The Disney Family Album was an original documentary series produced by The Disney Channel in the mid-1980s. Episodes aired from June 1984 until January 1986, each running about 30 minutes. Michael Bonifer produced them along with Carden Walker, the son of Card Walker (The third Disney Company leader after Walt and Roy Disney).
The series lasted just 20 episodes and was designed to examine the artist and performances that shaped Disney Studios and Disney Parks, most of whom worked directly with Walt. The people featured created some of the most iconic Disney characters, movies, and attractions ever developed. Narrated by Buddy Ebsen, the series is a true history lesson and provides the perfect time capsule with incredible insight and behind-the-scenes stories. In the greater scheme of things, the timing of these 20 episodes was perfect; any earlier or later in Disney History, and they may not have happened.
Of the 20 episodes produced, 7 showcased one of Walt’s Nine Old Men: Marc Davis, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Eric Larson, Wolfgang (or Woolie) Rytherman, Milt Kahl, and Ward Kimball – all featuring stories directly from them! Only Les Clark and John Lounsbery, who both passed away in the 1970s, are missing from Walt’s Nine Old Men. Other episodes featured Disney Legends like The Sherman Brothers, Ken Anderson, Annette Funicello, and Jim Macdonald, to name just a few. One episode focused on Voice Actors, while another Disneyland Designers and WED Imagineers included interviews with Herb Ryman, Bill Evans, John Hench, and a very young Tony Baxter.
MICA produced Disney Family Album. The master tapes were given to Disney sometime after the series was canceled in 1986. Most of the original footage was lost in the Disney tape vault, which was not digitized. While some have been found, most of the original footage and the finished first episode, “Clarence Ducky Nash”, were not found. The remainder of the episodes come from Disney Vault replays captured on VHS in the 1990s. The Clarence Nash episode was not replayed in the 1990s.
Brian McEntee and John Lasseter are credited with the “Title Design”, which was computer-generated; the timing is very interesting. Shortly after the production of the title design in early 1984, John was fired from Disney for promoting computer animation, making this title design one of his last Disney credits. Of course, he joined Lucasfilms Computer Graphic Group, which was later sold to Steve Jobs and became Pixar in 1986 – we all know the story from there.
For this episode of SamsDisneyDiary, I’m highlighting the second episode in the series, Ward Kimball. From a tour of Ward’s full-size train in his backyard, stories of vacationing with Walt, reminiscing about the Firehouse 5 Plus 2, or his amazing toy collection, Ward covers his thoughts behind animating the Three Caballeros and creating Jiminy Cricket. It’s an amazing 30-minute journey into the mind of a remarkable man.
You can find a full episode list below, including the “Missing Episode” and links to the rest on youtube.com/SamsDisneyDiary. While the episodes were produced, aired, and re-run on the Disney Channel, they are not available via any DVD or other media where they can be purchased. I present the content below strictly for educational and historical value.
The Disney Family Album is a fantastic look at Disney’s History – directly from the people that created it.
Complete List of Episodes, Synopsis
A voice actor, Clarence is best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck. As the story goes, Walt happened to be walking by while Clarence was impersonating a family of ducks. Walt thought Clarence would be perfect for an upcoming talking duck in “The Wise Little Hen” animated short. That chance meeting resulted in Clarence providing the voice of Donald Duck for 50 years. This episode of The Disney Family Album is missing – the original beta max film for all The Disney Family Album episodes was produced by MICA. The master tapes were given to Disney in 1986, and most of it lost in the Disney tape vault, which was not digitized. While some have been found, most of the original footage and the finished first episode, “Clarence Ducky Nash,” were not found. The remainder of the episodes come from Disney Vault replays captured on VHS in the 1990s.
- Ward Kimball: July 1984 (Video Above)
Ward Kimball was an animator for Disney Studios from 1934-1972, but he was so much more than an animator. One of Walt’s Nine Old Men, Ward was a railroad enthusiast and talented jazz trombonist. He founded the Dixieland Band Firehouse Five Plus Two. His animation style focused on comical characters rather than realistic human designs. Ward instilled life in diverse characters like Mickey, Jiminy Cricket, Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. Ward was awarded two Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film. After retirement, Ward continued working for Disney, including on EPCOT Center’s “World of Motion” attraction. According to this Disney Family Album, Walt often referred to Ward as “a Genius,” something he never said about anyone else.
Robert and Richard Sherman wrote more motion-picture musical song scores than any other songwriting team in film history. They are Academy Award Winners and are best known for their musical composition for Disney Files and Disney Park Attractions, working directly for Walt Disney until he died in 1966. Film scores include Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, The Parent Trap, Winnie the Pooh, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and The Aristocats. Theme park recordings include, It’s a Small World, Magic Journeys, America on Parade, One Little Spark, Makin’ Memories, The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room, and There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.
