Customer Reviews

Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrowland - Disney In Space And Beyond

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The contents of these shows are very special - entertaining, educational, and important historically. The first 3 TV shows usually had a fun, animated story for the first half of the show with scientists in the second half giving scientific info on how future space flights might be possible, based on the facts known in the 1950s. All three TV shows were directed by animator/director Ward Kimball.

Man In Space (3/9/55) Walt Disney introduces the show and then turns over the program to director Ward Kimball. The animated story concerns the development of rockets, the action/reaction principle, Jules Verne writing his story "From The Earth To The Moon", a humorous depiction of the medical challenges to man surviving a space trip - such as acceleration, pressure, weightlessness, radiation, and eating/drinking. Later scientists Willy Ley, Heinz Haber, and Wernher von Braun help explain the challenges of space travel and what a space rocket would probably look like.

Man And The Moon (12/28/55) This show was later shown in 1959 as "Tomorrow The Moon". Walt Disney introduces the show and shows scenes from the Disneyland attraction "Rocket Ship To The Moon". Walt then turns the show over to director Ward Kimball. There is a fun animated segment about man's superstitions about the moon over the ages, including stories about trips to the moon and the creatures found there. Literary references to the moon and songs about the moon are shown. Scientist Wernher von Braun introduces how scientists were preparing for a flight to the moon at that time. There is a nice live action/special effects rocket ship flight that photographs the back side of the moon.

Mars And Beyond (12/4/57) This is my favorite of these TV shows. A giant robot GARCO introduces Walt Disney, who is standing next to the robot. Walt presents this mainly animated program about the universe, including the various planets - with special emphasis on Mars. An animated history of mankind's fascination with space is very well done. A fun science fiction story about a female being kidnapped by a robot from Mars includes a very funny scene of Donald Duck being shown as part of a long line of Martian monsters chasing the female. There is fascinating animation exploring wildly imaginative ideas of different lifeforms that might exist on Mars. This animation caused Walt Disney to exclaim to Ward Kimball, "How do you guys come up with all these crazy ideas?"

Our Friend The Atom (1/23/57) Walt Disney uses a scene from the film "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" to introduce the story of atomic energy and then turns the program over to Dr. Heinz Haber, a noted atomic energy scientist of that time. There is a fun animated tale of "The Fisherman and the Genie" included as part of extensive animation showing the history of the atom. This history of the atom also included another scene I much enjoy - how an early Greek theory of the atom was lost for centuries.

Eyes In Outer Space (6/18/59) This theatrical release is an entertaining live-action/animation program which is marvelously produced with several fascinating scenes about the future of satellite's ability to forecast and control the weather. There is a funny animated segment about how "folk tales" predict the weather. My favorite scene is the end of the show in which a high pressure ridge is intensified to keep a hurricane out to sea and away from land. This won the 1960 Thomas Edison Foundation Award. It was later shown on TV as part of the show "Spy In The Sky" (4/1/62).

EPCOT (filmed in 1966, shown in 1967) Walt Disney, in his last film appearance, talks about his company's plans for EPCOT and Walt Disney World. Fascinating and interesting info and very important historically.

I have seen these shows and have loved them over the years. I am thrilled that they are being released on DVD for anyone to enjoy.

It is great to see what Disney thought space travel would be like. It is funny now to watch a TV show about what it will be like to go in space 42 years after we walked on the moon. There is some good stuff in this collection.
This is for Disney fans, Space Fans, SciFi fans and all around fans of the what if.

