Disney's The Black Hole (Mega Post!)

Thirty-seven years ago this month, Walt Disney Productions released the film, The Black Hole. I purchased this poster at Disneyland back in 1979 (before the movie's release) and it hung on my bedroom wall for quite some time.

The Fall/Winter Disneyland guide book announced the film's upcoming release on the inside of it's back cover.

The Black Hole was the company's first PG-rated film, because of some swearing and the depiction of human death (the death of Bambi's mom and Simba's dad didn't warrant a PG rating?) Regardless of the more mature rating, the movie was paired up with the second re-release of Sleeping Beauty and billed in some newspaper ads as "Two Worlds of Disney Fantasy."

I clipped this ad out of the Los Angeles Times.

My grandfather took me to an evening showing of this "double feature" at the Rolling Hills Theater in Torrance (now a BevMo!). I remember my grandfather nodding off during parts of Sleeping Beauty! And I nodded off during parts of The Black Hole! It was unfortunate because I had been looking forward to seeing the movie ever since I first read about the making of it.

The Fall 1979 issue of Disney News Magazine had included a cover story about the movie's upcoming release.

The back cover featured an ad for the movie:

I always thought that this movie was Disney's response to Star Wars, but Disney was reportedly planning this movie as early as 1974. After rereading the Disney News article, I see that it even starts out by saying "After five years preparation....."

Going back a few years earlier, here is what the company had to say about the film in their 1977 Annual Report. It's working title at that time was "Space Probe."

And here's what was written about the movie's progress in the 1978 Annual Report.

After it's release, the film had several mentions in the company's 1979 Annual Report. The caption for the photo below reads, "Maximilian Schell, commander of a massive derelict spacecraft in The Black Hole, stands amid some of his ominous creations. Four Academy Award Winners contributed to design and execution of film's spectacular special effects."

And the caption for this next photo states, "A team of technicians from WED Enterprises and Disney Studio developed the film industry's most advanced computerized motion-control camera, "Automated Camera Effects System (ACES)," to accomplish the complex miniature effects in The Black Hole.

The following info abut the ACES system is from Wikipedia: "Although Star Wars had revolutionized the use of computerized motion control miniature effects, The Black Hole was shot using a blend of traditional camera techniques and newly developed computer-controlled camera technology. Disney had wanted to rent equipment from Industrial Light and Magic, but it was unavailable during the film's production schedule and was also prohibitively expensive. In the end, Disney turned to its own engineering department, which spawned the A.C.E.S. (Automated Camera Effects System), the Mattescan system (which enabled the camera to move over a matte painting), and a computer-controlled modeling stand. The movie's opening credit sequence featured what was then the longest computer-graphics shot ever filmed."

The 1979 Annual Report also mentions a December episode of Disney's Wonderful World, which included a tribute to special effects in (Disney) movies and a sneak preview of The Black Hole. Joseph Bottoms, who played Lieutenant Charlie Pizer in the film (and pictured below in the "M.E." costume), played "Major Effects" in the episode.

Here is the listing for that episode, from the December 15, 1979 issue of TV Guide. (Fonzie Alert!)

Below, composer John Barry is shown conducting the musical scoring of the film, and the merchandising campaign for the film is discussed. (Disco Mickey Mouse Alert!)

I remember that there was a lot of The Black Hole merchandise available at the time. The photo below shows action figures, models, lunchboxes, coloring books, shoes and more. Right now on ebay, there are also ViewMasters, Colorform playsets, comic books, board games and even bed sheets. I had/have the 1980 Calendar that is shown in the lower right corner.

I also purchased several packages of "The Black Hole" trading cards at the local "Stop 'N Go" store. I remember asking the clerk if I could have the display box that the packets of cards came in.

I even saved a wax wrapper from one of the packages. Each packet contained ten "movie photo cards," one sticker, and one stick of gum, which was standard at the time for "Topps" brand trading cards. I had been collecting various Topps cards from a very young age, starting with "Wacky Packages."

