Walt Disney's Last Productions
Walt was dedicated to his dream of being a cartoonist since he was in high school. He drew cartoons for the newsletter at McKinley high school in Chicago. Once he got his first job as an animator, it was the catalyst that set off his dream of opening his own studio. Laugh-o-grams studios was this for him, until it went bankrupt. He was faced with having to start all over again, but with his brother Roy and best friend Ub at his side, they eventually created the icon that is Mickey Mouse. The rest is history.
Walt’s comics in the McKinley high school newspaper.
Walt Disney passed away on December 15th, 1966, just 10 days after his 65th birthday. Even though most people retire once they’ve reached a certain point in their 60s, Walt was still working just as hard as he used to. The studio was on a high during the Silver Age era, producing films like Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, and Lady and the Tramp. Disneyland was approaching its 10 year anniversary, and was still a massive success. Walt was also working on his Disneyland anthology TV series. Let’s take a look at some of the last films and TV shows Walt was personally involved in.
Walt Disney in Disneyland. Image from: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/12/15/today-history-december-15-1966-walt-disney-died/2637273001/
Films
The Aristocats
The production for The Aristocats began in 1962. The script development had seen many challenges through that year and into 1963, with disapproving writers, differing opinions, and it was starting to become complicated. The original idea for the story was to have it as a 2-part Wonderful World of Color special, rather than a whole film itself. But when it was suggested to Walt that all of the elements would make for a great movie, he approved it. He left Ken Andersen in charge of overseeing the writing. It was shelved though until 1966, as Walt felt that The Jungle Book’s production would progress faster.
The Aristocats. Image from: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/174373816796834344/
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is famously known as the last full movie that Walt worked on. The film previously released to it, The Sword and the Stone, had not done so well. Walt wanted to be sure that The Jungle Book was done right, and had a sense of magic to it. Though it is adapted from Rudyard Kipling’s novel from 1894, according to Sense of Cinema, he actively tried to make sure that the writers were not reading the book.
After some disagreements with the initial writer for the film, Bill Peet, Walt decided to scale back his team and choose a group of people he knew he could trust and who could naturally see his vision. Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, 2 of the Nine Old Men, were responsible for the friendship that came through between Baloo and Mowgli. Other people included in the making of the film include Wolfgang Reitherman, Ken Andersen, Milt Kahl, and John Lounsbery.
Ollie Johnston working on The Jungle Book. Image from: https://d23.com/get-to-know-nine-old-men/
“[Walt] obviously got hooked on the jungle and the characters that lived there.”
During the production of The Jungle Book is when Walt was diagnosed with lung cancer. In October of 1966, he scheduled a doctor’s appointment for some neck pain he was in. During the x-ray, doctors noticed the spot on his lung. He went in a month later on November 7th, 1966 to get surgery done to remove it. However, the tumor had gotten so big that he was only given another 6 months to 2 years. He passed away 1 month later on December 15th.
“Nobody at the studio was aware that Walt was as sick as he was.”
During that one month period between his surgery and his death, Walt made one final visit to the studio, though his staff had no idea how sick he truly was. They could see it in his face, but they were happy to see him regardless as they continued to work on The Jungle Book. Walt called Wolfgang Reitherman, the director of The Jungle Book, to the hospital and let him know that he would be the one to continue the legacy of animated films.
“He walked down the hall and said goodbye. He never said goodbye to anybody in his life, he’d say “I’ll see you next week” or something.”
Some of the animators and other staff who worked on the film liked to think that the very last scene of The Jungle Book, when Baloo and Bagheera are dancing off into the sunset, was Walt’s final scene of his life too. The Jungle Book was finally released on October 18th, 1967.
The final scene of The Jungle Book. Image from: http://onceforeverafter.blogspot.com/2014_11_06_archive.html
The Happiest Millionaire
Disney was on a streak of live-action films during the 1960s, having only 3 total animated films during the entire decade produced. A lot of them did phenomenally, while others fell flat. Some of the most successful ones were Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Parent Trap, and Mary Poppins. The last live-action film that Walt was involved with and produced was The Happiest Millionaire. Production began at the beginning of 1966 and the film was released June 23rd, 1967.
Follow Me, Boys! was the last film that was released by the studio before Walt’s death, on December 1st, 1966. The first film released after his death was Monkey’s, Go Home! on February 8th, 1967.
The Happiest Millionaire. Image from: https://whatsondisneyplus.com/the-happiest-millionaire-the-real-story-behind-the-movie/
Television Shows
Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color
Beginning in 1954 during the time of the development and construction of Disneyland, Walt wanted to document the process while simultaneously marketing the park to a young audience. He began an anthology television series called Walt Disney’s Disneyland. It was called this until 1958, then it was changed to Walt Disney Presents. During his final run hosting the show, it was called Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. This was the debut of the series to be in color for the first time. On this series, Walt would introduce new, fun animated characters like Professor Ludwig Von Drake. He would also have guests, sing songs, and telecast his movies.
Professor Ludwig Von Drake and Walt Disney. Image from: https://thekingdominsider.com/happy-belated-56th-birthday-ludwig-von-drake/ludwig-von-drake-wonderful-world-of-color-disney/
Professor Ludwig Von Drake and Walt Disney. Image from: https://twitter.com/twdcarchives/status/1244361600745627649
Just a month before Walt’s surgery in November, he filmed an introduction called An Evening with Walt Disney, where he talks about how he couldn’t make it to the Follow, Me Boys! premiere, and discusses The Happiest Millionaire. It never aired due to his passing.
Walt filmed several introductions for the series before his passing, which continued to be aired until they ran out. Chet Huntley and Dick Van Dyke hosted a memorial tribute to Walt after his death. This version of the anthology series went on until 1969.
I believe these projects hold a special place in history as being the last touched pieces of Walt’s life. He was going up to the studio just 2 weeks after his major lung surgery just to ensure everything was going the way it should be. He even talked about his future plans for Disney World with Roy the night before he passed away. I’ll be making a post soon about his last theme park projects, so stay tuned for that.
Reference list:
https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Aristocats
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle_Book_(1967_film)#Animation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhAZEDiKSsM&t=1181s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happiest_Millionaire#Production
https://ideas.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Highest_Grossing_films_of_the_1960s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walt_Disney_Pictures_films
https://d23.com/the-wonderful-things-about-walt-disneys-wonderful-world-of-color/
