My Walt Disney World Memories Part 2

Did Pluto Just Yell At Me?

Five year old me was so excited to meet Pluto. That yellow dog was energetic and doing tricks to make me laugh. His first trick was to steal my hat off my head and then put it on his nose and try to flip it onto his head. He did this routine several times and successfully manage to get my hat on his head twice. Next he pretended to lick my face with his long red tongue. I grabbed this wagging tongue and started to yank on it, finding it so funny. Well, Pluto did not. That's when I heard the male voice from inside Plutos costume tell me to stop pulling on his tongue. My giggles ceased and I let go. I felt terrible that Pluto was mad at me. I stood there frozen until my mom led me away to a new character.

 Forget The Water Parks

Over the years our family has hit up all the water parks. Blizzard Beach with their melting snowmen statues, Typhoon Lagoon with its lazy river and even River Country before it was abandoned. I'm not much of a fan of swimming. I can swim I just rather not spend my day at a beach. My favorite place to get wet is at Epcot. Outside of Captain EO and Journey into Imagination is a ground fountain that squirts water randomly. Some water shoots straight up while others play leap frog, creating arches. It's a fun spot to play tag with the water as it comes crashing back down and not knowing exactly where it will attack next. Plus, it's a quick cool down from that hot summer heat.

 Journey Into Imagination

I wish this ride stayed the same in its original form with Dreamfinder. Nothing against Eric Idle, I'm a fan, but I'm nostalgic.
Figment is such a likable character. My favorite from this ride is the rainbow light archway and then the play room with a musical floor to jump on while color lights dance around the room.

 Honey I Shrunk The Audience

The Honey I Shrunk the Audience show was the first time I experienced sitting in interactive seats and being tortured. Audience members watched Rick Moranis be absent- minded Wayne Szalinski, unaware of the seats and theater around them were all part of the show, tricking you into thinking that there was an escaped snake or being sprayed with water from overhead. Some people enjoy this unexpected thrill, though I prefer the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. Parents could sit and rest while their kids run around crazy, sliding down a curved blade of grass, climbing cobwebs, and riding on ants.

Wish You Were Here

I have to admit I have a slight obsession with postcards. Now, I won't buy just any postcard off the spinning rack, I have to really like the image. Also, I rarely send anyone a postcard. 

My postcard collection is vintage travel, national parks, book covers, black and white photography and of course, Disney. What has been neat is the Disney company releasing postcard box sets with concept art of their animated films throughout the years. The starting of my postcard obsession came from Walt Disney World. I still have the special lenticular postcards I bought as a small child. It now sits on my daughter's book shelf. 

 Try The Grey Stuff, It's Delicious!

Now, I haven't tried the grey stuff at the Beast's Castle, but there are a few snacks I enjoy while at the park. The first is traveling to France in Epcot and visiting Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie for a warm crossaint. The next is the famous cool treat of the smooth chocolate covered Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Fortunately, Disney has released this much-loved ice cream treat and a few others to the public to purchase at their local grocery store.  Now if they would bring back the Mickey and Gang Popsicles I ate as a child my life would be complete!

 That's A Lot Of Stairs

The architecture around Epcot is amazing. All the fine details. The San Angel Inn Restaurant sticks out the most to me maybe because it's been the go-to place for dinner for most of our family trips. Though I don't remember if the food is any good. I do recall the place being packed with people wandering around the random wagon carts with trinkets and eating in twilight. Taking a gliding boat ride tour. My mind though goes to those stairs on the exterior of the Mayan Pyramid. I wished I could take on the challenge of climbing to the top. It would be my Mt. Everest.

 Hey, That Person Is Famous!

I've met or at least been in the same area as a few famous people. The first two famous people that I saw outside of my television screen was Jerry Van Dyke and Suzanne Somers. It was Christmas time and they were hosting the parade. I stared in awe of them up on their broadcasting stage giving the TV audience and us at the park the play by play of who was coming down Main Street. I had seen Three' s Company when I was younger, but was more familiar with Suzanne Somers in her role as the mom on Step by Step (didn't really care for the show but it was part of the TGIF line up so I still watched it). Jerry Van Dyke was not as familiar to me, I had only seen a few episodes of Coach. I found that show to be more adult. Which is hilarious to me because of watching Three's Company and even Married with Children as a kid.  

Disney MGM- Hollywood Studios.. Whatever You Wanna Call It.

