As somebody who not only enjoys visiting Disneyland, but also has studied it in depth, it’s rare for me to come across information I didn’t know or something I haven't seen about the iconic theme park. This is part of what makes Disneyland Handcrafted the new documentary film from Leslie Iwerks (available with a Disney+ subscription or free on YouTube) so special. It’s full of film footage of the actual construction of Disneyland, much of which has never been released before.
However, the construction footage isn’t the only thing to look at during Disneyland Handcrafted. There are also numerous scenes of Walt Disney himself hosting the television series Disneyland, which was created specifically to promote, and pay for, the theme park of the same name. While I had seen some of that before, I hadn’t seen it all, in part because it’s not available on Disney+.
Disney+ Needs To Pull More Classic Television Out Of The Vault
Most people’s first look at Disneyland came on television on the series hosted by Walt Disney. The show would air a variety of different programming, with episodes based on themes of the four main lands of Disneyland: Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland. The series would continue after Disneyland opened in 1955 and eventually be replaced by a variety of anthology series. The Wonderful World of Disney, which still airs from time to time on ABC, is the spiritual, if not the direct successor to Disneyland.
There have been over 2,000 episodes of the various Disney anthology series, and while several of the TV movies that premiered as part of the show are currently on Disney+, as with so many streaming platforms, older material just isn't there. While some of Disney's early efforts on television can be found on Disney+, and a few episodes of Disneyland are available, most are not.
I have watched “The Pre-Opening Report From Disneyland,” which is one of the few Disneyland episodes available on the platform, because I am just that sort of nerd. I would watch all the other early episodes if I could. Unfortunately, they’re only available in clips as we got in Disneyland Handcrafted.
Disney+ Needs More Walt Disney
The lack of classic Disney television on Disney+ is strange because the show is the primary place to see Walt Disney himself during his time leading the company that bears his name. For a company that so clearly reveres the man, that has statues of him and even audio-animatronics of Walt in its theme parks, you’d think it'd want to spotlight Uncle Walt more.
This company has 100 years of content to choose from, yet there is far too little of it available on Disney+. I'm glad movies like Disneyland Handcrafted can show us things we've never seen before. Now I need Disney+ to show us things that haven't been seen in decades.
