"Man in Space" is an episode of the American television series ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, 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. Disney initially envisi ...

'' which originally aired on March 9, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator Ward Kimball. This ''Disneyland'' episode (set in Tomorrowland), was narrated partly by Kimball and also by such scientists Willy Ley, Heinz Haber, and

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

; as well as Dick Tufeld of '' Lost in Space'' fame. The show begins with a brief, lighthearted history of rockets, then presents discussions of satellites, a practical look (through humorous animation) at what humans will have to face in space (both physically and psychologically, such as momentum, weightlessness, radiation, even space sickness) and an imaginary view of a rocket's takeoff into space. The next episodes in this series were " Man and the Moon" and " Mars and Beyond," airing in seasons 2 and 4, respectively.

Reuse

"Man in Space" was edited into a featurette to play in theaters, accompanying " Davy Crockett and the River Pirates". An adaptation of the episode was published (under the title "Walt Disney's Man in Space: A Science Feature from Tomorrowland") by Dell Comics as " Four Color" #716 in 1956, scripted by

Don R. Christensen Donald Ragnvald Christensen (July 6, 1916 – October 18, 2006) was an American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, writer and inventor. He was sometimes credited as "Don Arr". Christensen was a graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Des ...

with art by Tony Sgroi. It was a " novelization" in comic book form of two Walt Disney television programs, "Man in Space" (1955) and "Man and the Moon" (1955). Also found as a 1956 UK reprint as ''A World Distributors Movie Classic'' (#45) and a 1959 combined reprint with the other two Dell Comics adaptations of "Man in Space" films as ''Walt Disney's Man in Space'' (''Dell Comics Giant'' #27).

Educational use

Part of this episode was excerpted and released in 1964 as ''All About Weightlessness''. It was also made into a "Tomorrowland adventure" book for classroom use in 1959 as ''Man in Space: A Tomorrowland Adventure''. Walt Disney Productions. Adapted for school use by Willy Ley, Illustrated by Carbe, Nino. Syracuse, NY: LW Singer Co. Inc. (48 p.) 21 cm. Softcover.

Critical reception

About 40 million people watched the episode. It was nominated for Best Documentary Short.

Government interest

A copy of the show was requested by United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower to show to the Pentagon rocket experts. The chair of the Soviet commission for spaceflight,

Leonid I. Sedov Leonid Ivanovich Sedov (russian: Леонид Иванович Седов; 14 November 1907 – 5 September 1999) was a leading Soviet expert on hydro- and aerodynamics and applied mechanics. In 1930 Sedov graduated from the Moscow State Universit ...

, also requested a copy.

Home media

The episode was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrow Land''. The episode, along with " Mars and Beyond", was added to

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

in June 2020.

References

External links

* * {{Ward Kimball 1955 American television episodes American documentary television films Television episodes directed by Ward Kimball Walt Disney anthology television series episodes Wernher von Braun