News New documentary film 'Disneyland Handcrafted' coming this winter

[Stitchon]

I just finished watching it - what a treat. I really would love to see more of that colorized opening day footage, among other things.

 

[brb1006]

Loved seeing the Opening Day Rehearsal footage in color.

 

[jah4955]

Outstanding. Absolutely outstanding. Looking forward to watching it again when I get the chance. Maybe I'll go into more detail later, but I don't want to give "spoilers."

Even as a child I was amazed all construction was one year, but I'm all-the-more amazed now.

 

[Figments Friend]

Yep, this film is a winner.
A must see for anyone with even the slightest interest in Disneyland’s history …and a total multiple viewing must see for the mega historical enthusiast.
Absolutely fantastic!
Some truly amazing archival film footage, quite a bit of it never seen before, and all beautifully restored.

Incredible to see what the Park looked like back then when it first opened.
The color film footage is breathtaking in what is seen.

And as the title suggests, you get to see plenty of the truly handcrafted items being made by the artists that were on site that we do not have names for.
Everything from the concrete walkways, to the spires of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Seeing the Mark Twain being worked on and launched almost brought tears to my eyes.

If you have Dizzy+, stop reading this thread and GO WATCH ‘Disneyland Handcrafted’ RIGHT NOW.
You will not be dissapointed.

THIS is the kind of programming this service needs to have more of.


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[Parteecia]

Here's a link to watch Disneyland Handcrafted on YouTube:

Thank you, just watched. I will look at the original bones more appreciatively on my next visit.

ETA Brought back a lot of memories.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Reminder that if you don't have Disney+, it is still available to watch on YouTube.

I'm about halfway through and have thoroughly enjoyed what I've seen so far.

 

[britain]

The film is astonishing. It's an excellent example of how to create suspense even when every knows it all turns out right in the end.

Spoiler: Observation

I love how for the first 2/3 of the year we only see, like, a HANDFUL of workers pushing earth around. I’m starting to panic, shouting to the screen, “Guys! You’re not gonna make it!” Excellent job putting the audience in Walt’s worried POV. At the close of the opening day broadcast, when Walt says he wants to thank all the artists and craftsmen, you realize it's not perfunctory. He really is thanking the teams of people who were pushing so hard for months all the way up to JUST A DAY EARLIER!

 

[Parteecia]

I was surprised and a little worried about the total lack of safety considerations. Ah, the fifties!

 

[PiratesMansion]

I was surprised and a little worried about the total lack of safety considerations. Ah, the fifties!

All those men basically sitting on makeshift hoisting devices with as much room to sit on as a swing and precarious situations and injuries at best awaiting with just one mistake, ready to be captured on camera.

The climbing up to that giant structure right at the start of the film.

I'm sure this was perfectly ordinary to those men at the time and they were quite accustomed to some of those working conditions in their daily experiences, but yikes.

 

[Nirya]

The shot of the guys on the trellis of the Mark Twain, not a single thing holding them in sight, literally made me gasp.

 

[Parteecia]

While I still intend to admire what has been there from the beginning, I do wonder if, after 70 years, it is a Park of Theseus. What is left that hasn't been rebuilt or replaced, even if with an exact duplicate?

 

[Disney Analyst]

What a thrilling little film to watch. That footage was something else! Amazing what they achieved in such a short time, but also crazy how dire it all looked on opening day, and how it really turned into something beautiful.

 

[sedati]

I was surprised and a little worried about the total lack of safety considerations. Ah, the fifties!

Yes. Let everyone who bemoans how long projects take nowadays watch this.

 

[MK-fan]

It takes a year just to make an off the shelf ride now a days. Let’s not forget it took imagineering only 11 months to make its a small world, from just an idea on paper to reality.

 

[britain]

I appreciate how laser focused this film is. Practically nothing about concept development. No Tivoli inspiration. The action rarely leaves the construction site. This is really about BUILDING Disneyland, not designing Disneyland. But we better appreciate the designs because we see it come together from nothing.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It takes a year just to make an off the shelf ride now a days. Let’s not forget it took imagineering only 11 months to make its a small world, from just an idea on paper to reality.

That took place in an alternate dimension in which there was no OSHA.

 

[MK-fan]

That took place in an alternate dimension in which there was no OSHA.

Now we are saying “OSHAT this is gonna take forever”