Disney does National Geographic.
As a youth, I remember watching "The Wonderful World of Disney" (which, if I'm not mistaken, was later renamed "The Wonderful World of Color"). It was on every Sunday night and would feature cartoons, a serial program like "Davie Crocket: King of the Wild Frontier", or any variety of other Disney-worthy productions including a number of nature programs. I believe it was on that TV show that I first saw "The Living Desert". It won an Academy Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary in 1953.


The photography is the key and the producers wanted us to understand that right from the beginning. The introductary comments mention that the film is the result of hundreds of hours of patient work by wildlife photographers. The ensuing glimpses of wildlife in the desert is fascinating. We see scenes of survival, persistance, and, to put it delicately, the food chain in action. Some of the shots, especially that of a particular bobcat, make one wonder if a little bit of help was arranged to create some of the scenes but it's still a very humorous sequence. Typically, for a Disney production, much of the movie is instructive and informative. Also typical for Disney, the movie will appeal to all ages. Watching "The Living Desert" is certainly time well spent.

A Wonder not on DVD
Sometimes I love Disney, sometimes I wonder if they sit on their brains. This is one of the finest movie documentaries they ever produced and yet here it is 2006 well beyond when they started making DVDs and it is not on DVD. Do you see something wrong with that picture as I do? I saw this as a kid on the Wonderful World of Disney and I loved it. I was entertained and educated at the same time. The best way for kids to learn. Unfortunately I have not seen it since. I imagine some of those that have the Disney channel may have caught it at some point if it was televised again. I buy all the movies they made and ran on their TV series back in the 1960s, I can only hope they realize this classic should be put on DVD as well. If you get a chance to watch it on VHS or TV be sure to catch it. As old as it is it still very entertaining and informative.

Addendum: They finally released this with other specials from the Wonderful World of Disney. There are four volumes in the Walt Disney Legacy Collection. This is on Volume Two.

Living Desert Review by James Marchese
Walt Disney's Living Desert is the finest desert nature footage ever produced--the standard. Released in 1953 in full color it took 3 years to make. It has many fine points including a 2:25 breathtaking sequence in which a large female wasp subdues and paralyzes a tarantula with her stinger. Beautiful botanical time lapse photography is also featured. The Best Documentary Oscar was created for The Living Desert and it was the first recipient of the award. What more can I say---everyone young and old should have the opportunity to see this film.

Every library needs Living Desert
Living Desert is the introduction to ecology that every child needs to see. It combines extraordinary footage with entertaining music and intelligent commentary, and probably was responsible for millions of Americans learning to look beyond the obvious barren view of our natural resources. So why isn't a copy of this tape in every public library branch in the country? Why not ask your local library if it wants a copy, and make a charitable (and tax-deductible) contribution to our national common body of knowledge? This is the grand-daddy of nature films.

one of DISNEYS best
i first saw this when it came out, & thought it brilliant that is why i have bought it.of all disneys works next to this is Snow White, again i saw this when it first came out,& it is a pity they have not come(to me anyway) anywhere near making anything as good. the Living Desert I would say to anyone if u have not seen it, then you are missing a lot,not only for the music, but the antics as well.