After the Magic Kingdom with all its traditional classic rides the next park I like is Disney MGM Studios. Yes, I know its name has been changed, but it will always be MGM to me. I love the 1930's Art-Deco buildings. I'm a big fan of MGM's old films starring talented actors like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.  So of course the Great Movie Ride was a must on my list, along with the Studio Backlot Tour where you could see the Golden Girls house and movie props and set pieces from films like The Rocketeer and Flight of the Navigator.  Unfortunately, times are a-changing and I'm not sure what is left of the MGM I loved. I always felt like MGM was the park that was forgotten. Trying to bring in more crowds to this park, Disney World added more thrill rides like the Tower of Terror and Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. At least the Tower of Terror was set in the 1930's time period.  I'm fine with some of the new upgrades but I really wish there was a time machine to go back to the classic MGM theme park days. I guess I'll have to steal the DeLorean from Universal Studios.

Who's the Leader of Club...

A neat "behind the scenes" tour when I was younger was watching the rehearsal of the New Mickey Mouse Club. I don't recall if any of the kids were the famous people we know today like Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling or Keri Russell. It was kinda hard to see who was who with standing above the sound stage behind a glass window. My older brother even sent in a form to be a New Mickey Mouse Club Member. He wasn't called in for an audition like the kids who appeared on the show but he did get a special letter and a Mickey Mouse Club sticker and a patch for his jean jacket. 

My Walt Disney World Memories Part 1

Walt Disney World is a magical place. There are lots of memories to be made. Typically, when you ask someone what their favorite parts of the parks are they ramble off the rides they enjoyed. My list is a little different. While I do point out a few rides, most of my memories of enjoyment lay in smaller specific details of the park and how those items make me feel.

 Campfires With Chipmunks

My earliest memory of Walt Disney World was at the age of 5, camping at Fort Wilderness. In the evening when families were settling down from their time at the parks, the magic continued. Sitting on wooden benches, my two brothers and I anxiously awaited the arrival of two furry rodents, Chip and Dale. Waddling to their open stage accompanied by a cowboy with a guitar, the show began. A couple songs were sang by the strumming cowboy, while Chip and Dale danced around. I'm sure Dale was causing some mischief with being overly goofy, making the crowd laugh( that's why Dale with his big red nose is my favorite). Chip wagging his finger in scolding Dale to be more serious. Then both cover their mouths and shake their bodies in mime laughter. After the show there was a meet and greet, along with roasting marshmallows over a camp fire. What a wonderful moment of interacting so close to these two lovable characters.



Dinner And A Show

Even while eating, a visitor of Disney World can be entertained with a show. At Liberty Square Taverne a troupe of soldiers parade by, beating on drums and whistling a Yankee Doodle Dandy number through flutes. In Frontier Land you can have a rip- roaring good time laughing and clapping at the Pioneer Hall Players in their western vaudeville act, the Hoop Dee doo Revue. For this memory we are going to travel to the Biergarten in Epcot's Germany. The interior to this restaurant is amazing. Three tiers of dinning space with long wooden tables fills the banquet hall made to look like a Bavarian town. A backdrop of the mountain top Alps lays behind the lederhosen clad performers on stage. The room is filled with their Ompa- pa tunes, making you want to swing a beer stein in the air. What I remember from this performance is the alphorns, playing of glasses, and the chicken dance. Waitresses in dirndl ( traditional German dresses) would grab members of the audience and the room would erupt into  chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, flap, flap, flap, flap, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, clap, clap, clap, clap. Then as the accordion played to the merry melody, hands were grabbed and a trail of tourists were weaved around the tables. This was the only time your parents would allow a stranger to grab your hand and lead you away because everyone was family during this time, participating in a silly dance. Faster and faster the song went and faster and faster I tried to keep up, screwing up the hand motions. At the end of the song I was definitely ready for dessert.



 Water Skiing Characters

There are several ways of arriving at the Magic Kingdom. One of those ways is by ferry boat. While trekking across the water Disney cast members are making sure their guests are always entertained. Welcoming everyone to the Magic Kingdom is a water skiing Pinocchio and Goofy doing funny tricks. As a small child I thought this was amazing.

