True-Life Adventures

[wwwjim]

Does any one know when the True-Life Adventures might see light of day on DVD?

I've heard rumours over the past couple of years that it may eventually become a future Treasures Tin... Has anyone heard any recent rumours about this?

[Joe Carioca]

It said that it would certainly be part of Wave 4. Roy was in charge of the restoration. But now that he is out of the company, how knows!

[Disney Guru]

This was a great series I can't wait to see it available on DVD!

[ohmahaaha]

I would really like to see this in a future wave of Treasures; I too had been expecting it for Wave IV, I'd seen it mentioned on another Disney fan website as being expected for the next wave.

The only question is which True Life Adventures would be contained in the set.

[jebsdad]

If the True Life Adventures had been kept in Wave 4, it probably would have held the short featurettes, not the films.

But it appears the True Life Adventures have been dropped, since they were Roy Disney's "pet project". The replacement Wave 4 set appears to be the "Assorted" set.

If a future Treasures DVD set is ever released of the short featurettes, the contents could be all those featurettes: Bear Country (1953), Beaver Valley (1950), Nature's Half Acre (1951), The Olympic Elk (1952), Prowlers of the Everglades (1953), Seal Island (1948), and Water Birds (1952). Those featurettes total 215 minutes, well within the limit of the 2 disc sets.

If such a set is ever released, I would love for Islands of the Sea (1960) and Mysteries of the Deep (1959) - two nature featurettes similar to the True Life Adventures series - be added to the set. These total 52 minutes, making the total minutes of 267 well within the limit of the 2 disc sets.

I would also love the True Life Adventure films on DVD - The African Lion (1955), Jungle Cat (1960), The Living Desert (1953), Secrets of Life (1956), The Vanishing Prairie (1954), and White Wilderness (1958). These were released on video several years ago, but would love to see them on DVD.

I would also like to see the compilation film The Best of Walt Disney's True Life Adventures (1975) on DVD.

Along these lines, would love to have the True-Life Fantasy "Perri" (1957) on DVD.

[Chernabog]

Couldn´t agree with you more, Jebsdad!

[AwallaceUNC]

I'm not sure I'd like these, and don't know how long it would take me to get around to making a purchase. Still, by virtue of the fact that they are such a big part of Disney history and were so important to Walt, I think they deserve a good DVD release, in their entireties.

-Aaron

[Loomis]

Water Birds (1952)

Just thought I'd point out that is on the Rescuers DVD.

It would be great to see all of them together.

Nature documentary has really changed over the last few decades, helped a lot by new technology. I wonder if there would be as much of a market for the True Life stuff now, beyond the nostalgia value. Then again, I guess that describes the whole 'Treasures' line, so why not?

[feedmelinguini]

If the True Life Adventures had been kept in Wave 4, it probably would have held the short featurettes, not the films.

Ah, but let me spark a bit of uncertainty. On the original wave DVDs, there was a general promotional trailer for the WD Treasures series, which featured a scene with polar bears from the White Wilderness feature film. Is it possible that they were intending the feature films to be included? If so, could all six fit on two DVDs? Or did they originally conceive of WD Treasures not to be limited to two discs? Or were they intended to be released over two sets? Or maybe over three sets, with the shorts being a set? Or was it just a generic scene meant to represent the whole series? Or am I asking too many questions?

If a future Treasures DVD set is ever released of the short featurettes, the contents could be all those featurettes: Bear Country (1953), Beaver Valley (1950), Nature's Half Acre (1951), The Olympic Elk (1952), Prowlers of the Everglades (1953), Seal Island (1948), and Water Birds (1952). Those featurettes total 215 minutes, well within the limit of the 2 disc sets.

Hopefully, we'll get a better Water Birds. I swear they must have transferred Water Birds directly from a worn-thin 8 mm classroom copy for its inclusion in Rescuers.

If such a set is ever released, I would love for Islands of the Sea (1960) and Mysteries of the Deep (1959) - two nature featurettes similar to the True Life Adventures series - be added to the set. These total 52 minutes, making the total minutes of 267 well within the limit of the 2 disc sets....

...I would also like to see the compilation film The Best of Walt Disney's True Life Adventures (1975) on DVD.

Along these lines, would love to have the True-Life Fantasy "Perri" (1957) on DVD.

I second these sentiments, especially for Islands of the Sea and Best of WD's True-Life Adventures--I haven't seen them.

-Lon

[chrisrose]

I'm not a nature/wildlife fanatic but I'd definitely buy True Life Adventures DVDs... I seem to remember some of the films (or re-edited clips?) shown on the Wonderful World of Disney when I was just a wee tyke. So there's nostalgia value for me... plus... I'm interested in seeing/collecting everything from Walt's day!

So Disney/Eisner's abandoned the True Life Treasure DVDs? That stinks. But I expected as much when Roy left. :/

[MickeyMousePal]

I can't wait to get True Life Adventure I really hope it's a Walt Disney's Treasure Tin Wave 4.

Please!!!!

