"Man and the Moon" is an episode of ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

'', which originally aired on December 28, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honor ...

. The show begins with a humorous look with a man's fascination with the Moon through animation. This segment features characteristics of the Moon depicted from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and children's nursery rhymes to lunar superstitions and scientific research. Then Kimball comes on with some information on the Moon, supplemented by graphics. Kimball then introduces Dr. Wernher von Braun, who discusses plans for a trip around the Moon. Dr. Wernher von Braun was employed as a technical consultant on this film by Walt Disney, and on a number of other Disney films. He had a great knowledge of rockets, as he had helped to develop the

V-2 The V2 (), with the technical name '' Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a " ven ...

rocket while working for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Finally, a live action simulation from inside and outside the crewed ship ''Lunar Recon Ship RM-1'' dramatizes what such an expedition might be like, including an almost-disastrous hit by a very small meteor. Towards the end, this film presents what seems to be a bit of "sci-fi"; as the RM-1, crossing the Moon's night side, approaches the night/day terminator, high radiation is suddenly detected, and a flare fired over the area reveals what looks like a rectangular double wall, or the ruins thereof, extending out from a crater; strangely, none of the crew remark on it, and the unusual radiation is never mentioned again. This episode later reaired in 1959 under a new title: "Tomorrow the Moon". This episode was preceded by "

Man in Space "Man in Space" is an episode of the American television series ''Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and th ...

" and followed by "

Mars and Beyond "Mars and Beyond" is an episode of ''Disneyland'' which aired on December 4, 1957. It was directed by Ward Kimball and narrated by Paul Frees. This episode discusses the possibility of life on other planets, especially Mars. The show was also r ...

". It was repeated on June 13, 1956, and September 25, 1959.

Home media

The episode was released on May 18, 2004, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrow Land''.

References

External links

* * Walt Disney anthology television series episodes 1955 American television episodes Works about the Moon Spaceflight Space advocacy Television episodes directed by Ward Kimball Wernher von Braun Works about astronauts {{disney-stub

Home media

See also

References

External links