 The Monorail

Another way of transportation to the different parks is the Monorail. Zooming along a track and even zipping through the lobby of Disney's Contemporary Resort. While all this is fine and dandy the cars of the Monorail are like the New York City Subway, only cleaner and with less shady people. They are always packed with people and you're never guaranteed a seat. So why bring up monorails as a favorite memory? Only for one reason, the " Please stand clear of the doors" message broadcasted over the intercoms. After the English message would come the Spanish translation. With rapid speed my older brother would repeat this message, " Por favor mantengase alejardo de las puertas." As far as I know it he still has that phrase memorized.



The Entrance To The Magic Kingdom

After entering through the gates of the Magic Kingdom you walk through a tunnel. Some people may not take notice of the posters along each side of the walls of the tunnel, but I would usually look at them at the end of the night when leaving the Magic Kingdom. The posters are vintage advertisement artwork of rides among the Magic Kingdom like Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. My family liked these posters so much that we purchased the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion posters to be hung in my little brother's room.



 Garden Art

Disney World has an eye for detail even when it comes to their landscaping. In front of the main gates there is a mural of Mickey Mouse made from flowers and greenery. Epcot is where Imagineers have shined in their sculpting designs of characters out of shrubbery. You could pass by anything from a giant stegosaurus to Fantasia's dancing hippos. So next time you're at Epcot, stop and smell the roses.





Money Money Money

If you visited Disney World from 1987 to 2016 you may remember Disney Dollars. Just think regular dollar bills but with the main Disney characters on them. We had trouble spending them because my family wanted to keep them as souvenirs.



Cinderella's Castle

One year my parents splurged and spent the the over priced cost of eating in Cinderella's Castle where you may get a short visit from Minnie or another character. But the restaurant isn't what I like. My favorite part of the castle is the tile art pieces. I feel like Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off staring into the Georges Seruts' painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island la Grande Jatte. Five panels of mosaic work tells the story of Cinderella with 300,000 tiles total with 500 different colors. The biggest Crayola crayon box I had consisted of only 120 different colors. I can't help but think of how long it took to create these pieces. Also, how many artist it took to complete. So I did some research. It took 22 months and Dorothea Redmond was the artist that designed all five panels. Hanns Scharff and six other artist had the job of assembling Dorothea's masterpiece. Walt Disney World is full of so many different kinds of artwork.



 Souvenirs

I'm not much of a souvenir shopper when I go on vacation. At Disney World though, I could probably go a little crazy with buying items if I had a ton of cash. As a child there were several must-have items. First was the popular Mickey Mouse Ears Hat just like the Mouseketeers wore. I picked out a red one and wore it proudly until I took them off for Captain EO starring Michael Jackson. Alas, forgetting to retrieve it when the show ended I lost my hat forever. If you can't tell,  I'm still scarred from that moment. I have purchased a new one as an adult, but nothing can fully replace my first Mickey hat.

Another souvenir that holds a special memory is Captain Hook's toy hook. The reason why it's special is simply the bond it created with my little brother and me. We posed for pictures wearing our hooks acting like Pirates with one eye closed and sneers on our faces. We were not embarrassed to be goofy because we were having fun. We recreated that picture later as adults, still refusing to grow up.


 

Can I have your autograph?

I had a mission when I was around eight years old wandering around Disney World: find characters and get their autograph. I felt so cool with my yellow Donald Duck autograph book. Of course when I approached characters I became shy and just held out my book for them to sign. Each character had their own style of writing their names, adding a fun touch. My favorite signatures were from Dale and Eeyore. Dale added his two buck teeth under his name and gloomy Eeyore sprawled his detached tail. 

The Light in the Forest

Disney was riding high after the immense popularity of Old Yeller and followed it up with an admittedly more serious affair, The Light in the Forest. The movie is based on Conrad Richter's novel of the same name which Disney bought the rights to as soon as it was released in 1953. The movie deals with a young white boy who was raised by Native Americans until a treaty with the United States forces him to be thrust back into white society. This would be Fess Parker's last film with Disney as he had become dissatisfied with the roles Disney cast him in. He complained that he was always playing the exact same character, a claim that was given more validity because Disney refused to lend him out to other studios if said role was outside of the norm for what they would use him for. He was offered only a small part in the movie Tonka and subsequently refused, causing him to be put on suspension, as he was a contract actor for Disney. He left the studio shortly after. Parker would never see as much success in movies as he had with Disney, but he would go on to lead an ensemble cast in the popular 1964 series Daniel Boone (ironically another American hero like Davy Crockett).