I never got the complete set of 88 cards, but here are 47 of them.

Spoiler alert! The gruesome "human death" scene was shown on a couple of the trading cards!

And here are 9 of the stickers:

In 2009, it was announced that a remake of The Black Hole was planned. In the meantime, while we wait to see if this really happens (Helloooo, Jungle Cruise Movie?), here is the original trailer for the film:





And this is a fan's "modern" version of a trailer:





Here's one last little (obscure) detail that I remember about the 1979 release of The Black Hole. Space Mountain at Disneyland received some large rear-lit photos from the movie, along the wall of it's exit corridor (which were later replaced with photos of the cosmos and then again with photos of "aliens" in advertisements for Fed-ex). Another change that was made to Space Mountain at that time, was the addition of three small video monitors that were placed above the exit speedramp. The monitors played a short video, which placed us, the viewers, traveling around the outer rim of a black hole and eventually being sucked into it. It ended with the title of the movie coming up on the screen. The black hole in the footage was represented by an animated green line grid, just like the one visible in the original trailer above. The video was very short and would repeat on a loop over and over. Does anyone else remember this?

After the film came and went, the monitors were removed and the holes where they were located were covered up with square panels. For years however, you could look up and still see the recessed areas in the ceiling where the three monitors had been. I believe the ceiling remained that way until Space Mountain received it's massive redo in the mid 2000's and the exit speedramp was replaced with stairs, however I don't have photos or video to confirm that. I do have some home video footage from the nineties of the ramp itself (in case anyone is feeling nostalgic about that old exit ramp!) Below, is a screen shot from that video footage. The monitors were located in recessed niches, just above the guest's heads.

If you have stuck with me this far today, thank you! And I hope you have enjoyed this "Journey that begins where everything ends!"

****Just in case anyone is interested in watching that entire Space Mountain video (even though at this point in time, there weren't any "Black Hole" movie tie-ins), it does include footage of the old Space Mt. loading station, the Fed-ex robot that used to be located in the station, and a complete ride-thru prior to the first on-board soundtrack being added to the vehicles. And by the way, as was usually the case with Disneyland's speedramps, the one at the exit was turned off and guests were having to walk up it!





*****POST UPDATE***** (May 2024)

I recently came across this 1979 advertisement from The Los Angeles Times. A robot "inspired by" V.I.N.CENT, from The Black Hole, was going to be appearing at select May Co. department stores. Someone was going to win this clone of the robot, valued at $1,000. According to the ad, he could "play games, tell jokes, answer true, false, and multiple choice questions, and even play cassette tapes."

Circle-Vision at Disneyland: American Journeys and Wonders of China

In January of this year, we took a look at Disneyland's Circle-Vision Theater and the film, America The Beautiful. Today we will be looking at the films, American Journeys and Wonders of China, which replaced America The Beautiful in 1984.

The photo below, shows the marquee with the name of the theater's sponsor at the time, Delta Airlines. It's a little washed out, but below the name "Delta Airlines" the marquee reads, "Now Playing American Journeys." Wonders of China would play in the theater first, from early morning until early afternoon. American Journeys was then shown the rest of the operating day. There was a short period of time in the middle of the day, when the theater would have to close in order to change the marquee and switch the reels of film on the projectors.....all nine of them! This rotation of the films continued until 1996 when both films were replaced by America The Beautiful, which had a special return engagement.

This next photo shows the marquee after Delta Airlines had stopped it's sponsorship. A strip of metal was placed over the spot where the sponsor's name had previously been. Wonders of China is listed on the marquee as the film that was playing....or would be playing once they opened the doors. The attraction poster for the film can also be seen in the display case just to the left of the glass doors.

Here is a closer look at that display case and the attraction posters for both films. At the bottom of the Wonders of China poster, it states that the film is "Showing Until 1:30 P.M."

