters, many of whom were from the Worrell clan. Another feature was Ernest's best "friend," Vern, who was in the POV of the camera. Ernest was always trying to help Vern out in completing a project with disastrous results. Ernest's catchphrase was "Knowhutimean?" In the golden age of Disney's Ernest deal, they often featured the character in their parade broadcasts and TV specials and that's where this TV special comes in. When Disneyland opened Splash Mountain in 1989, they brought in Varney to play his Ernest character as the first person to take the first test pilot plunge as a "Splashtronaut", on Disneyland's new thrill ride. Given that Ernest was a southerner and Splash Mountain is based on a property centered around southern stories it made sense to Disney synergy to marry the two. The special aired on the Disney Channel and then on the Magical World of Disney before returning for a short run on the Disney Channel. In it, you'll see a few real life Imagineers who worked on the ride in cameos such as Bruce Gordon. The intent of this special was to get people interested in the ride and go to Disneyland. It's likely never to be seen again given all things Splash Mountain have been purged from Disney. It's great to see the ride when it first opened. Jim Varney was a great dramatic actor who was much more than the Ernest character that made him famous but he never gave up on him. He also returned to Disney to voice two animated characters. He was Slinky Dog in the Pixar films Toy Story and Toy Story 2 and Cookie in Atlantis: the Lost Empire. Jim Varney died of lung cancer on February 10, 2000. He was only 50 years old and by all account, he was just a good decent man. He would love that people are still enjoying his work decades after he's been gone. Knowhutimean, Vern? Knowhutimean? Original airdate July 7, 1989 Incidentally, please consider nominating Song of the South to the National Film Directory at the following link. Perhaps Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain would one day be a bonus feature on an official release. It's the only Ernest project to not have an official release. https://www.research.net/r/national-fim-registry-nomination-form For more information on Song of the South go here: https://rumble.com/v4q7fjc-walt-disneys-uncle-remus-foreword-1945.html Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

In 1989 Jim Henson began talks with Michael Eisner to merge his company with the Walt Disney Company. Eisner had greenlit the original Muppet Show pilots when he’d been an ABC executive in the 1970’s and had always felt a connection to the Muppets just as he felt for other projects he’d greenlit before coming to Disney such as Indiana Jones. In this merger, Jim Henson was to be brought on to become the Walt Disney figure of the Walt Disney Company. This is what appealed to Henson most of all. He would no longer need to worry about the financial side of his company but could focus solely on the creative. This would have been a merger made in Heaven for the closest figure there’s been to a Walt Disney was Jim Henson. There was a long and messy road on the Disney/Henson merger but it was finally going to happen. Jim had been working with different areas of the Walt Disney Company and places to put his characters. He’d also adapted some Disney characters into puppetry such as animal characters from The little Mermaid. (In fact, Jim was involved in two pilots for a Disney Channel series tying in with the film called Ariel’s Island. Although this series never got beyond the pilot stage, the concept was later adapted to the series Sing Me A Story with Belle based on Beauty & the Beast.) The Disney/MGM Studios was to have an entire Muppet section. Ultimately only MuppetVision 3-D was ever completed. There were planned Muppet films, TV shows, animated films, and other things that never came to fruition. Jim was really interested in the theme parks because of the connection between audioanimatronics and puppetry. The merger ultimately didn’t happen because Jim Henson suddenly died of streptococcus pneumonia and the Disney lawyers wanted to lowball the Henson family for their assets since Jim no longer came with them. The Henson family were turned off by the aggressive nature of the Disney legal staff, just as Jim had been when he was alive. Ultimately, there would be a loose partnership with the Walt Disney Company for a few years resulting in films like The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island as well as the TV series Dinosaurs and Muppets Tonight (Both started by Jim.) In 2004 the Walt Disney Company ultimately bought the Muppets and have had a lackluster relationship with them since. This would be the first franchise that they would gobble up with Pixar, Marvel, and Lucusfilm to follow. Also, because of what happened to Jim Henson on the eve of that would be merger, John Lasseter was given healthy stipulations when he was given a similar Creative Officer deal to what Jim would have had. Before Henson died, the final Muppet project ever produced was a TV special celebrating the Muppet merger that never happened. The special aired ten days before Jim Henson died. It was produced to announce the Disney/Muppet merger to the world. The special was written by longtime Muppet writer Jerry Juhl. He’d started with the company as a Muppeteer in the 1960’s but soon became their chief writer handling everything from Sesame Street sketches and the Muppet Show to being the co-creator of Fraggle Rock and writer on dozens of non-Muppet projects that never got off the ground. This special has his style of humor that the Muppets used to be known for. (The Muppets were never conceived as the kiddie property they're thought of today. They had always been for adults with a large kid base. Jim had actually resisted working on Sesame Street at first because his didn't want the Muppets to be thought of as a kid only property.) The premise is that the Muppets are in the swamp around Walt Disney World visiting Kermit’s family when they make a break to the theme parks and zany Muppet hilarity ensues. Charles Grodin plays the villain of the piece, the bumbling security guard Quentin Fitzwaller. He’d also been a more sinister villain in the Muppets second theatrical film The Great Muppet Caper. Raven Simone is the only other guest star in this special as a little girl who encourages Kermit. At the time she was a star on The Cosby Show and she would go one to have a long affiliation with the Walt Disney Company perhaps the most well known being the star of her own sitcom That’s So Raven. Mickey Mouse makes an animated appearance at the finale as well. The Muppets at Walt Disney World marks a few landmark moments in Muppet history. It’s the first time the character of Bean Bunny was cemented into the core group of Muppet characters. He debuted in the 1986 Easter special The Tale of the Bunny Picnic for HBO. He was then part of the cast of the short-lived 1989 series The Jim Henson Hour for NBC. He was never part of