I saw all these shows except "Eyes In Outer Space" & the EPCOT promotional film, when they were originally broadcast, when I was very young, and they began my education in science and astronomy. Seeing them again 50 years later is a blast. First off, they look GREAT! They are immensely interesting and very entertaining. The stuff they predict correctly is amazing. The first show basically lays out what became the space shuttle program very accurately. In "Mars & Beyond" it apparently didn't occur to them that we would send unmanned probes before sending men. They don't get the first moon trip right. No ships were built in space, and we went to the moon before building any space stations, and to go all the way to the moon and just come back after ONE orbit would have been idiotic. Needless to say, our first trip to the moon involved orbiting for a while. Of course, on the second trip, we landed.
But there's disturbing aspects to these shows also. First off, most of the scientists whom Walt has explain rocketry to us are NAZIS, like Werner Von Braun. They mention his developing of rockets, but omit that he did it for Hitler to use murdering people in England!. When a German scientist, in "Our Friend The Atom" asks what three wishes we should ask of atomic energy, and then says, "Our first wish is for POWER!" I was completely creeped out. We're supposed to just forget that these men had no compunctions about letting Hitler use their genius for mass murder. These guys weren't Mousekateers. They were war criminals who we took for our space programs. They apparently didn't care who they built weapons for. That's what we call whores. It was just ten years after World War II, and Disney was bringing these Nazis into our living rooms to teach our kids. Ew!
Speaking of "Our Friend The Atom", it's a huge commercial for atomic energy, designed to make us baby boomers all want a nuclear power plant in OUR neighborhoods. The atom isn't our friend! They imply that atomic energy COULD have been dangerous, but fortunately, we've tamed it and it hasn't been used to kill and is now not dangerous. Excuse me! Hiroshima and Nagasaki were already history. "Our Friend The Atom" was all about sending us on the inevitable path to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Very creepy.
Several of the historical segments make note of the 1000 year gap in scientific development, the Dark Ages, and let us know that this was a bad time of superstition and ignorance, but it never mentions how the Catholic Church deliberately created the Dark Ages, by ruthlessly repressing all learning, and burning you at the stake if you dared to think for yourself. Copernicus and Galilao's discoveries are cited several times, but no mention is made of their being forced to recant by the Vatican, or of any of Catholicism's other crimes against learning and science.
Similarly, "Eyes In Outer Space" suggests that satilites would just be used for weather control. Any more sinister uses, like spying or weaponry, are never even hinted at.
I am amused by the reviewers who think it's a shame that Walt's ideas for EPCOT were never realized, and who wish they could live in Walt's supercity. Actually live in a city owned and RULED by Disney? No thanks.
But this set of programs are fascinating artifacts from my youth. I enjoyed them tremendously.

To say the least, this collection features some of the greatest animation ever produced for television, if not ever. Mind blowing, wildly inventive, and overwhelming. Ward Kimball, I would argue (with this set as evidence), was Disney's greatest animator, and, when you consider the starchy conservative reputation Disney had during the mid-50s, it's astonishing to consider how willing and trusting he was to both hand over creative control to Kimball, and to present this profoundly innovative and often extremely abstract animation to the common public. It goes a long way toward the potential for discussing Disney as being far more complex than the overly reductive dismissal of him as reactionary moralist in the cultural realm. In addition, this set encapsulates the bright-eyed utopianism of the era better than any other pop culture artifact, the mood and representation of which clearly informed Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (it also sheds light on the somewhat disturbing Germanic influence on the technology of the space age).

Well, I came along too late to have seen these programs on t.v. in the fifties. But I can't imagine I would have enjoyed them anymore than I did today! I don't think it's an exaggeration to say the "Tomorrowland" programs may be the BEST documentaries I have ever seen. Who else but Walt Disney (teaming up with space exploration pioneers like Willie Ley and Warner Von Braun) could make a series like this that ANYONE can enjoy, even 50 years after their release?

Yes, some of the speculative material therein has been proven wrong over the years. That's part of their charm...the people who made these things seem certain that their ideas would become reality. And speaking of charm, anyone with even a passing interest in the history of animation simply MUST have this set. I don't think any other Disney production looks quite like this. The episode on Mars in particular contains some of the most bizarre images, animated or otherwise, to ever appear on screen.

I would highly recommend this to anyone (1)like I said, with an interest in animation; (2)interested in the history of astronomy; (3)who likes 50's science-fiction or science-fact. And of course, anyone who likes classic Disney should have bought this one already.

If I had the money I'd buy it FOR you. But I don't...so do yourself a favor and get this one before it's gone.

For those who loved the books "The Art of Chestley Bonestell", "Visions of Spaceflight", and "Imagining Space", this DVD set is a must have for the 1st disc alone. Hats off to Disney for saving these films for posterity. As one who lives in the day-to-day life of the space industry, it's interesting to note that, after all these years, how much of the information is still applicable as a layman's introduction to the space program (the only bits that would need to be updated would be the section on space medicine and potential life on Mars - although that section could just be renamed life in the universe). It's so great to be able listen to Wernher Von Braun and Ernst Stuhlinger in their prime. My young nephew, who can't get enough on the space program, will be getting one of these soon. If you're a fan of the NASA's manned space program, a fan of popular art of the 1950's, or generally interested in how our parents viewed the future, this timeless collection is for you.

I can't believe how great the EPCOT segment is. This is totally worth the cost of the collection.

To see the original concept for EPCOT totally blew me away (there's lots of good archival footage of Disneyland in the segment, too). I WANT to live in Disney's EPCOT.

Really outstanding.

