Story of the American prairie as it was when vast herds of bison and elk grazed there.Story of the American prairie as it was when vast herds of bison and elk grazed there.Story of the American prairie as it was when vast herds of bison and elk grazed there.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 4 wins total
Featured reviews
One of the most famous "True-Life Adventures" from Disney and a charming documentary that showcases very well the style of this feature series. It's value as a documentary is arguable, but the intention of Disney was always to create something entertaining and not far from its fictional features, even when that means a lot of anthropomorphizing and staged situations.
This movie is another of Walt Disney's true life adventures. It's not a bad film, but it certainly lacks the charm and bizarreness of some of the other installments in this franchise. The narrator makes no moralistic judgments upon any of the subjects in the film, and there are no strange hoedowns involving scorpions in the middle of the film. It does give you a good sense of what nature documentaries were like 70 years ago, but apart from that it's probably not worth your time. I only forced myself to watch it for my project of watching all of Disney films, but I think even for die-hard fans of Disney, this would be a miss.
"The Vanishing Prairie" is an old nature documentary from Disney that just debuted on Disney+. I enjoyed watching it very much, though the quality of the print is surprisingly poor. It's a bit fuzzy and faded...but not so much you shouldn't see it. It's not nearly as nice to see as Disney's newer nature films....though I could look past this.
The film focuses on the center portion of the United States...between the Eastern and Central portions of the country and the Rocky Mountains. Much was filmed in and around Yellowstone National Park, as many of the animals couldn't be found elsewhere in the 1950s. Featured are mostly mammals (both predators and non-predators) but you'll also see a few clips of birds and fish.
So is this worth seeing? Yep. The narration is generally good, the footage sometimes amazing and one of my only complaints (aside from the print) is the 'funny' music they sometimes used. I would have just preferred no music at all in some cases.
The film focuses on the center portion of the United States...between the Eastern and Central portions of the country and the Rocky Mountains. Much was filmed in and around Yellowstone National Park, as many of the animals couldn't be found elsewhere in the 1950s. Featured are mostly mammals (both predators and non-predators) but you'll also see a few clips of birds and fish.
So is this worth seeing? Yep. The narration is generally good, the footage sometimes amazing and one of my only complaints (aside from the print) is the 'funny' music they sometimes used. I would have just preferred no music at all in some cases.
It is best to treat this dated but pleasant documentary as entertainment. Paul Smith's music is incredibly evocative, especially at the birth of a bison and during the fury of a flash flood.
The tone of the narration is often downbeat, referring to qualities of this unique environment soon to be lost forever. To keep from being sucked down into this negativity, keep in mind that recent interest in preserving the prairie environment is being matched with federal assistance, and hopefully the "Vanishing Prairie" won't vanish after all.
The photography is by all accounts excellent. Disney enlisted the help of world-class nature photographers who endured hardships, disappointments, and seemingly-eternal stakeouts behind a camera lens to get just the right shot. When you see it on the screen it all looks too easy. Folks, it's not easy at all! And remember that these films were pioneering firsts that pre-dated Animal Planet, the Crocodile Hunter, and even Wild Kingdom. It started here, and it started with style.
The tone of the narration is often downbeat, referring to qualities of this unique environment soon to be lost forever. To keep from being sucked down into this negativity, keep in mind that recent interest in preserving the prairie environment is being matched with federal assistance, and hopefully the "Vanishing Prairie" won't vanish after all.
The photography is by all accounts excellent. Disney enlisted the help of world-class nature photographers who endured hardships, disappointments, and seemingly-eternal stakeouts behind a camera lens to get just the right shot. When you see it on the screen it all looks too easy. Folks, it's not easy at all! And remember that these films were pioneering firsts that pre-dated Animal Planet, the Crocodile Hunter, and even Wild Kingdom. It started here, and it started with style.
Wonderful documentaries, and certainty of the perfection of nature, how everything fits perfectly, like a puzzle, between hunters and prey, seasons, food, naturally balanced (when there is no human interference) everything millimetrically magnanimous... The narration is so cute, the magnificent photography, richness of details, enthralling, there could be more "stories" with the personified animals...
Did you know
- TriviaAfter recently graduating from Pomona College, this was the first picture Roy Edward Disney (Walt's nephew) worked on - reportedly as assistant editor. They were reviewing footage of ducks and geese returning in spring when Walt spotted a sequence in which a duck unwittingly lands on a still-frozen pond and tumbles over and over. "Where's the rest of this, where he hits the other ducks on the pond?" Walt asked. No one answered. "I know it's there somewhere," Walt said. "Roy, go find it."
Roy started poring through millions of feet of film negatives. He couldn't find it. "Where is that film?" Walt asked again at the next screening. Roy meekly said it didn't exist. Finally director, James Algar sent a second-unit to Minnesota where they staged a duck's landing into a group of ducks on a frozen lake, then incorporated the footage into Vanishing Prairie, accompanied by the sound of a bowling ball hitting pins. Walt loved it. "See, I told you you had that footage," Walt said. Roy suspected that Walt knew all along that they didn't. "Go find it" was Walt's way of saying "Go shoot the footage. Get this done."
- ConnectionsEdited into The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures (1975)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- A True-Life Adventure: The Vanishing Prairie
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 11m(71 min)
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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