Ever since I was born, my parents bottle-fed me Disney because they trusted Walt's company and its legacy.
Ahhh, the 70s, a wonderful time to be growing up before reaching one's teens and a lovely time to be a Disney-adoring child.
And, of course, while watching "The Wonderful World of Disney" every week and every single Disney movie that ever came to theatres, I also got to experience reruns of the original Mickey Mouse Club. And while I enjoyed that, I was even *MORE* enthralled by the NEW Mickey Mouse Club that premiered in 1977. And I was the only child I knew of who loved it. No one else my age seemed to be much interested in Disney, and all my peers were advancing much more quickly than I was (by contrast, I would remain a child-at-heart for the rest of my life).
I've read that this show is considered a "conspictuous failure", in the words of Leonard Maltin. I don't care. I loved it, and I loyally followed it after the reruns of the original MMC were stopped and enjoyed it all the more because I adored its funky disco soundtrack.
Does anybody else out there miss this show as much as I do? Did you all forget it? The cool songs? Like the ultra-cool new version of the theme that was so much fun? Or how "Surprise Day" was announced with Mickey's discovering a magic surprise box? Or when on "Let's Go Day" we got to watch a magic flying ship pick up the mouseketeers wherever they were to whisk them off on adventure? Or (my biggest favourite) the ones where we would see the mousketeers at Disneyland disembarking from the monorail space train while singing "Showtime", easily one of the catchiest and grooviest little tunes Disney has ever written for kids besides the "Mickey Mouse Disco" album?
WHAT? You forgot all THAT???
How DISLOYAL of you! ;)
Seriously, I think it's a genuine shame that this show didn't become a hit as its failure only put the emerging problems associated with kids-growing-up-too-quickly in proper perspective. "Disney" was the epitome of uncool back then, and you were mocked in grade school if you saw anything below a "PG" rating (one of the worst side effects of the new ratings system). But to those of us who remain faithful mouseketeers, it truly was a Disney "family" in its own way.
This series even had a special shown one night in which the gang got to travel to Walt Disney World for a big performance, and Nina ran off because she had felt unwanted, clutching her stuffed Winnie The Pooh to her chest (and before she was found, the REAL Winnie The Pooh comforted her). This special broadcast had felt like a *real* event, and I just... well, I just couldn't believe that nobody else I knew of was interested in it.
But I still love it. I even have its official soundtrack album and still play it on occasion, for Pete's sake! And maybe, juuust maybe, maybe The New Disney will relent and release its episodes on home video in some form or other.
Sure, just like Mickey is going to stop appearing in that Disneyland balloon man's bunch of balloons at the end of the "Showtime" day episodes.
And if this 1977 Mickey Mouse Club falls to the wayside in the old cherished Disney vaults, does it still make a sound for anyone today besides me?
Thunk.
A true "lost treasure" children's program.
Thunk.
