#122 THE BEST OF WALT DISNEY'S TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURES

An amazing thing has transpired in my efforts to view every feature-length, theatrically-released Disney film. One feature which I thought I may never see (because it was never released on DVD or even VHS) has been made available for online viewing through Amazon.com!



The Best Of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures (released 8 Oct 1975) could be considered a live-action anthology feature and yes it is made up of clips from other films which are available on DVD, but this is the first time this material, as its own feature, has been so accessible to the public since it was released 35 years ago.

For those who may find parts of the True-Life series entertaining, but find them "boring" as a whole, I recommend this film. Like the title says, it's the best - the cream of the crop. It begins with a short montage discussing Walt Disney's appreciation for animals through the years and includes short excerpts from The Wonderful World Of Color, Fantasia, Dumbo and others. Then you see the attack of the prairie hawks, the bobcat who got chased up a cactus, the wasp who can barely escape a colony of ants and later kills off a tarantula much larger than itself.

It's only $1.99 for a 48-hour rental period. You can stream it online or download it to your computer and watch it as much as you want. There's also an option to download it first and then you have 30 days to start viewing before your 48-hour rental period starts. Rent it soon! This may be available for a short time and there's a good chance it may never be released on video!

#149 THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS

RELEASE DATES
Premiere: 16 Apr 1980
Theatrical: 7 Oct 1981
VHS: 1982
DVD: 2002, 2004

After several years of box office disappointments, it's clear that those who inherited Walt's kingdom were trying new things to interest audiences in the late 1970s and early '80s. Just look at all of the titles released around that time period that could be considered very non-traditional for the Disney studios - Midnight Madness (which didn't even use the Disney name in its marketing), Tex, Something Wicked This Way Comes, etc. The introduction of Touchstone Pictures and its adult target is more evidence of this. It seems they were constantly trying to change things up and appeal to that coveted teenage demographic, even if it meant using the success of Star Wars as a jumping-off point (The Black Hole). In the midst of this was the eerie tale of The Watcher in the Woods.



I don't really plan on criticizing acting skills on this blog, but it did seem odd to have veteran Bette Davis playing alongside some much less talented performers (I'll let you decide which ones they are). I was convinced that the young actress who played Ellie was Kim Richards from the Witch Mountain movies, but after checking IMDB.com, I found that it was actually her little sister, Kyle (on a sidenote, I also learned their older sister is Kathy Richards, mother of Paris Hilton).

My own memories of this film began with the promotional spots I'd see on The Disney Channel. I got creeped out easily as a kid (i.e. Sleeping Beauty when Malificent appears in the fireplace or even in the opening of Star Wars when Darth Vader first appeared) so I actually never seen it until someone rented it for a Halloween party I went to in 6th grade. I never fully appreciated it though until it recently came up in my Netflix queue.

I like the darker atmosphere and unique photography. It does get strange toward the end with the whole parallel dimension concept, but if you really want to be weirded out, rent the DVD and check out the alternate endings! From what I understand, they're comprised mostly of the original cut which first premiered in New York to unsatisfied audiences. The reason is obvious when you actually see the watcher, which looks more like something from a Terminator or Alien movie. The watcher takes Jan into its wings and rockets off to the other dimension where Karen has been trapped for 30 years. It suddenly seems like a completely different film with scenes of a large spaceship that appears to have crash-landed in a river on another planet. Next you see Karen inside just standing (or frozen in time I guess) in a glass pyramid. Jan approaches her, Karen is happy to see her (or feel her, since she's still blind-folded) and they return to the chapel.

After the unsuccessful premiere, the ending was re-shot. Any hype that was created in anticipation of the wide release had subdued by the time it finally came out a year-and-a-half later and was a failure financially. You can find the alternate endings on Disney DVD or an earlier Anchor Bay DVD which, I belive, also has a director's commentary.

INTRODUCTION

About six or seven years ago, I received Disney archivist Dave Smith's Disney A to Z encyclopedia. After seeing his official list of feature-length theatrical releases I was surprised to find out how many I hadn't seen or even heard of. It became my objective to watch all of them. As of today, I have seen 280 of the 312 theatrically released Disney feature films. Of course, the list keeps growing, but in the process I've found a lot of hidden gems which don't get the recognition or marketing power of films like The Lion King or Mary Poppins. Others are just horrible.

You may think you've seen pretty much all of them yourself. I thought I had, but quickly found it was a bigger task than I had imagined. Not all of them have been made available on DVD and good VHS copies are getting harder to find. Some haven't been seen by the public since their first run in theaters and remain in obscurity.

The purpose of this blog is to expose others to my discoveries, provide my thoughts and maybe spark some memories for those who might have forgotten.


I'm fairly young considering that the bulk of these films came out before my time. The first Disney movie I remember seeing in the theater was The Black Cauldron when I was three years old! I have a strong affection for the older films and miss the days when they could frequently be seen on The Disney Channel.

Each post will feature one film I've seen, in random order. The criteria will be the list in Dave Smith's book and any films since its printing that are released in theaters under the Walt Disney Pictures moniker. No direct-to-video releases, etc. I may, on occasion, decide to feature a particularly well-made or interesting featurette or other related find here. Please let me know your thoughts and suggestions. Tell your friends about it. Thank you for reading!