Story

In 1764, a new peace treaty between white settlers and Native Americans declares that all white captives must be released. Johnny Butler was taken captive early in his young life, and now at near fifteen he knows nothing of his life with his real family. He had been fully assimilated in Lenni Lenape tribe and was given the name True Son by his adoptive father, Cuyloga. He is taken to Fort Pitt accompanied by a young soldier named Del Hardy who looks after him. True Son is despondent that he must live with the white people, the very people he grew up hating. He tries to commit suicide on the way to Fort Pitt but is stopped by Hardy. Hardy introduces him to his real father and accompanies them back to their home acting as an interpreter (and basically mentor). As you can imagine, things don't go so smoothly. True Son refuses to acknowledge his family and is cold to them, pretending that he understands no English. At his homecoming party he has a confrontation with is Uncle Wilse, who claims that the Lenni Lenape killed nearby settlers and scalped women and children. True Son defends his adoptive family and gets slapped for it. A girl named Shenandoe, who is an indentured servant for Uncle Wilse's family becomes fascinated by True Son, though she has her own hatred for natives due to her family being scalped by an unknown tribe. True Son and Shenandoe eventually get to know each other, and they start to realize that their prejudices were completely wrong. With that understanding they also start to fall in love with each other. While things are starting to go better between True Son and his new family, things become complicated when True Son's old friend Half Arrow comes and visits him. Half Arrow gives him news that Little Crane, another member of their tribe, was killed by men in town because he was trying to visit True Son. Half Arrow attacks Uncle Wilse and almost scalps him but is stopped by True Son. True son and Half Arrow run back to the Lenni Lenape. The Lenni Lenape declare war on the white settlers and it looks like for a short time that things will go back to the way they were before the treaty for True Son. However, while he is in a raiding party and they are prepared to attack a boat of white settlers, he sees that Del Hardy is in the boat and decides to warn them of the attack. He is almost executed by his tribe but Cuyloga convinces his people to have him be cast out permanently. Hardy takes True Son back to his family, though they talk about how True Son had heard of murdered children by the Lenni Lenape. Hardy tells him that there are good and bad people everywhere. He returns back to his real family, but quickly gets into a fight with Uncle Wilse. They duke it out once and for all, with True Son winning the brawl and Uncle Wilse declaring that True Son is now a white man. True Son and Shenandoe reunite and begin to plan their future. 

The film follows the book pretty closely, but you can definitely see why Disney made the changes they made. In the book, Uncle Wilse is scalped by Half Arrow and True Son after Little Crane is murdered. Del Hardy is basically just in the beginning of the book and does not factor into the climax the way he does in the film. This was obviously done to give Fess Parker a bigger part in the film since he wasn't the lead actor. Shenandoe was added to the film to give True Son a love interest, something that would make the film more accessible to the younger movie-going demographic. The novel ends more on a not of uncertainty, with True Son being led back to a white road by Cuyloga and not sure where his future lies. 

Cast

The cast is led by James MacArthur playing the young True Son/Johnny Butler. MacArthur signed on as a contract actor for Disney starting with this film and would go on to star in three more Disney movies. Disney was pretty good about keeping one consistent actor in a string of movies, so consider this the transition from Fess Parker to James MacArthur. MacArthur is perhaps more known for his role as Danny "Danno" Williams in Hawaii Five-O. Carol Lynley plays Shenandoe, her first of many roles. Lynley would be nominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the Golden Globes in 1969 for her role in The Light in the Forest. She would go on to have prominent roles in Blue Denim and The Poseidon Adventure. Perhaps the most well-known actor outside of Fess Parker in this movie is Jessica Tandy, who played True Son's real mother. Tandy became famous later in her life in roles like Cocoon, Driving Miss Daisy, and Fried Green Tomatoes. 

Release

The film premiered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where the movie is supposed to take place, on July 9th, 1958. Reception to the movie was tepid at best. Most critics praised some aspects of the film, but most were superficial. Generally it was seen as not a worthy follow-up to the smash hit that was Old Yeller. I myself liked the movie just fine, but it certainly doesn't belong in the same conversation as the Disney greats. The next film I'll be covering did end up surprising me on how much I enjoyed it, and it showed how good of an actor that James MacArthur could be. 

