Walt Disney anthology television series | |
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Opening title for The Wonderful World of Disney used since 2015.
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Also known as |
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Genre | Anthology series |
Created by | Walt Disney |
Presented by | Walt Disney (1954–1966) Michael Eisner (1986–2002) |
Narrated by |
Dick Wesson (1954–1979) Mark Elliot (1979–1988) Danny Dark (1988–1991) |
Opening theme | "When You Wish Upon a Star" (1954–1961 and 1968–present; various instrumental adaptations) "The Wonderful World of Color" (1961–1968) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 53 |
No. of episodes | 1,224 |
Production | |
Camera setup | Multi-camera (hosted segments) |
Running time | 156–180 minutes |
Distributor |
Walt Disney Productions (1954–1983) Walt Disney Domestic Television Distribution (1983–1985) Buena Vista Television (1985–2007) Disney–ABC Domestic Television (2007–present) |
Release | |
Original network |
ABC (1954–1961, 1986–1988 and 1997–present) NBC (1961–1981 and 1988–1991) CBS (1981–1986, 1991–1997) Disney Junior (2012–present) Disney Channel (1991–1997) |
Picture format |
480i (SDTV), 720p (HDTV) |
Original release | October 27, 1954 | – present
Walt Disney Productions (later The Walt Disney Company) has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954:
The original version of the series premiered on ABC on Wednesday, October 27, 1954. The same basic series has since appeared on several networks. The show is the second longest running prime-time program on American television, behind rival film anthology, the Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame aired as a weekly program during its first five seasons before becoming a bi-monthly program, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than 40 years.
Originally hosted by Walt Disney himself, the original format of the Disney anthology series consisted of a balance of theatrical animated cartoons, 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, 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 mini-series. These included a miniseries based on Daniel Boone (not the Fess Parker characterization), Texas John Slaughter, Elfego Baca, Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox", and 1977's Kit Carson and the Mountain Man (with Christopher Connelly as Kit Carson, Robert Reed as John C. Fremont, and Gregg Palmer as mountain man Jim Bridger).