Walt Disney Archives

This Day in Disney
November 22, 1995
Toy Story Premieres
Hey howdy hey! Toy Story first played in theaters on this day in 1995. With spaceman Buzz Lightyear and cowboy Woody, the astronomical success of the first-ever completely computer-generated feature triggered a sequel, Toy Story 2, and the upcoming Toy Story 3, as well as an animated TV series centering on Buzz Lightyear, a live ice show, a live musical aboard the Disney Wonder and a stage show in Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe. Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland also got into the game with attractions based on the Toy Story films. Guests may ride into infinity and beyond to defeat the evil emperor Zurg in interactive Buzz Lightyear attractions, and most recently, Guests can step right up and participate in interactive midway carnival games while riding aboard Toy Story Midway Mania!



What's Old is News
We Open the Walt Disney Archives to Disney Fans Around the World
Go back in time with us by checking out these original press materials and other archival treasures from the Walt Disney Archives.
Tony Award®-winning actor Jonathan Pryce talks about his role as Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes.
A brief look at how Julie Andrews' career began after being called on stage by Wally Boag at the London Hippodrome stage.


Archives Library
During a 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture medium as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney, a modern Aesop, established himself and his product as a genuine part of Americana.
Walt Disney arrived in California in the summer of 1923 with a lot of hopes but little else.
Take a nostalgic, informative and sometimes hilarious trip back in time to remember some of these classic Disney originals — from Clara Cluck to Pluto!
A complete list of Disney Legends — the special few who embody the Company's unique creative spirit as personified by its founder.
From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to our latest box-office smashes, here's a complete list of Disney films.
Browse through this bibliography of books written about Walt and Roy, The Walt Disney Company and Disney films, characters, music and theme parks.







Each week, Disney fans and D23 Members send us dozens of questions for Disney Chief Archivist Dave Smith. Here are Dave's answers to a recent set of your questions. Check back every couple weeks — we'll be publishing more of our beloved Disney Legend's answers to your questions about Disney history!

Q: I seem to remember when they ran the True-Life Adventures on the Wonderful World of Disney show that before the Adventures began they ran cartoons with a chubby little park ranger. What was his name and will they release these shorts any time soon?
Robert, Clermont, Florida
A: The park ranger was named J. Audubon Woodlore, and he appeared in five short cartoons with Donald Duck and Humphrey the Bear, beginning with Grin and Bear It in 1954. The cartoons have been released on DVD.

Q: I have been to It's a Small World many times with my daughters when they were young and now with our five grandchildren. Each time I look very carefully for a Polynesian doll in the last room! Every "room" is represented there except the Hawaiian/Polynesian area. And now when It's a Small World was remade, I thought for sure there would be Polynesian dolls added. Do you know why there are none (by the way, I just love the additions to the remade attraction!)?
Jackie, Los Alamos, New Mexico
A: There is indeed a Polynesian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islands segment in It's a Small World at Disneyland, including girls doing the hula and a boy surfing. Figures from Lilo & Stitch have recently been added to that scene.

Q: : Is there an exclusive club restaurant hidden in Walt Disney World in Florida similar to Club 33 in Disneyland?
Steve, Huntsville, Alabama
A: When Walt Disney World was built, it was felt by the Imagineers that no exclusive restaurant was needed in the park because the Resort included hotels with elegant restaurants which could serve the same purpose as Club 33 did at Disneyland — entertain important guests.

Q: I remember a cartoon when I was a child where the capitalist system and profit was explained (I believe to Donald Duck). Is that cartoon available anywhere?
Gordon, Rosamond, California
A: The film you recall is Scrooge McDuck and Money (1967). While it was available for many years to schools and libraries, it has not been released on video cassette or DVD for public sale.

Q: I have been told that there is a basketball court inside the Matterhorn. How did that come about?
David, San Jose, California
A: A basketball hoop was mounted inside the Matterhorn, used by the Matterhorn mountain climbers during their breaks; it is not an entire basketball court.

Q: How did you get your job? It is my dream to work at a Disney Museum some day. I have degrees in art history and anthropology. What could I do to one day have your job or a job like it?
Charlotte, Topeka, Kansas
A: We are not a museum in the Walt Disney Archives, but rather a research facility. My undergraduate college degree was in history, with a master's degree in library science. I had seven years of experience working in libraries (including the Library of Congress) before coming to Disney. The Disney Archives has a very small staff, and people tend to stay here a long time, so there are rarely any openings.

Q: I can't seem to find any information about a Disney movie called Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, with Fred Mc Murray and Jane Wyman. Was it a Disney movie?
Marie, Branchville, New Jersey
A: Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation was a 1962 movie from Twentieth-Century Fox, starring Jimmy Stewart and Maureen O'Hara. You are probably thinking of another 1962 film, Bon Voyage, which was indeed from Disney and starred MacMurray and Wyman.