[jebsdad]

Not previously mentioned in my "True-Life Adventures" list is an oddity - "Miracles of Spring - A True-Life Advenuture". This was shown 1984 or so on the Disney Channel. As far as I remember, it was a made-for-the-Disney Channel film, made up of scenes from the True-Life Adventures films and featurettes. As I recall, it was only shown a month or so, and then I never saw it again.

I do not have this film.

Does anyone else remember this?

[mvealf]

The True Life films were released on laserdisc in Japan. See my page at:
http://www.geocities.com/disney_laserdiscs/true.html

[wwwjim]

Thanks to all who have replied!

I seem to remember some of the films (or re-edited clips?) shown on the Wonderful World of Disney when I was just a wee tyke. So there's nostalgia value for me... plus... I'm interested in seeing/collecting everything from Walt's day!

Me, too. I remember seeing some of these films in elementary school on an old 35mm projector. (Kids today probably haven't even seen one of those! heh)

Being a DVD Collector nut, I'd love to have all the features until Walt's death in my collection. The problem for collectors like us is that Disney seems to be focusing heavily on releases from the mid-60s on. Very little from the 1950s catalog is being released right now...

Here's hoping for more releases soon!

[feedmelinguini]

The original True-Life Adventures were abridged into several educational films for schools:

Animals at Home in the Desert
Predators of the Desert
What Is a Desert?

Animals of the South American Jungle

Secrets of the Ant and Insect World
Secrets of the Bee World
Secrets of the Plant World
Secrets of the Underwater World

The Buffalo: Majestic Symbol of the Plains
Large Animals That Once Roamed the Plains
Pioneer Trails, Indian Lore, and Bird Life
Small Animals of the Plains

The Arctic Region and Its Polar Bears
Large Animals of the Arctic

Let's not forget the "New True Life Adventures" series. They are four films released circa 2000 directly to the educational market. They are:

Elephant Journey
Alaska: Dances of the Caribou
The Everglades: Home of the Living Dinosaurs
Sea of Sharks

Each are 45 minutes and retail for $79US, or $259 for all four. I believe they are VHS. You can find them at http://www.edustation.disney.com .

Also, some of the original shorts (True-Life Adventures and others) are available through them:

Bear Country
In Beaver Valley
Mysteries of the Deep
Nature's Half Acre
Nature's Strangest Creatures
One Day at Teton Marsh
Seal Island
Water Birds

($29.95 each)

-Lon

P.S. Also available to schools through Disney Educational Productions are the following hard to find animated films:

John Henry (presumably complete, with title screens) $99
Paul Bunyan (presumably complete, with title screens) $79
The Saga of Windwagon Smith (revised ) $59
the original three Poohs, separately $79
Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons $59
The Small One $59
Mickey's Christmas Carol (presumably complete, with title screens) $79
The Truth About Mother Goose $59
Ferdinand the Bull $59
Ben and Me $79
A Symposium of Popular Songs $59
The Atom, a Closer Look (remake of Our Friend the Atom) $79
Freewayphobia Part I $59
Freewayphobia Part II $59
Goliath II $29.95
In Dutch $29.95
The Little House $29.95
Morris the Midget Moose $29.95
Donald and the Wheel (revised ) 29.95
How to Have an Accident at Work 29.95
How to Have an Accident in the Home 29.95

Live Action:
The Light in the Forest $99
The Walt Disney Story $29.95

[Mr. Toad]

Well I am thrilled about the news on the front page. Three Volumes of DVDs. Even if they were single disc releases, which I imagine they are, you could probably fit all of it on there. By my math 630 total minutes. 210 minutes or about three and a half hours fits on a DVD.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Finally some promising news! I'll probably buy these - and I usually don't buy a lot of Disney DVDs.

[Mouseketodd]

I called Disney Home Entertainment and found out some information about the True Life Adventures DVD releases, the accuracy of which is subject to my quick scribblings and my memory.

With no release schedule announced yet (and maybe things aren't completely concrete), these are planned as four 2-DVD volumes together called "The Walt Disney Legacy Collection: True Life Adventures." They wouldn't be released at the same time. This reminds me of the way the "Classic Cartoon Favorites" volumes have been released.

Volume 1 includes these and more...
Beaver Valley
Water Birds
Nature's Half Acre
White Wilderness
Seal Island


Volume 3 includes these -- maybe more...
African Lion
Jungle Cat

The reason the operator told me some of the contents of just two volumes was because I had mentioned specific TLA titles, and she looked to see if they were in the release notes. I could have asked her to repeat V1 & 3 again, plus list V2 & 4, but didn't press it.

I'd think the published price for each volume would be $22-26.

I will do my best to buy these when they come out. I hope there's plenty of time between the volumes -- I've got to save for the next wave of Disney Treasures!

[Lars Vermundsberget]

If there'll be four volumes like this, there should hardly be any doubt that all of the TLAs will be included. And what's "more"? Extras? Sounding good!

[Mouseketodd]

If there'll be four volumes like this, there should hardly be any doubt that all of the TLAs will be included. And what's "more"? Extras? Sounding good!

By "more," I meant more TLA titles -- not bonus features. In my notes, I have two additional titles, but my quick notes are hard to read, and I'm not going to put forth any more effort to guess these.

Also, I'm reasonably sure there were more titles for V3, but we'll just have to wait for more news!