Old Yeller

Everyone has at least one movie that has pulled on their heart strings and made tears well up in their eyes. Old Yeller was this movie for me, the first of many. I know the death of Old Yeller wasn't Mr. Disney's fault. Yes, the dog dies! Shot by its owner, a teenage boy forced to be a man while his father is away on a cattle drive. I put the blame on Fred Gipson. There is a great difference between reading a tragic moment and hearing the gun shot and seeing the heart breaking emotions played on screen.

Teachers always instruct students to "write what you know." Fred Gipson did exactly this. Growing up in Texas Hill Country exploring the rugged terrain, hunting it's dangerous wildlife, and listening to hand-me-down tales on the front porch of his family tree ,inspiration came to him. " My grandfather owned a big yellow stray dog ("Rattlers"- named from killing rattlesnakes) who could throw wild range cattle and who once rescued him from a meat-eating hog. Out of these and other true incidents I wrote the story of Old Yeller," said Gipson.

It was 1955 and Gipson thought children books at the time were too sweet and needed a dose of realism. He wrote feverishly, completing the story in just three months with Big Yeller Dog as the original title. You may be wondering where the name Old Yeller came from. Gipson explains that its a dialect pronunciation of yellow and the fact his bark sounds more like a human yell. The tale was serialized in Collier Magazine and appeared also in Saturday Evening Post where the right eyes were looking at it. Even before the novel hit the bookshelves Walt Disney bought the movie rights. Gipson's book became an instant hit, winning the 1957 Newbery Honor. With the popularity of Old Yeller, Fred Gipson went on to write two more novels based on the Coates Family, Savage Sam( 1962) and Little Arliss ( 1978- published after his death) .

Disney worked fast hiring Fred Gipson to write the screenplay alongside William Tunberg. Most of the story stayed the same. Fred Gipson added a runaway mule scene to replace the books bullfighting scene, which would be too difficult to film. Some thought the ending was too harsh and should be change to be the typical Disney happy ending. Walt demanded the tale stay the same, guaranteeing our emotions be played with. He used director Robert Stevenson, who had just done Johnny Tremain for Disney. Stevenson would go on to be one of Disney's most prolific and successful directors, with hits such as Mary Poppins, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Love Bug, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Securing the father role of Jim Coates was Disney's go-to lead actor at the time, Fess Parker. This role was perfect for Fess since his family grew up around the same area of Texas as Fred Gipson's family. Their fathers actually knew each other. Cementing the role of Jim's wife Katie was Dorothy McGuire, a newcomer to the Disney Family. She would stay on with the family playing many more mother roles, including the one in Swiss Family Robinsons. For the Coates two sons, Walt turned to the Mickey Mouse Club where Tommy Kirk (Travis) and Kevin Corcoran (Arliss) were becoming more standout stars. The two would star in many films together, so much so that one might think they were actual brothers. Even Tommy Kirk said so in an interview, "We were like brothers. He ( Kevin) was a natural. Hard-working professional, very bright, missed nothing, and only 10 years old."

The only character left to cast was the star of the film, Old Yeller. Four years earlier a shabby golden lab named Spike sat in a dog shelter in Van Nuys, California not aware soon he would be made a star. Frank Weatherwax, famous dog trainer of Lassie, received a phone call from a friend who thought Spike could have potential in films. "He was all head and feet, but he looked smart," recalled Weatherwax. Spike's freedom from the shelter came at the cost of just three dollars. That may seem like a deal but then he went onto spend four years and twenty-thousand dollars worth of training before his big break in Old Yeller. Frank's wife came across a serialized story of Old Yeller in the Saturday Evening Post. She loved the story and the description of Old Yeller made her think of Spike. Soon Spike was auditioning for Disney and landed the part.

Production began in mid-winter and Texas was under six feet of snow at the time, so the 1860's Texas Hills were created in California. Disney spent a huge chunk of change to make the whole homestead look authentic. Forty men spent three weeks hauling oak logs from a forest 200 miles away, splitting the shakes by hand to create the Coates Family cabin. This task alone cost $30,000. Corn was out of season so they used a hothouse and planted 5,000 corn stalks in flower pots and then transplanted them outdoors to make a corn field (this cost production another $5,000). I guess fake corn stalks weren't good enough. No homestead farm would be complete without farm animals and other wildlife, but of course the task of collecting them would require shipping animals from other states. Buzzards were brought in from Florida, reptiles from Texas and Arizona, squirrels from Kentucky even arrived, though they were supposed to be hibernating. Jackrabbits and wild hogs were wrangled up, and expecting mother cows had the Disney crew working around their schedule to make sure they catch the birthing. Craziness. But wait, we are not done! With all these animals come the need for handlers, trainers, veterinarians, and the American Humane Association, all observing to make sure the animals are treated right ($40,000 for the bunch).

