ABC is rebooting “The Wonderful World of Disney” in May as a forum for feature-length animated films from the network’s parent company, Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS).
What To Expect: The series will air Monday evenings at 8 p.m. EST, beginning on May 3 with “Incredibles 2.” Other films in the series include “Finding Dory,” May 10; “Monsters Inc.,” May 17; “Tangled,” May 24; and “The Princess and the Frog,” May 31.
It is uncertain whether ABC will extend “The Wonderful World of Disney” into June and beyond, or whether this will alternate with the network’s other Monday evening offerings including “The Bachelor/Bachelorette” franchise and “Dancing with the Stars.”
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Old School Fun: The original version of “The Wonderful World of Disney” ran on Sunday nights on NBC from 1969 to 1979 and featured a selection of Disney’s theatrical feature films and collections of its classic animated shorts and nature documentaries, along with some new made-for-television material.
Disney had been part of the prime-time TV line-up since 1954 with “Walt Disney’s Disneyland” on ABC, with Disney himself often serving as a genial on-screen host. The program switched to NBC in 1961 as “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” — the title was a reference to its color broadcasts, which were still relatively uncommon in the early 1960s.
“The Wonderful World of Disney” banner re-emerged on ABC in 1991 but dropped the anthology series format in favor of being an occasional presentation of Disney feature films. By this point in time, the studio’s short film content moved off broadcast television and over to the Disney Channel cable network.
(The screenshot from the original “The Wonderful World of Disney,” courtesy of ScreenCrush.com.)
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