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Mars and Beyond


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MARS AND BEYOND (EXCERPT) (1957)
Technique: Traditional 2D Animation and Experimental Photography
Country: USA
"Although scientific evidence seems to indicate that Mars is a cold, desolate world, many scientists today speculate on what the planet might be like if conditions were somewhat different..." Directed by legendary Disney animator Ward Kimball, this excerpt from Mars and Beyond is a wild and beautiful tour-de-force of surreal animation and startingly imaginative alien life.

In the late 1950s, Walt Disney gave Ward Kimball the task of producing and directing a series of "science-factual" color shorts about space for the "Disneyland" television series. The resulting films were widely credited with sparking public interest in America's space program. The first episode, Man in Space, a 33-minute short that combined animation and live action, aired March 9, 1955, and was watched by an estimated 42 million people. It was followed by the 20-minute Tomorrow the Moon on December 28, 1955 and the 30-minute Mars and Beyond on December 4, 1957 (shortly after Sputnik I). Mars and Beyond was released theatrically in 1957 and has not been seen on the big screen since.

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Directed by Ward Kimball
Produced by Walt Disney
Technical Advisers: E.C. Slipher, Ernst Stulinger, and Wernher von Braun


Official Site: history.msfc.nasa.gov

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