# Forgotten Disney Live-Action Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888 "2005-01-03T20:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/41 "2005-01-04T06:26:31Z")
In a related vein, I just learned this week that Disney is working on **Herbie: Fully Loaded,** a remake/update of the old Love Bug movies. Three words: _Herbie goes NASCAR._ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/42 "2005-01-04T06:45:41Z")
Ooh, I loved those movies, especially if they happened to star Hayley Mills. She could do no wrong in my young eyes! _Pollyanna, Moonspinners, In Search of the Castaways, the Parent Trap_ (can’t believe no one’s mentioned that!) and _That Darn Cat_ are the ones I remember best. I think I had a little girl crush on her accent. 🙂 In non-Hayley Mills vehicles, I adored **Treasure Island**. I remember seeing and enjoying **Freaky Friday** when it came out, but I think the remake is the better film. And like others, I really enjoyed the _Witch Mountain_ films. Also, wasn’t _Swiss Family Robinson_ a Disney film? Ah, this is a great topic. Brings back memories of summer weekends spent in my local movie theater with two hundred other kids, chomping on Marathon Bars and popcorn. And of _Wonderful World of Disney_ every Sunday. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![teleute12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@teleute12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teleute12)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/43 "2005-01-04T08:04:02Z")
I remember watching a lot of these movies on The Disney Channel about ten years ago, before they got all crazy with the original shows/movies/etc. They were always pretty entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/44 "2005-01-04T08:11:17Z")
Does anyone remember “The Bears and I”? A guy who somehow ended up raising three orphaned bear cubs. And there was a similar one about a pet otter, too. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/45 "2005-01-04T08:12:41Z")
> [@pulehoopo](#): > > Another favorite is [Flight of the Navigator](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091059/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9ZmxpZ2h0IG9mIHRoZSBuYXZpZ2F0b3J8aHRtbD0xfG5tPW9u;fc=1;ft=1) which was finally released on DVD this year. Yeah! _gasp_!!! :eek: My _favourite_! I completely forgot about this movie! I loved it as a child, I watched it every time it came on the Disney Channel… now I must go find the DVD! Thank you **pulehoopo**! Thank you **Spoons** for starting this thread! \*\*Flight of the Navigator \*\* is an absolute treasure, though it was done in the 80s. They just don’t make movies like these anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/46 "2005-01-04T09:00:23Z")
I remember Pollyanna, watching it on The Wonderful World of Disney. Didn’t like it much, even then I wasn’t into girly movies (she’s so sugary sweet and happy… ick) Anyone else remember [The Shaggy Dog](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053271/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD0xfHBuPTB8c291cmNlaWQ9bW96aWxsYS1zZWFyY2h8cT1zaGFnZ3kgZG9nfGh0bWw9MXxubT0x;fc=2;ft=8;fm=1)? (And looking at the website for Disney it appears they are planning a remake…) Or [Cheetah](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097053/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD0xfHBuPTB8c291cmNlaWQ9bW96aWxsYS1zZWFyY2h8cT1jaGVldGFofGh0bWw9MXxubT0x;fc=1;ft=20;fm=1)? [Here](http://search.disney.go.com/disneyvideos/query.html?col=video&qp=url%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fdisneyvideos.disney.go.com%2Fmoviefinder%2Fproducts%2F&qt=category%3A%20%22Live+Action%22) is a complete list of all the Live Action disney movies ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/47 "2005-01-04T09:25:18Z")
Didn’t they do _The Mysterious Island?_ I seem to remember a scene where the castaways are being chased by a giant chicken, then they shoot the chicken, then in the next scene they’re eating the chicken. A little later they’re being chased by a giant lobster, so they push the giant lobster down a geyser vent, then…well, you can probably guess the rest. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/48 "2005-01-04T12:11:45Z")
There was indeed a _Mysterious Island_ movie, which took tremendous liberties with the original Jules Verne story. It wasn’t a Disney production, though. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/49 "2005-01-04T13:15:32Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > [Here](http://search.disney.go.com/disneyvideos/query.html?col=video&qp=url%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fdisneyvideos.disney.go.com%2Fmoviefinder%2Fproducts%2F&qt=category%3A%20%22Live+Action%22) is a complete list of all the Live Action disney movies Great list, **Flutterby**. Reminded me about another Disney contract actor from the 50-60’s James McArthur (pre-_Hawaii 5-0_), who did [_Third Man On The Mountain_](http://disneyvideos.disney.go.com/moviefinder/products/3653703.html), as well as[_Swiss Family Robinson_](http://disneyvideos.disney.go.com/moviefinder/products/2155303.html) . While we are on the subject, Tommy Kirk did a ton of these films for Disney, not the least of which was [Old Yeller](http://disneyvideos.disney.go.com/moviefinder/products/2155403.html), as well as the previously mentioned \*Flubber \* movies and the _Shaggy Dog_. And who can forget [The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones](http://disneyvideos.disney.go.com/moviefinder/products/0038903.html)? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/50 "2005-01-04T15:57:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Didn’t they do The Mysterious Island? I seem to remember a scene where the castaways are being chased by a giant chicken, then they shoot the chicken, then in the next scene they’re eating the chicken. A little later they’re being chased by a giant lobster, so they push the giant lobster down a geyser vent, then…well, you can probably guess the rest. Not Disney, but a classic Ray Harryhausen flick. The giant “chicken” (it was actually supposed to be a prehistoric bird, the _Phororacus_), giany crab (not lobster), giantNautilus (every Verne movie seems to need something like a Giant Squid – see my Teemings essay “Fu Manchu and the Giant Squid”) and giant bees were there so Harryhauen could show off his considerable skill at dimensional animation. They rationalized them into the story by saying that Nemo was trying to grow giant animals to increase the world’s food supply. One reason you might think it was Disney is because the _Nautilus_ as depicted in this film looks an awful lot like the model used in the 1954 Disney adaptation of 20,000 Leagues. Tyhere was a semi-sound version of **The Mysterious Island** made back in 1929, but it owes practicaly notjhing to the Verne book. The closest the movies have come to filming The Mysterious Island is the second half of the silent version of **20,000 Leagues Under the Sea** , which attempts ambitiously to tell both stories in one movie. