The Retro Blog

“Mars and Beyond” is a 1957 episode of “Disneyland” the tv series in which the folks at Disneyland contemplate life on other planets and man’s quest for understanding of the world around him. I like to think of it as Mickey Mouse’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The episode is introduced by Walt himself with his personal pal Garco the robot. It goes on to illustrate developments in astronomy over time. It brings to life the stories of science fiction writers like H. G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs. It presents the Big Bang theory, which surprises me because I think if Disney attempted this today they’d have a bunch of creationists on their back. 

The art is fabulous, especially during the first two sections. It’s all of the great animation you expect from Disney but with character and layout design like nothing else I’ve seen from them. The bizarre creatures sort of remind me of colorful versions of the characters in Don Hertzfeldt’s The Meaning of Life – very un-Disney. Hertzfeldt himself must have an affection for the film. He brought it on tour with him as part of his annual Animation Show in 2003.

Here’s part 1 of 6:

Part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6.