I don't have any photographs of the theater's pre-show area, but I did shoot video of it and I am including it at the end of this post. If you look at the walls around the room, you might be able to locate cut-outs of a moon and a sun. The screen shot below shows that the moon was part of the Circle-Vision sign, which hung over the doorway into the theater. I still haven't been able to locate the sun in my video, but if someone out there knows specifically where to look for it, please chime in below in the comments.

Both the sun and the moon cut-outs ended up being placed inside of Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, the attraction that currently occupies the old Circle-Vision Theater space in Tomorrowland. They are a little difficult to spot, but they can be seen just above the tunnel that you exit as you are entering the second to last room in the ride (the room with the final Buzz and Zurg animatronics). After the camera flash goes off and your souvenir picture is taken, turn to the right and look above the tunnel that you just exited from. They are mounted on a recessed wall just above the tunnel. I hope that description helps anyone who wants to locate them!

Here are the links to the Circle Vision Theater's pre-show area and film, and both American Journeys and Wonders of China in their entirety. Enjoy!


Circle Vision Theater (Pre-show Room & Film):




American Journeys (Full Movie):




Wonders of China (Full Movie):

*****Post Update (April 2024)*****

I recently came across this advertisement, promoting the debut of "American Journeys" in the newly named "World Premiere Circle-Vision 360" theater (which was originally presented by PSA, before switching to Delta Airlines).  The ad is from the July 1, 1984 edition of The Los Angeles Times.

 

Movieland Wax Museum - Chamber of Horrors

Since Halloween is less than two weeks away, let's do another SCARY Movieland Wax Museum post!

The museum's Chamber of Horrors used to feature Elvira greeting guests at it's entrance.

Elvira even appeared in person at the unveiling of her wax likeness.

Her hand and footprints still exist in the cement out in front of the old museum building.....or what's left of the building. (As of today, the facade is still standing, but a large portion of the building behind the facade is currently being demolished. I'm not sure if any part of it will be kept, or if it is all going to be coming down. Hopefully, the celebrity hand and footprints out front will be preserved!)

I took that first Elvira photo during a visit to the museum back in 1991. I took the following two pics during my next visit which was in October of 2005, just a few days before the museum closed forever. At some point during those 14 years between my visits, Elvira was removed from the museum altogether (why?) and replaced with Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolfman.

During a visit back in 1976, I had my picture taken with the Wolfman in the museum's "Monster Photo Gallery".

I found a similar shot for sale on eBay.

During that same visit back in 1976, my brother had his picture taken with the Frankenstein figure. Unfortunately, he can't find it, but a friend of mine gave me permission to post his souvenir photo of him with his brothers. I actually posted this one previously in my Movieland Wax Museum's Haunted House & Frankenstein post from last October.

Dracula "meets" the Mummy (Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, respectively). These next two photos were taken in the Chamber of Horrors in 2005.

Dracula and his victim had originally appeared in a different setting as seen in this vintage postcard.

This photo of the Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney Sr.) and actress Mary Philbin as "Christine," was also taken in 2005.

Here's the official postcard shot of the same scene.

Vincent Price from House of Wax, taken in 2005:

Notice how the set had changed from when this professional shot was taken.

Norman Bates isn't quite himself today! This is how the Anthony Perkins figure appeared in 2005.

The scene was quite different back when this postcard shot was taken. Note the Psycho House up on the hill outside the window, and also the stuffed bird under glass on the table.

Michael Myers from the movie, Halloween:

And last but not least, we have Linda Blair (not credited on the clap board) from The Exorcist. The head on this figure rotated 360 degrees. Too bad it didn't also spew pea soup out of it's mouth!

Movieland has now been closed 11 years this month. The old sign is still standing (for now) out front. As you can see, a Starbuck's sign has been added to it. Starbuck's moved into the former Movieland gift shop (Starlite Gifts) long before the museum closed and it is still open for business today.

A theater complex and a butterfly pavilion are supposedly going to replace the former museum building. As mentioned earlier, this facade is also still standing at the moment. However, the letters on top of the building were recently removed. Last weekend, I shot some photos and video footage of certain parts of the museum being demolished. I will try to get those posted in the near future, if anyone is interested.