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/51 "2005-01-04T16:24:52Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Thank you **Spoons** for starting this thread! You’re quite welcome! Actually, I have to thank all of you as well; it’s great to be reminded of these old films. Somebody mentioned Merlin Jones–that character must have been in more than one film, because while I recall _The Misadventures of Merlin Jones_, I also seem to recall the name from _The Monkey’s Uncle_. And _Blackbeard’s Ghost_–that was a fun one. Peter Ustinov played the ghost, if i recall correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/52 "2005-01-04T17:00:33Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > [Here](http://search.disney.go.com/disneyvideos/query.html?col=video&qp=url%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fdisneyvideos.disney.go.com%2Fmoviefinder%2Fproducts%2F&qt=category%3A%20%22Live+Action%22) is a complete list of all the Live Action disney movies I just had to see if they list “Where the Red Fern Grows.” They do. I’ve never seen it because I read the book and the book scarred me for life. Why such horribly depressing movies are marketed for children I’ll never know or understand. “Want to see your children bawl uncontrollably? Pick up “Where the Red Fern Grows!” You can find it next to “Old Yeller” in our “Beloved dead pets” section. Be sure to consider our “Paxil / Dead Pet Movie” value pack!” ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/53 "2005-01-04T17:13:41Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There was also Disney’s adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s **[Something Wicked This Way Comes.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086336/)** I LOVE this movie! Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark – very creepy! Thanks for the reminder, **RealityChuck**. I don’t think I knew it was by Disney. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/54 "2005-01-04T17:17:59Z")
> [@Blackclaw](#): > > I just had to see if they list “Where the Red Fern Grows.” They do. Sometime during grade school my class got to watch that movie as a “special treat” on the last day before summer vacation. Such a happy way to end the school year! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sishoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@sishoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sishoch)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/55 "2005-01-04T17:32:37Z")
No has has mentioned The Black Hole, which I remember as the most inane scifi movie ever made. I saw it in a theater and lost interest early on. Now I can’t even recall what it was supposed to be about. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/56 "2005-01-04T21:53:44Z")
What was the one with the kid who was in nearly every Disney movie produced during the 60s where he’s living on the mountain and has a pet hawk which mangles his arm and while he’s suffering through the pain, he learns to astrial project? He was also in another one where he had a pet lion, and lived way up in the mountians and his grandfather dies, so the kid goes down to the unemployment line, and hires some guy to bury his grandfather. I never got to see all of those, just parts of them, and I’ve wondered how they turned out. Didn’t Disney also do a film version of Johnny Tremaine? I know we had to watch it every year in elementary school. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/57 "2005-01-04T23:55:30Z")
The one our school trotted out every rain day or “reward presentation” was I think called “Snowball Express.” It starred Don Knotts for sure, and possibly Tim Conway. Dreck! I do remember a lot of them fondly, though. My parents were cheapskates so I hardly saw any in the theater (aside from Herbie Goes Banannas - my first “date” with a boy\*) but I saw scads of them on Wonderful World of Disney. I lost my first tooth watching Shaggy DA (or shaggy dog - are they different versions of the same movie?) I also loved “That Darn Cat.” I don’t remember most of it, but I loved the woman putting the watch on his neck as a clue. Sneaky! - He grew up to be gay. Was it my choice of movies? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bowler\_girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7993a0/32.png) [@bowler\_girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bowler_girl)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/58 "2005-01-05T00:26:16Z")
I saw **Treasure of Matacumbe** at a double feature with **The Apple Dumpling Gang**. Sadly, I remember nothing about the first movie but I was a huge Apple Dumpling fan. I even saw the sequel. I also remember seeing \*\*Napoleon and Samantha \*\* with a young Jodie Foster. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/59 "2005-01-05T00:40:56Z")
I remember **Westward Ho! The Wagons** not for any great story or plot, but because there was an Indian boy who showed how to use a button and string to make a really cool spinning thingie. I went home an made it and thought it was pretty cool. I was easily amused at that age. I can also remember back then that normal films cost kids 25 cents on Saturday mornings, but Disney films cost 35 cents. And was **Journey To The Center Of The Earth** a Disney? I always thought that had great special effects (again, I was about 9 years old and didn’t quite notice paper mache as much as I do now). An although not a movie, I always liked the tv series **Spin And Marty** , mostly because even at that early age, that gnawing Gay gene was starting to tickle even back then. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888/60 "2005-01-05T01:05:12Z")
> [@](#): > > And was Journey To The Center Of The Earth a Disney? I always thought that had great special effects (again, I was about 9 years old and didn’t quite notice paper mache as much as I do now). No, it wasn’t. I loved it even though it had a made-up lot, shoehorned in Arlene Dahl and Pat Boone (!), and featured lizards with rubber fins on their backs (playing unreasonably large dimetrodons), and departed pretty strongly from Verne. Maybe it was the Bernard Hermann music, or James Mason’s spirited performance as an Edinburgh professor of geology. Disney and Verne was a wonderful mix, as shown by **20,000 Leagues** and **In Search of the Castaways** , and I only wish they’d done more of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-disney-live-action-movies/282888.md?page=4)