Disneyland Showtime 1970 Behind The Scenes At The Haunted Mansion

If you know me well or have been following the blog, I have a big love for Disneyland.
It's the only Disney park that Walt actually walked in.  In a sense, Disneyland is an extention of the animation work done for the Disney motion pictures, mainly because it was designed by the very people who created all those wonderful Disney animated films! It's pretty obvious in places like Fantasyland where the rides are based off the animated features. But classic attractions like The Jungle Cruise, Pirates Of The Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion, it's not so apparent. In my animation classes, I told students to go to the Disney parks to study the art direction, composition of the scenes inside the attractions and the actual animation of posing of the animatronics. There's a tremendous amount of education to be had there!
In this clip from The Wonderful World Of Disney episode, Disneyland Showtime (1970), Kurt Russell takes us on a behind the scenes tour of Disneylands' Haunted Mansion. What's really great about this clip is that some of the imagineers who made this attraction a reality are in it. You'll see animator Bill Justice cutting discs to control the ghosts that shoot at each other continuously throughout the ride and then you'll see layout artist Yale Gracey setting up the haunted bust illusion featuring Thurl Ravenscrofts' projected image. Then it's off to a complete ride through of the then new Disneyland attraction. Missing from the clip are the key designers of the ride, background artist, Claude Coats, who was the main designer of the interiors, Master Animator, Marc Davis who designed a good amount of the scenes and characters, Blaine Gibson, who did a good amount of the sculpting of the figures and Rolly Crump who came up with a good portion of creepy ideas. Animator X. Atencio provided the script and probably one of the most important and memorable elements of the attraction, the lyrics of the song Grim Grinning Ghosts. Buddy Baker, also equally important to the mood of the attraction provided the creepy music. Believe it or not, I remember seeing this episode when it first aired in 1970, and being 8 yrs old and living in New York at the time, couldn't wait to get to California to see it first hand. It would be five years before I could see the Disney World version of the attraction and another eleven to see it it at Disneyland. The full version of Disneyland Showtime featuring the Osmond Brothers, Kurt Russell and E.J. Peaker can be viewed here...but beware!!!!!!!!It's slightly dated but still a fun look back at a more innocent time at Disneyland Park.
    

The Best Television Show Opening...Period! The Mickey Mouse Club!

I'm posting this because believe it or not, many people today have never seen it.
But I'm sure some of you who have, will not protest too much. This is the extended version of the 1955 Mickey Mouse Club. It was produced in color, but at the time of it's original broadcast, appeared in black and white on a small television screens across the nation on ABC. In my opinion, I think that this is the best opening for a television show ever done, live action or animated. There's a lot of good opening segments for television shows like The Munsters, I Dream Of Jeannie, Get Smart, Green Acres, The Munsters, Bewitched, etc. I'd say the closest to the energy of this piece is one of the openings to The Drew Carey Show, but even then, Carey's title sequence had clips from the show cut into the opening.
MMC's opening was all NEW original footage....and what an opening. I never get tired watching it!
Every weekday in 1955, this title sequence (in glorious Black and white) excited millions of kids, preparing them for the fun to follow.
The Mickey Mouse Club had lots of hooks to keep you watching the show, but this opening sequence shot in eye popping color with an instantly hummable theme by Mousekeleader Jimmie Dodd and fun animation and Direction by Bill Justice, make this 3 minute title opener a supreme winner, hands down.
FYI, most people are familiar with the shorter version of the title, as much of the footage in the middle was cut out, making it a much tighter piece. However, I still prefer the extended opening.
It's a credit to Walt Disney for having the foresight to produce this opening in color and although the color footage isn't currently available on You Tube, it is available on one of the Disney Treasures DVD sets. That version is pure candy for the eyes and is well worth seeing!