Watching Old Yeller, one may think otherwise

that the animals are safe. Old Yeller fights wild hogs, a wolf and a bear and they all look pretty realistic. But that's the beauty of movie magic. There were months of advance training for these scenes. The wolf was actually a German Shepard and was taught to play fight and was muzzled so no real damage could be done. For the bear scene, a nine year old movie bear named Doug was brought in. Both Spike and Doug were kept on leashes and had lots of training time to become acquainted with each other, learning each other's advantages and playing off those. Spike was very agile and Doug had his strength. "Both Spike and Doug knew exactly what to do," said Buster Matlock, an American Humane Association representative. "Also they were protected. They kicked up a lot of commotion and made it look good for the cameras, but when the dust cleared neither one had even a scratch."

Post-war production came in handy adding the different sound effects like a growling bear using a lamp chimney. Recycled sound of dogs from Lady and the Tramp were used to save time and money. Movies always use little tricks here and there to catch a shot. Beverly Washburn who plays Lisbeth Searcy ( the young girl who comes to help out the Coates family) revealed Gerber Chicken baby food was blended on her face to get the small puppy to lick her face. So if you really want doggy kisses go grab yourself some baby food.

Old Yeller had several premieres starting in late November 1957 and a few around Christmas time before being released to more theaters in January. The box office totaled $21.9 million ($6,250,000 US/Canadian rentals). The early premieres were something special. Walt Disney was a smart guy and created special events to spread interest in the film and even help out charities like the March of Dimes. Fess Parker paid admission for seventy- five underprivileged boys to watch the film at the Fox Wilshire Theatre premiere in Beverly Hills.

The most unique premieres were at the New York Coliseum and Metropolitan Theatre in Houston, Texas where dog owners could bring their dogs to watch the film together. What a sight to see! Theater-goers and critics loved the film. Grown men were left blubbering in their seats. The critics consensus claimed that, " Old Yeller is an exemplary coming of age tale, packing an emotional wallop through smart pacing and a keen understanding of the elemental bonding between humanity and their first best friends." Disney discovered the gold of "a boy and his dog" stories and would go onto make several more doggy films including Fred Gipson's follow up Savage Sam. Old Yeller has become such a Disney classic that I hope future generations can treasure it too.

"Here, Yeller! Come back, Yeller! Best doggone dog in the West!"

Johnny Tremain

Johnny Tremain is based off of the Newbery Medal-Winning novel by Esther Forbes, which details the events in Boston that led to the Revolutionary War. While the book deals with actual historical events, the exploits of Johnny Tremain are all fictionalized. Walt had originally wanted to adapt the book into two separate episodes for his TV show, Disneyland, and then release it as a package in theaters. Walt had done this before with Davy Crockett, and would do it again for Zorro. Rising production costs would cause Disney to reconsider this, and instead package it for theaters first and release it in 1957. He would later release the episodes separately on his newer show, Walt Disney Presents in 1958.



Story

Johnny Tremain is an apprentice silversmith in Mr. Lapham's shop. One day, the wealthy Jonathan Lyte asks for Mr. Lapham to make him a sugar basin to match his silver set. While Lapham initially declines due to how old he is, Johnny feels that he himself is able to do it, so he accepts. Johnny can't seem to get the handle right and has to ask a fellow silversmith, Paul Revere, for some help. After getting good advice from Revere, Johnny is too eager to finish the product and purposefully breaks the sabbath. The Lord seemingly punishes Johnny for his hubris by having Johnny badly burn his hand on molten silver. Johnny is unable to use his hand, and therefore is not able to continue on as a silversmith apprentice. Lapham's granddaughter Priscilla, a young women near the same age as Johnny, is sad to see him leave under such circumstances. Before the fateful accident, Johnny had revealed to Priscilla that he believed he was a relative of the wealthy Jonathan Lyte. His mother had given him her christening cup and told him to seek out the Lytes if God had ever forsaken him. Johnny is a very proud young man and doesn't want to receive anything he hasn't earned, so he had not bothered to approach Lyte before since he had a job and was making his own way.