Jimmy MacDonald is the man behind the sounds…the original head of the Disney Sound Effects Department. He estimated that he created over 28,000 sound effects for 139 feature films and 335 cartoon shorts. Jimmy was also the voice of Mickey Mouse from 1948 – 1977.
Milt started his 42-year Disney career in 1934. As an animator and director, Milt was considered part of Walt’s “Nine Old Men” and created and designed many iconic Disney characters. His distinctive style can be spotted in many human characters. Milt usually animated the prince.
Walt often referred to Ken as his “Jack of All Trades.” He was an art director and writer at Disney Studios for 44 years. He was a crucial player in some of the studio’s most well-known animated films, including Snow White, Pinocchio, 101 Dalmatians, and The Jungle Book. Ken also worked on the development of Disneyland and is credited with the design work for Peter Pan’s Flight, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Storybook Land.
With onscreen interviews from John Hench, Herb Ryman, Bill Evans, and Tony Baxter, along with classic clips of Walt Disneyland Designers, is a wonderful look behind the scenes of building Disneyland. Herb recounts the original Disneyland Park Map, Bill talks about gathering enough trees, John talks about the guest experience, and Tony looks at the unreconstructed Big Thunder Mountain and plans for some never-built Disneyland attractions.
Another of Walt’s Nine Old Men, Eric Larson, spent 53 years at the Disney Studios. From Snow White in 1937 to The Great Mouse Detective in 1986, retiring after its release. Eric had his hand in just about every Disney animated creation between those. Eric started a recruitment program in 1973 to bring a new generation of animators into the Disney Studio, with many well-known animators of today attending Larson’s training program, including Brad Bird, Tim Burton, John Lasseter, Jerry Rees, and Tad Stones, among many others.
The father/son team of Peter and Harrison Ellenshaw are responsible for the English matte background images for an increasable array of films for both the Disney Studio and others. Peter started his career in the 1930s and 40s, starting with Walt Disney Studios for their first completely live-action feature film, Treasure Island, in 1950. Peter contributed as a matte artist for 20,000 Leagues, Old Yeller, Pollyanna, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Love Bug. Peter won an Academy Award for Special Effects for his work on Mary Poppins. Harrison followed in his father’s footsteps, starting his career at Disney and moving to ILM (Industrial Light and Magic), producing class matte visual effects and background for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. He returned to Disney, where he and his father were nominated for an Academy Award for their work on the Disney film, “The Black Hole”. Harrison eventually headed the Disney Studios effects department, Buena Vista Visual Effects, BVVE, supervising the special effects for Tron.
You’ll find him credited as Woolie and sometimes Wolfgang Reitherman in classic Disney animated films. One of Walt’s Nine Old Men, Woolie, started his career in 1934 alongside Ward Kimball and Milt Kahl. The three worked together on many classic Disney shorts. Woolie spent 44 years in the animation department, contributing to more than 30 Disney shorts, including “Water Babies,” “Mickey’s Fire Brigade,” and “Donald in Mathmagic Land.” Woolie won an Academy Award for his work on the short film, “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” in 1968. He also contributed his animation skills to such classic animated features as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and directed classics including Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, The Aristocrats, Robin Hood and more. He retired in 1981 after The Fox and the Hound.
One of Walt’s Nine Old Men, Frank Thomas, joined The Walt Disney Company in 1934. Frank animated dozens of feature films and cartoon shorts; besides being an animator, Frank was an avid pianist and was recruited by Ward Kimball to play the piano for the Firehouse Five Plus Two Dixieland Band. Frank animated some of the most memorable Disney scenes, including Lady and the Tramp eating spaghetti, the song “I Wan’na Be Like You” from The Jungle Book, the dwarfs crying over Snow White, and the dancing penguins in Mary Poppins. Frank’s character work included the Wicked Stepmother (in Cinderella), the Queen of Hearts (in Alice in Wonderland), and Captain Hook (in Peter Pan).
Disney Animators always record the voice first, giving them the ability to draw on the inspiration of the voice actor. Those vocal performances often influence the on-screen personality of the character. This episode of The Disney Family Album looks at some of the many voice actors that are the voices behind some of Disney’s most beloved characters. Interviews in this episode include John Byner, Phil Harris, Will Ryan, Sterling Holloway, Dickie “Pinocchio” Jones, Paul Winchell, Wayne Allwine, Hal Smith, Alan Young, John Hurt, Kathryn Beaumont, Eva Gabor, Adrianna Caselotti and Ward Kimball all talking about the animation process and what helps bring those character voices to life. This episode was dedicated to Clarence “Ducky” Nash, who passed away in 1985 – after participating in the first Disney Family Album – the lost episode.
Walt Disney famously combined the words Imagination and Engineer to form Imagineer, specifically for the development of Disneyland. He identified people within his company that had a unique way of getting the impossible done, and he assigned them to a division called WED for Walter Elias Disney. There the Imagineers had the freedom to do whatever it took to make Walt’s dream possible. This episode of The Disney Family Album features some early Imagineers, Randy Bright, Bill Justice, Tim Delaney, X Atencio, and Dave Feiten, interviewed inside the parks and in front of some fascinating models.
