ALL SCI-FI

Bud Brewster · Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Aug 08, 2022 6:44 pm; edited 4 times in total

Magic Highway USA is one of the fabulous Disneyland science fact episodes from the 1950s which inspired a generation with dreams of a bright Utopian future.

This episode stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Man in Space, Man and the Moon, Eyes in Outer Space, and Mars and Beyond.

As with the ones mentioned above, this Disney episodes presented mind-boggling artwork which made most of the science fiction movies from the 1950s look pale by comparison. The obvious exception to this would be Forbidden Planet -- which (as we all know) employed Disney animators.

None of the Disney Treasure box sets include Magic Highway USA, despite what an IMDB listing mistakenly suggests. But I have a reasonably good copy from the Disney Channel, made years ago.

However, here's a few jpegs I found on line, just to make us all weep at the injustice of having to live in the "real" 21st Century instead of the one which Walt and his brilliant team predicted back in 1958.

Think about it, folks. What if this was the world we now lived in!
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Our cities would be breathtakingly beautiful.

Our roadways would be engineering marvels.

The family car would be serviced and refuel right in the home.

The cars would be automated, allowing quality time for the family.

Dad could conduct a conference call while driving to work.

Emergency vehicles would fly above traffic and arrive at accidents within minutes.

When the family reached the city, the car would actually separate!

Dad would be taken directly to work -- where his car would be stored walking-distance from his office!

Giant automated freight carriers would travel hundreds of miles over high-speed highways --

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-- and deliver their cargo directly to city destinations, to then be automatically unloaded.

Powerful machines would build new roads -- boring right through solid rock!

Bridges would be built by machines which actually formed the structures beneath them!

Vertical roads would lift cars straight up cliffs thousands of feet high.

The grandeur of scenic environments would be combined with aesthetic works of engineering.

Even the ocean floor would be traversed by enclosed roadways which connected undersea cities!

This fantastical Disney program ended with an inspiring shot.

Magic Highway USA predicts a future as noble and exciting as anything ever presented in science fiction.

This episode (and all the other Disney "science fact" programs) should be shown to children so they can dream about a future that looks more like this ---

--- instead of this.

Welcome to the 21st Century, kids. What do you think?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 11:28 am Post subject:

I remember seeing this but could not remember who had done it. Thanks so much for supplying both the answer as well as these still marvelous pictures.

Randy · Space Ranger Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 126 Location: Ohio

I grew to hate Disney. Every week, I would hope and pray for an episode from Tomorrowland, but it seems that Disney only made one Tomorrowland episode each year.

Each weekly heartbreak (Adventureland, Fantasyland or Frontierland) was a disappointment that fueled my ever increasing dislike of Disney for not making an equal share of episodes from Tomorrowland!

If I had been running Disney, there would have been Tomorrowland, SpaceAdventureland, Sci-Fantasyland and TheFinalFrontierland!

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 9:31 pm Post subject:

Pow · Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 8:01 pm Post subject:

Rocky Jones · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 1:28 pm Post subject:

Bud Brewster · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 2:23 pm Post subject:

Unfortunately, Disney didn't make very many "science fact" episodes. Here's the complete list.

Man into Space - 1955

Man and the Moon - 1955

Mars and Beyond - 1957

Our Friend the Atom - 1957

Magic Highway USA - 1958 (with a section at the end about the future of transportation, as shown in the pictures above).

Eyes in Outer Space - 1959 (a short film released to theaters and later shown on the program under the name "Spy in the Sky" in 1962.)

All the existing "science fact" episodes are available on a great DVD called Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrowland -- except for "Magic Highway USA".

Youtube does have "Man and the Moon", and the picture quality is terrific.

I'm of the opinion that the last fifteen minutes of "Man and the Moon" is actually one of the greatest science fiction "movies" made in the 1950s -- even though it never played in theaters and wasn't even seen in color until those DVDs came out!

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 4:50 pm Post subject:

Given Walt's imagination & fascination with the future & technology it always struck me as odd that he did so few segments for his Tomorrowland on his show.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 9:47 pm Post subject:

Yep, that's the way we all feel. Those episode inspired kids (like me) in the 1950s as much as any of the movies we saw. And I heard that Eisenhower showed a print of "Man into Space" to a crowd at the White House and told them America needed to get busy and start doing stuff like that.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865

Walt seemed to me to be more a fan of history.
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...or not...

WayneO
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Rocky Jones · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:56 am Post subject:

Bud Brewster · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 11:28 am Post subject:

You're right, Rocky — they repackaged the original "science fact" shows later on into things like "Inside Outer Space", inserting a "host" (Ludwig Von Drake) to present the material in a way the kids would like (and cutting out some of the original material to make room for him).

"Man and the Moon" was repackaged and retitled "Tomorrow the Moon".

"Spy in the Sky" was just the 30-minute theatrical short I listed above, "Eyes in Outer Space", padded out with other stuff to make an episode for the show.

Yes, there are a few other programs that are similar to the "science fact" episodes, but not very many.

More's the pity . . . Sad

I highly recommend you buy the DVD box set called Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrowland. It's well worth the money. Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865

Rocky Jones · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 8:56 pm Post subject:

I finally watched this one through. It has a surprise appearance from a Super-friend, i.e. Inspector Henderson from Adventures of Superman. He seems to be filling in as a highway "specialist", though his role isn't clearly stated. My guess is Walt couldn't find a real highway expert who was good at TV on short notice.

What always occurs to me about these things is how few of the futuristic innovations they have happened even after nearly 60 years. It's so much easier to pour our creativity into innovating tiny handheld gizmos than to go to market with new transportation systems.

Brent Gair · Mission Specialist Joined: 21 Nov 2014 Posts: 466