Johnny's disability causes him to be unable to land a job, so out of desperation he stops Mr. Lyte one day and shows him his mother's christening cup. He tells Johnny to meet him at his home later. When Johnny arrives, he expects to be welcomed with open arms, but is instead accused of stealing the christening cup from Lyte earlier that year. Johnny is arrested and his only hope is the Sons of Liberty. Through his association with Revere and other members of the Sons of Liberty, Josiah Quincy agrees to represent him for free. Johnny had heard about the unrest in the town, but was apolitical due to his comfortable life as a silversmith. Quincy and Priscilla are able to keep Johnny from the hangman's noose, as Priscilla reveals that Johnny showed her the christening cup before Lyte claims it was stolen. Johnny is set free and he quickly finds an in with the Sons of Liberty. From here, the story focuses much less on Johnny Tremain, and much more on historical events, such as the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, along with the ride of Paul Revere. Johnny's injury barely factors into the rest of the story either, so I'm glad we had all that set up!

Cast and Thoughts

The cast of the movie does include some Disney staples, such as Luana Patten as Priscilla Lapham, and Sebastian Cabot as Jonathan Lyte. Patten had been in The Song of the South, Fun and Fancy Free, So Dear to My Heart, and Melody Time. Cabot is more recognizable in voice than in person. He had previously been in the Disney film Westward Ho the Wagons. As I mentioned in Westward Ho the Wagons, Cabot is better known for his voice work in The Jungle Book and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Richard Beymer is probably the most recognizable actor outside of those two, though he is most known now for his role as Tony in West Side Story, and Ben Horne in Twin Peaks. Hal Stalmaster plays the lead character of Johnny Tremain, which is basically the only acting credit he has.

The first half of the movie is definitely the highlight. It's interesting to see the lead up to the war through a young person's eyes, but he has very little to do in the second half. A modern reviewer had compared Tremain to Forrest Gump, and I can't really disagree. In terms of educational value, I can maybe see this still being used in elementary school classrooms, but only as a general overview of events. The movie never really delves too deep into each historical event, but I can see it keeping kid's attention, at least in the first half. The film as a whole is just fine, as most of Disney's live action films are. Cabot's blustery Lyte is the highlight for me. I kind of hoped he would have stuck around for the whole movie. The weak spot in the film is unfortunately Hal Stalmaster. He just isn't very good in the role and is very wooden most of the time.

Release and Legacy

Besides Disney releasing the movie on The Wonderful World of Disney, sections of the film would be used for educational videos, namely  The Boston Tea Party, and The Shot Heard 'Round The World. The legacy of Johnny Tremain lives on in Disney World. Walt had originally wanted to create an area next to Main Street USA in Disneyland called Liberty Square. This area was announced in 1956, one year after Disneyland opened, and the same time that Johnny Tremain was in production. Walt had wanted buildings representing each of the thirteen colonies along with a show dedicated to The Declaration of Independence and a Hall of Presidents. The technology wasn't quite there, as Walt had wanted audio-animatronics to fill these shows. Besides that, the imagineers were also busy making the Matterhorn a reality, so Liberty Square never came to be in Disneyland. The idea, like many at Disney Studios, never went away, and when Disney World was being planned, they decided to include Liberty Square as one of the lands, though a little different from Walt's original vision. The Hall of Presidents came to fruition, but something that also populates the land is the Liberty Tree from Johnny Tremain. The tree has thirteen lanterns on it to represent the thirteen colonies of America. The tree was originally miles away from Disney World, but was transported into the park. Speaking of the Liberty Tree, the only song to come out of this movie is "Liberty Tree", which later was included on the 1964 Disneyland Records album Happy Birthday and Songs for Every Holiday. In the present day, this isn't one of Disney's more popular films, though it is at least recognizable, which I think has a lot to do with Disney using sections for educational purposes. I don't think anyone understands the link between the Liberty Tree in Disney World and the Liberty Tree in Johnny Tremain. I was honestly surprised that this movie wasn't available on Disney Plus, as I thought it was a little more well known. I wouldn't say you should seek this one out. It's nothing special, thanks in large part to the acting  and long periods that are pure history lesson and no story. Moving on from the Revolutionary War, our next movie concerns a dog that captured the hearts of a generation.