Throughout its long and colorful history, Walt Disney Studios has produced scores of films designed to educate moviegoers as well as entertain them. These productions range from the True-Life Adventures nature documentaries and such depictions of cutting-edge technology as Man in Space and Our Friend the Atom, to wartime propaganda shorts (Education for Death), public-health films (VD Attack Plan) and coverage of exotic cultures (The Ama Girls, Blue Men of Morocco). Each of the essays in this volume focuses on a different type of Disney "edutainment" film. Together they provide the first comprehensive look at Walt Disney's ongoing mission to inform and enlighten his worldwide audience.
Greetings, space rangers! Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear and the playthings that inhabit Andy's bedroom will change your definition of "educational toys" as they make light work of some fairly advanced learning material. Andy is gone, and Buzz takes it upon himself to rally the toys for some teaching and fun. "Are you ready to exercise your romping skills?" he asks, gesturing grandly across the bedroom. Nine activities provide a full curriculum of early-learning challenges: math (including fractions), music, geography, spelling, reading, and telling time.
Disney Educational - Bill Nye The Science Guy - Cells
In Bill Nye the Science Guy: Cells, the Science Guy takes a close look at cells, and explains the difference between dog cells and people cells. Students are taught the basics about DNA, and will be very aware of cell facts through demonstrations and wacky graphics that are geared toward their sensitivities. Good jokes, bad jokes, strange camera angles, and eminently doable experiments help to reinforce the instruction in these programs, which are also popular with adults.
A deluxe novelization of the Walt Disney Studios film Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie.
This visually dazzling live action film explores the origins of one of the most iconic Disney villains: Maleficent, the infamous fairy who curses Princess Aurora in Disney's animated classic Sleeping Beauty. This "origin" story is told from Maleficent's perspective, intersecting with the classic in both familiar and unexpected ways.