the Muppets cast until this special. He also made appearances in Muppetvision 3-D, Muppet Babies, and The Muppet Christmas Carol. After Jim Henson died, his performer, Steve Whitmire, took over the role of Kermit the Frog and Bean fell by the wayside. The reason Bean Bunny was integrated into the Muppet cast is because Jim thought his cuteness would draw that burden away from the other Muppet characters and allow them to be the personalities they originally were in the 1970’s. This special also marks the first time the character of Clifford was part of Dr Teeth & the Electric Mayhem. Clifford had also been originally introduced in The Jim Henson Hour. The Electric Mayhem band members were each made up of the core group of Mupeteers and when Kevin Clash was added to the core group he had a character join the band. Clifford would later be the host of TV series Muppets Tonight in 1996. But the most historical aspect of this special is this is the final time Jim Henson performed his characters in a production. The Muppets of Jim Henson’s time are vastly different from the Muppets as they are today and that makes The Muppets as Walt Disney World a tremendous record in both Walt Disney and Muppet history. It also makes one wonder how different this history would have been if Jim Henson had lived. The Muppets at Walt Disney World hasn’t been seen in decades and the Disney Parks no longer look the way they do in them. The recently opened Disney/MGM Studios plays a big part in this production and that park as well as its then signature landmark, a replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, no longer exist. As a bonus included at the end of the special is the blooper reel that was created for the wrap party. It was made for Disney welcoming the Muppet employees into the fold. In November 1990 there would one final Muppet production before the Muppets changed forever. That was the TV special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. That special had been pushed by Michael Eisner as a tribute to Jim at a time when Jim’s family and staff wanted to mourn. It marked the final time Richard Hunt performed his Muppet characters. He died of AIDS in 1992. The Muppet Christmas Carol, the first Muppet theatrical film after Jim’s death, is dedicated in the memory of both Jim Henson and Richard Hunt. Original airdate May 6, 1990 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.

One of the most prevalent initiatives of the 1980's Reagan Administration was the War of Drugs. First Lady Nancy Reagan made it one of her personal causes to champion with the most popular slogan to come out of it being the Just Say No campaign. After the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit in which cartoon characters from competing studios appeared in a single film, it was suggested that a similar concept could be done with Saturday morning cartoon characters for the cause of Just Say No to drugs. (For nearly fifty years the major networks would air cartoons every Saturday morning until the Clinton Administration killed them with regulations in the 1990's.) Reagan called upon the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation to produce such a project that had not been attempted before or since. Over the next couple of years the project came together as Cartoon All Stars To the Rescue. It was largely funded by McDonalds Children's Charities and would include characters from the most popular Saturday morning cartoons at the time from the three major networks and the recently launched Fox network. Since most Saturday morning cartoons were voiced by the same voice actors and animated in the same Japanese studios, Wang Films, this wouldn't be a problem. The Saturday morning cartoons characters come from the following network shows: The Bugs Bunny Show - 1960-2000, ABC The Smurfs - 1981-1989, NBC Alvin & the Chipmunks - 1983-1990, NBC Muppet Babies - 1984 - 1991, CBS The Real Ghostbusters - 1986-1991, ABC Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1987-1996, NBC DuckTales* - 1987-1990, Fox Alf" The Animated Series - 1987-1990, NBC Garfield & Friends - 1988-1994, CBS The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - 1988-1991, ABC *DuckTales was a weekday show that some Fox affiliates aired on Saturday mornings as well. All the original voice actors performing these characters on Saturday morning cartoons at the time appear as their characters. Award winning actor George C Scott plays the personified spirit of drugs Mr. Smoke. Scott was on the Walt Disney Studio lot recording the villain Percival McLeach for the Rescuers Down Under. Jason Marsden, who was a staple in animated voices and live action sitcoms of the time, voiced Micheal, the boy addicted to drugs. Roy Disney Jr was brought on to executive produce the project. Songs were written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman who'd just completed The Little Mermaid and would go on to produce the songs for Beauty & the Beast and Aladdin. Once completed, Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue would air on the very same Saturday morning on all the major networks, several local stations, PBS, and a few cable channels. It also aired overseas in several countries but always on the same day across multiple networks. The American broadcast was in April 1990 while in Australia it was in November of that same year. An introduction with President and First Lady Bush with their dog Millie introduced the American broadcast. (Reagan had since left office.) Some smaller networks accompanied the broadcast with their own introduction (we've included one of these here with 7 Network's Bob and Hazel Hawke.) After its broadcast, McDonald's distributed the TV special on VHS through their restaurants. The VHS manufacturing was handled by the Walt Disney Company's home video arm Buena Vista Home Video. Disney was becoming a powerhouse in the home video market and no one else was more qualified at the time to handle such a release. Copies of Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue was also provided to video rental stores with the stipulation to be a title for free rental because this was a public service project. In the aftermath, the pro drugs mainstream academia has often criticized the Reagan Administration's War on Drugs campaign and even sneer that drugs can be harmful to people. Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue also gets dismissed as being preachy right wing propaganda rather than as the educational tool it was at the time. In reality, Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue was a successful project that did have an impact on the generation of children in the target audience at the time. It's also a historical snapshot in what was popular on Saturday morning cartoons at the time. Since Saturday morning cartoons have been put out to pasture, it's likely we'll never see a project like this attempted again. Original airdate April 21, 1990 Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.