The Disney Look... to the past! (Dec.18-24)

Hello everybody, and welcome back to OTPN! We are back from the short vacation, and ready to keep on posting updates from the parks! Here you are this week's look to the Disney Past:

______________________________

This Week in Disney History: Dec. 18-24

Dec. 21, 1960 - Walt Disney Pictures releases "Swiss Family Robinson"

Based on Johann David Wyss' adventure novel, which itself was modeled loosely after Robert Louis Stevenson's "Robinson Crusoe," a Swiss family en route to New Guinea is chased into a storm by a band of pirates. They end up shipwrecked on a tropical island with a seemingly impossible array of exotic animals, including tigers, elephants, hyenas and ostriches. The family forges a new life on "New Switzerland" using the resources around them to reinvent the modern conveniences they enjoyed at home. No getting too comfortable, though - those pirates will be back. Starring British actor John Mills, father of Hayley Mills (who starred a year later in "The Parent Trap,") "Swiss Family Robinson" was the biggest box office draw of 1960 and inspired four Swiss Family Treehouses at Disney Parks worldwide.

Dec. 22, 2000 - Touchstone Pictures releases "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

"We're in a tight spot!" So begins the epic tale of Ulysses Everett McGill, an escaped convict who has four days to find the treasure he has hidden in a Mississippi valley before it's flooded permanently to build a hydroelectric dam. Ulysses and his fellow fugitives, Pete and Delmar, quickly record a song as the Soggy Bottom Boys to make some quick cash. As "Man of Constant Sorrow" becomes a hit, it gets harder for the trio to keep their cover, but they're not the only ones hiding a secret. "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is a loose retelling of Homer's "Odyssey," complete with sirens and a cyclops, set against the background of the New Deal-era deep south. Starring George Clooney, John Turturro and John Goodman, the film was directed by brothers Ethan and Joel Coen, who also lensed "Fargo" (1996) and won the Academy Award for Best Picture with "No Country for Old Men" (2007).

Also this week in Disney history:

Dec. 18

1985 - Disney and the French government reach an agreement to build a theme park (Euro Disneyland, that later became Disneyland Paris) in the Marne-la-Vallée area of France

Dec. 19

1999 - Tomorrowland Speedway becomes Tomorrowland Indy Speedway at Magic Kingdom Park

Dec. 20

1971 - Roy O. Disney (Walt Disney's brother) passes away

1991 - Touchstone Pictures releases "Father of the Bride"

2002 - Ariel's Grotto restaurant opens at Disney California Adventure Park

Dec. 21

1937 - Walt Disney Pictures releases "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the first full-length animated film

1944 - Walt Disney Pictures world-premieres "The Three Caballeros" in Mexico City

Dec. 22

1995 - Chef Mickey's opens at Disney's Contemporary Resort

2007 - The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opens at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris

Dec. 23

1954 - Walt Disney Pictures releases "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"

1987 - Touchstone Pictures releases "Good Morning Vietnam"

Dec. 24

1937 - "Lonesome Ghosts" (Mickey, Donald and Goofy cartoon short) debuts

1955 - Mike Fink Keel Boats open at Disneyland Park

1970 - Walt Disney Pictures releases "The Aristocats," the first full-length animated cartoon completed without Walt

1971 - Flight to the Moon opens at Magic Kingdom Park

______________________________

All pictures and info are subject to the copyright of the Walt Disney (R) Company. All rights reserved.