Les Clark

A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.

This 1937 short film was made at the request of Walt's distributor RKO Radio Pictures to show executives and theater managers who were interested in seeing how Walt Disney made his films. The footage was shot in early July of 1937 and features a plethora of notable Walt Disney Legends at work on some of Walt's most beloved films. While this film was never intended to be viewed by the general public, during the following year another documentary film was produced for general release titled How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made that included some footage from this short.

Swanee River is a 1940 American biopic about Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who falls in love with the South, marries a Southern girl, then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out. Typical of 20th Century Fox biopics of the time, the film is more fictional than factual biography.

Behind the scenes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, as well as a general look at the different departments involved in making a cartoon. This short is a re-edit of A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios. That short was intended for RKO executives, whereas this new expanded version was for the general public.

Documentary focusing on the making-of the 1940n adaptation of Pinocchio by the Disney studio, often considered the artistic pinnacle of the Disney feature.

This featurette is available on the 'Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities' DVD.

Created by Walt Disney Educational and distributed to Schools

Meet the doers and dreamers who made America great -- including John Henry, the railroad builder who proved the value of believing in oneself. Journey with giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan as he clears the land for American settlers. Follow the trail of the beloved American Icon Johnny Appleseed, who planted apple trees which blossomed along the new frontier. Then, take an unforgettable ride with Casey Jones, The Brave Engineer who never failed to deliver the mail...no matter how difficult the route!

Disney used animation here to explain through this wonderful adventure of Donald how mathematics can be useful in our real life. Through this journey Donald shows us how mathematics are not just numbers and charts, but magical living things.

Goofy demonstrates the three types of freeway drivers not to be: the timid driver, the aggressive driver and the inattentive driver.

A short Disney film on what planning for a family is and how it works.

After a brief review of the problems described in Freewayphobia #1 (1965), we see a new range of problems. These include: abrupt breakdowns due to poor maintenance; unsecured loads; running out of gas. We learn how to handle breakdowns properly. We also learn about situations that can affect the driver, like fatigue, alcohol, turnpike trance, and the weather.

Created by Walt Disney Educational and distributed to Schools. Traces the development of communication techniques from the first "ugh" to the astral language of the space age, and concludes with a look at the implications of today's "information explosion."

Created by Walt Disney Educational and distributed to Schools. Last short released during Roy Disney's lifetime

A short film by Disney in which Donald Duck is involved in showing the history of Steel and America.

A retelling of the classic Canadian / American tall tale of the enormous lumberjack and his loyal companion, an equally huge blue ox.

Short animation dealing with the doubts young people have about venereal diseases.

One of the educational short films in the "What Should I Do?"-series made by Walt Disney Productions.

Jiminy Cricket explains the basics of fire safety.

Jiminy Cricket explains the basics of safety around electricity, including lightning.

Donald Duck shows how to prevent fire in the home by using a bit of forethought and prevention.

Educational film describing the exploits of American heroes such as Johnny Appleseed, Davy Crockett, Pecos Bill, and Casey Jones;

The Restless Sea is a 1964 educational animated feature-length film. It was produced by Disney as the final entry in the Bell Telephone Science Hour series. Animated sequences illustrate the work of oceanographers in searching out complex and interwoven relationships of nature in the sea integrating the marine applications of many sciences. Filmed action from above and below the surface shows instruments which plunge through layers of sediment to obtain geological records and oceanographic equipment ranging from underwater television to research vessels.

Man, Monsters and Mysteries is a 1974 Disney educational animated featurette. It explains about man's intriguing questions about monsters, mysteries and even the enigmatic Loch Ness monster.

Jiminy Cricket teaches water safety.

An educational short produced by Disney which poses three questions to children in how they should deal with a given situation. This time a fight at school.

An educational short produced by Disney which poses three questions to children in how they should deal with a given situation. This time a school project.

Exercise, rest and proper diet are essential for physical fitness. Diagrams show the structure and function of muscles and the importance of exercise to tone muscles, nerves and organs. With rest, muscles are cleansed of wastes and refueled. Food, our only energy source, provides fuel for the body mechanism. If the physical side of the Health Triangle is weak, the other two sides can be adversely affected.

An educational short produced by Disney which poses three questions to children in how they should deal with a given situation. This time a game at school.

The narrator tells of the three sides of health represented by a triangle with the physical side at the bottom, the mental side on the left, and the social side-the subject of this film-on the right.