Based on the cartoon Pecos Bill, The Golden Horseshoe Revue was an opening day attraction at Disneyland in 1955. It conducted its first performance before Disneyland’s official opening to celebrate Walt and Lillian’s 40th wedding anniversary and the day before opening as a special event for corporate sponsors. The Golden Horseshoe continues to entertain guests with several live performances and variety shows every day. When this episode of The Disney Family Album was produced, the theater was still running the original “Golden Horseshoe Revue” show – from July 17, 1955, until October 12, 1986. That original show was interrupted by Pecos Bill singing his self-titled signature song.
One of Walt’s Nine Old Men, Ollie Johnston, was an animator at the Walt Disney Studio from 1934 to 1978. Ollie contributed to just about all the animation features released during that time. Ollie was behind Mr. Smee, the Stepsisters, and Prince John. Like Ward Kimball, Ollie Johnston was a train buff and created a backyard railroad in 1949, leading to Walt’s fascination with model railroads, his backyard railroad’s creation, and the inspiration of the Disneyland Railroad.
Annette began her professional career as an actress and singer as a child performer at 12 years old. As part of the original Mouseketeers, she rose to prominence and transitioned to a successful career as a singer with the help of a few Sherman Brothers’ songs, Tall Paul and Pineapple Princess. She established the “Beach Party” movie genre in the mid-1950s. This episode of the Disney Family Album was released in September 1985, 7 years before she announced that she had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
One of Walt’s Nine Old Men, Marc was revered for his knowledge and understanding of visual aesthetics. He was responsible for many classic Disney characters, including Snow White, Bambi, Brer Rabbit, Fox and Bear, Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Alice, Tinkerbell, and Cruella de Vil. After 101 Dalmatians in 1961, Marc Davis was recruited by Walt to become one of the original members of WED Enterprise as one of the original Imagineers. Marc was heavily involved in the development of all the 1964-65 World’s Fair attractions: From the dinosaurs in Ford’s Magic Skyway to the family in Carousel of Progress, children of the world in Small World, and creating the “illusion” that Abraham Lincoln could stand up. After the World’s Fair, Marc followed the attractions back to Disneyland, noting that none of the existing attractions included humor. He worked on the “re-do” of the Jungle Cruise that included the introduction of humor. Marc went on to heavily influence Tiki Room, The Country Bears, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean; It’s a Small World, and The Carousel of Progress. Marc became the go-to Imagineer of the late 1960s and ’70s. Marc retired in 1978 and received the Disney Legend Award in 1989.
In 1948, Walt Disney viewed a short wildlife film by Alfred and Elma Milotte at a travel lecture. That short film led to Walt contacting the Milottes and sending them on location in the Alaska wilderness to capture some footage. The result was Seal Island, the first Disney true-life adventure film and an Academy Award winner for best short subject. As Ema Milotte recalls in the video, “We never worked for Walt Disney Productions; we always worked for Walt Disney.” There was no storyline, no script, just footage of animals in their natural surroundings. While the Milomatos would only observe animals, Lloyd Beebe would bring them home, and Walt helped him establish his Olympic Game Farm west of Seattle; that game farm is still open and operated by their family Olympic Game Farm. An expert animal handler, Lloyd used his animals for some footage, but Walt quickly sent the Beebes to the white wilderness of Canada for more true-life adventures.
On December 15, 1954, Walt Disney’s television series “Disneyland” presented “Davy Crockett’s” Indian Fighter.” Starring Fess Parker as Davy Crockett and Buddy Ebsen as George Russel. That episode was the first of a three-part mini-series that attracted 40 million television viewers and a Davy Crockett merchandise bonanza, including the imitation coonskin cap, a must for all elementary school-age kids. In this episode of The Disney Family Album, Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen reminisce about the creation of their iconic roles as Davy Crockett and George Russel and other parts they played for Walt Disney Productions.
The last of the Disney Family Albums and the only episode released in 1986 – Story Men features on-camera interviews with Vance Gerry, Larry Clemmons, and Jack Hannah. All long-time Disney Story Men, per Larry Clemmons, “An animator can’t pick up his pencil until a writer gives him something to animate.” The StoryMen is the story behind the stories.
Don’t miss any of the Disney Family Albums: Clarence “Ducky” Nash, The Missing Episode, Ward Kimball, Sherman Brothers, Jim MacDonald, Milt Kahl, Ken Anderson, Disneyland Designers, Eric Larson, Peter and Harrison Ellenshaw, Wolfgang (Woolie) Reitherman, Frank Thomas, Voice Actors, WED Imagineers, Golden Horseshoe Revue, Ollie Johnston, Annette Funicello, Marc Davis, The Milotte’s and the Beebe’s, Fess Parker / Buddy Ebsen, The StoryMen.
