Decades before television watchers could enjoy entire channels about wildlife and nature, Walt Disney made thirteen films devoted to nature known as the "True-Life Adventures" series. The films became educational tools in public schools and aired on television for many years, inspiring young people to pursue conservation activities and careers.
Watch this vintage trailer for some of Walt Disney's "True-Life Adventures."
To protect a vanishing wilderness, Walt hired a husband and wife team, Alfred and Elma Milotte, to capture the spirit of the Alaskan frontier on film. After viewing the footage, Walt asked the Milottes to film additional scenes of native Alaskan seals and to cut any scenes with humans. At the time, Walt's film distributor, RKO, refused to release "Seal Island" for fear that the film's subject and length would bore audiences. Undeterred, Walt arranged to show the film for one week at Pasadena's Crown Theater in December 1948. "Seal Island" went on to win the 1948 Oscar for "Best Documentary.".
Walt continued to produce additional short "True-Life Adventures" like "Bear Country" and "Nature's Half Acre," as well as feature length versions including "The Living Desert" and "The Vanishing Prairie." The series won many academy awards and much recognition.
Walt was always proud of the "True-Life Adventures" and their effect on the public, "Our films have provided thrilling entertainment of educational quality and have played a major part in the worldwide increase in appreciation and understanding of nature. These films have demonstrated that facts can be as fascinating as fiction, truth as beguiling as myth, and have opened the eyes of young and old to the beauties of the outdoor world and aroused their desire to conserve priceless natural assets."
Even today, The Walt Disney Company acknowledges the unique impact nature films have on audiences across the globe. That's why, on April 22, 2009, Disney will release "Earth," the first motion picture from the new Disneynature film label. This film captures the epic scope and drama of an entire planet through the heartbreaking and heart warming intimacy of real animal characters. This extraordinary documentary is sure to inspire families to be better stewards of the rich and diverse world in which they live.
1948 – "Seal Island"
1950 – "In Beaver Valley"
1951 – "Nature's Half Acre"
1952 – "The Olympic Elk"
1952 – "Water Birds"
1953 – "The Living Desert"
1953 – "Bear Country"
1953 – "Prowlers of the Everglades"
1954 – "The Vanishing Prairie"
1955 – "The African Lion"
1956 – "Secrets of Life"
1957 – "White Wilderness"
1960 – "Jungle Cat"