Disney completists, 1950s cultural collectors, animation fans, history buffs and sci/fi fans will be overjoyed with this set. I had never seen any of the material contained in this set before and now I can't keep these films out of my mind. I was amazed that Walt Disney had the guts to tackle these subjects in such a serious manner. Yet they aren't presented as fluff nor as a boring PBS documentary but some marvelous combination of the two. I've heard people tell of how they had seen these films in school as a supplement to their science educations. Now I can see why. You learn hard facts about the subjects of space travel, atoms, and rockets in an entertaining and unforgettable way. I think the Discovery Channel could learn a thing or two from these films.

The bulk of these films are live action, but the animation that is included is stunning in that it is so different looking from what we normally consider Disney. Animation fans will be pouring over these segments in awe. And as proof of Walt's forethought we are able to enjoy these shows in full technicolor.

Included as a bonus are two interviews. One with Ray Bradbury and the other with Marty Sklar. I can't overstate how excellent these interviews are. They both knew Walt personally and their accounts of working with him and his personality are priceless. As much as I loved the main features, I'm sure to be watching these interviews again and again.

Parents can easily allow their children to watch this set and they're sure to learn a thing or two. For the whole family, Tomorrowland is a triumph of ideas, entertainment and imagination.

This package was originally scheduled for release last December. I drooled in anticipation of buying it, and then was disheartened to see its release had been pushed back six months. As soon as it was available on 18 May, 2004, I ordered it, and Amazon.com's standard delivery was lightning fast. My mailman handed it to me two days later.

When these shows originally aired in Black and White on the weekly Disneyland series in the mid 50s, I was just a little kid, and now only had faint memories of them. To see them in all their glory today, unedited, in beautiful Technicolor, is simply a joy. It's tough to find the words to express how absolutely stunning this set of films is. Enough has been said about what's on this Double-DVD set. A million words have been written about what a genius Walt Disney was. An artist. A visionary. An entertainment wizard. A futurist. He was one of a kind.

What you have here is over four hours of some of the best work ever to come out of the Disney studios. Some of it, such as the "Mars and Beyond" episode, is simply mind-boggling in its artistic beauty and haunting imagery. Some of its animation compares well with, and even exceeds "Fantasia", and I was even drawing some comparisons with Kubrick's "2001" as I watched the huge Mars-bound spaceships quietly marching off in a row towards the Red Planet. That segment alone is worth the price of this set. Walt's never-before-seen full promotional film of EPCOT, as he originally planned it (which is almost nothing like it ended up being built) is startling. I knew he had planned EPCOT to be an entire city. I had no idea just how well-planned his conception of it was.

The Monorail (opened in 1959) and the People Mover (opened in 1967) at Disneyland were simply test beds for the planned EPCOT City transportation system. There is a LOT of vintage Disneyland footage in this set too, especially in the EPCOT segment where Walt pitches the whole concept to investors. Baby Boomers will get teary-eyed when they see the clips of a bygone Disneyland, so many wonderful attractions that now no longer exist.

In these films, Walt Disney showed such enthusiasm you can't help but smile and at the same time be saddemed that he passed away before seeing his massive Florida dream realized. At least he lived long enough to see Disneyland celebrate its 11th anniversary. He was taken from us way too soon.

Walt Disney had an innate gift of making complicated science fun, and understandable, not just to kids, but to anyone. Here, his immensely talented Imagineering studios whip up some of the most memorable, and often whimsical films ever made about space travel, astrophysics, weather, and Atomic engegy. While much of what his films forecast in the 1950s never happened, quite that way, such as controlling the path of hurricanes, you watch these films and wish that it had. The extended interviews with Ray Bradbury and Marty Sklar are wonderful, and reveal a lot of things you might never have known, or even guessed, about Walt Disney and his miraculous mind. Leonard Maltin intros each film and conducts the interviews. He's enthusiastic, and his intros don't drag on forever.

You'll hear the voice of the late Paul Frees narrating some of the films. One of the best film and radio voices who ever faced a mic, you can still hear his unforgettable voice at Disneyland as you ride the Doom Buggies through The Haunted Mansion.

Of all the Disney Treasures tin can DVDs, this is, IMHO, easily the best. This is a must-have for your collection if you are even a devotee of 50s futurism, Disney animation, Disneyland, space exploration, and if you're a Baby Boomer and remember some of these shows from the 50s, don't even hesitate for a second ordering it. Since it's a limited edition, jump on it while you have the chance. It's worth every cent. This is not a DVD you'll watch once and throw in a pile. You'll want to see it over and over and play it for your friends. It is simply a masterpiece.

I was a little disappointed. compared to the other disney treasures this dvd was not what i expected. i found it a little boring, the first disc could have explained what took almost 3 hours in about half the time. Unfortunately i was falling asleep and a good night sleep seemed better than finishing the dvd. I have always been a fan/collector/and student of astromony and space travel, this set did not live up to the billing.