If you are an Elvira fan and want to watch a pretty funny clip of her interacting with her wax figure live at Movieland Wax Museum, you can click on the link below. It is from her official "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" Facebook page, so you will probably need to be a member of Facebook in order to view it: Elvira on TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes.

Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary

Today is Walt Disney World's 45th anniversary! To celebrate, we will be going back 35 years to when the Magic Kingdom was only 10 years old. Even though the park already had it's anniversary in October of 1981, CBS aired the television special, "Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary" three months later, in January of 1982.

Let's take a look at the TV Guide listing for that anniversary special. Here's the cover of the January 16, 1982 issue of TV Guide.

Actually, before we look at that listing, here is what was playing that week on the Walt Disney television series (formerly Disneyland, Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Wonderful World of Disney, and Disney's Wonderful World).

Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang was a made for TV movie and a follow-up to the theatrical releases, The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979).

The TV movie led to a TV series about a year later, starring Barry Van Dyke (Dick's son) in the title role of Russell Donovan (played in the original film by Bill Bixby and in this TV movie by John Bennett Perry). For some reason, the series was titled Gun Shy. It only lasted for six episodes before being canceled. I vaguely remember watching that series....or at least some of it.

Now let's look at that 10th anniversary special. Dean Jones and Michelle Lee (from Knots Landing) were reunited for this special. They had previously starred together in the 1968 Disney film, The Love Bug. Dana Plato (from Different Strokes) and Ricky Schroder (from Silver Spoons) play their children, while Eileen Brennan (from Private Benjamin) plays an aunt.

Michael Keaton plays a cast member with multiple jobs in this special, including a bellboy, a waiter, a valet, and a clerk in a souvenir shop at the Contemporary Hotel. He even sings (sort of) with Michelle Lee and Dana Plato.

At the very end of the special, the announcer reminds viewers that "All of tonight's recipes (which were shown during the commercials) can be found in tonight's listing section of TV Guide Magazine, and at many stores." Matterhorn Chicken? But Walt Disney World doesn't have a Matterhorn!

Also on TV that week: People of the Year: The 25 Most Intriguing People of 1981. That would be a hoot to watch today!

Bert Convy was back with an all new version of Tattletales. Incidentally, the original Tattletales from the 1970's currently plays on the "Buzzr" channel. I'm addicted to that channel and Match Game '78!

And Meryl Streep was appearing in a new musical special, Alice at the Palace.

If you want to watch the Walt Disney World special (minus the Kraft commercials), I've included a link to it below.

The show is just as corny as most of the Disney TV specials were back in the day. From the Tour Guides and Small World Hostesses drooling over John Schneider while he serenades them, to Dean Jones singing (sort of) to Ricky Schroeder about "Fathers and Sons", it's definitely a cheesefest....and even a bit uncomfortable at times. But if you're a fan of vintage Walt Disney World, or a fan of any of these celebrities, it's definitely worth watching.

Oh, and José the parrot, makes a cameo appearance in a souvenir shop at the Contemporary Hotel at the 24:00 minute mark. I wonder if that was a real souvenir that used to be sold, or if it was one of the actual animatronics from the Tropical Serenade/Tiki Room attraction?




A similar special sponsored by Kraft, had aired in 1980 for Disneyland's 25th anniversary. I have that issue of TV Guide as well (with more themed recipes!), so I will try to get that one posted soon. (Post Update: That issue of TV Guide can now be seen here, Disneyland's 25th Anniversary.

Happy 45th anniversary, to Walt Disney World!

**Post Update (10-12-16):

I'm adding these pages from the same issue of TV Guide, because of the Mr. Merlin comment (below) by Major Pepperidge. I'm sure it was a wonderful show! With Elaine Joyce in it, it couldn't have been all that bad, could it? Barnard Hughes was also starring in the original version of Disney's Tron, which had a theatrical release in July of that same year.

Also....after writing this post, I came across this promotional pic of Ricky Schroder in the 1981 Walt Disney Productions Annual Report: