In the 60s and 70s Walt Disney Studios produced an array of live action family films. I grew up watching these films: “That Darn Cat,” “Blackbeard’s Ghost,” “The Apple Dumpling Gang,” and my personal favorite, “The Love Bug,” starring that most endearing of Volkswagen Beetles, Herbie. I remember going to the library every week or so and checking out another one, and making popcorn and watching them as a family. I think one of the reasons I’m studying film-making today is because of how important these films were to me. They weren’t the most intelligent or artistically made, but they told fun, fantastic stories focused mainly on characters, not on special affects like many family films today. I find it interesting that Disney managed to make so many successful films that were still suitable for the entire family. Not as easy to do today apparently.
Turner movie classics is airing a series of 27 of these films over the holiday season, plus a documentary on them called “The Age Of Believing: The Disney Live-Action Classics.” Their website here has clips and synopsises for each film and is a real blast from the past. I really have to watch some of these again.