True-Life Adventures is a series of short and full-length nature documentary films released by Walt Disney Productions between the years 1948 and 1960. The first seven films released were thirty-minute shorts, with the subsequent seven films being full features. The series won eight Academy Awards for the studio, including five for Best Two Reel Live Action Short and three for Best Documentary Feature.
Some of the features were re-edited into educational shorts between 1968 and 1975. The latter year saw the release of The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures, a compilation film derived from the series.
Films
Production
The films were among the earliest production experience for Roy E. Disney. This series was the launching pad for Disney's then-new distributor, the Buena Vista Film Distribution Company, Inc. Interstitial animated segments are included, and some filmed sequences are set to music. Ub Iwerks blew up the 16 mm film to 35 mm for theatrical projection and provided some special effects.
Awards
The series won eight Academy Awards for the studio including five Best Two Reel Live Action Short awards for Seal Island, In Beaver Valley, Nature's Half Acre, Water Birds, and Bear Country, and three Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature awards for The Living Desert, The Vanishing Prairie and White Wilderness.
In other media
Television episodes from Disney's anthology TV series focus on the films, and it inspired a daily panel comic strip that was distributed from 1955 to 1973 and drawn by George Wheeler. Several of the films were adapted in comic book format as one-shots in Dell Comics' Four Color series.
Nature's Living Album - Educational series
The following shorts were edited out of the other shorts/films/episodes for educational purposes. Either a fragment was exported out of a longer film or two or more sequences were edited together from more than two or more different films to form a "new" film. Thus they are not included on the Legacy DVDs.
Films made up of stock footage from two or more Disney True-Life Adventures films and thus not listed with respective original film above:
The Weasel Family (1968) The Wild Dog Family – The Coyote (1968) The Wild Cat Family – The Cougar (1968) The Deer Family (1968) The Beasts of Burden Family (1970) The Bear Family (1970)
Documentary film
On October 8, 1975, Disney theatrically released The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures, a full-length motion picture documentary derived from 13 of the acclaimed True-Life Adventures films. It was written and directed by James Algar, and narrated by Winston Hibler.
Home media
VHS releases
Australian & New Zealand
The Living Desert (September 22, 1995) The Vanishing Prairie (September 22, 1995) Jungle Cat (September 22, 1995) Secrets of Life (September 22, 1995) The African Lion (September 22, 1995) White Wilderness (September 22, 1995) Seal Island (March 15, 1996) Bear Country (March 15, 1996) Water Birds (March 15, 1996) The Olympic Elk (March 15, 1996) Beaver Valley (March 15, 1996) Nature's Half Acre (March 15, 1996)
DVD release
All of the True-Life Adventures have been released on 4 double-DVD sets as part of the Walt Disney Legacy Collection, which launched December 5, 2006.
Volume 1: Wonders of the World
Disc 1
Introduction by Roy Disney
White Wilderness (1958) Water Birds (1952) Beaver Valley (1950) Prowlers of the Everglades (1953)
Disc 2
Mysteries of the Deep
"Wonders of the Water Worlds" "The Crisler Story"
Bonus Features
"Backstage with Roy Disney at Disney's Animal Kingdom: Birds" "Tribute to James Algar" "Filmmakers' Journal" "Collectors' Corner" "Original Theatrical Trailers"
Volume 2: Lands of Exploration
Disc 1
Introduction by Roy Disney
The Living Desert
The Vanishing Prairie
Seal Island
Disc 2
Islands of the Sea
Nature's Strangest Creatures
"Prairie" Behind the True Life Cameras
Bonus Features
Backstage with Roy Disney at Disney's Animal Kingdom: Desert Insects
Backstage with Roy Disney at Disney's Animal Kingdom: Snakes
Filmmakers' Journal
Collectors' Corner
Trailers & Promo
Volume 3: Creatures of the Wild
Disc 1
Introduction by Roy Disney
The African Lion
Jungle Cat
Bear Country
Disc 2
The Olympic Elk
"Cameras in Africa" "The Yellowstone Story"