Disneyland Showtime

I was first introduced to the Osmond Brothers in this movie, and 37 years later, I'm still a fan. I suspect few of you saw it. When I met Merrill Osmond a few years ago, I told him, I liked his performance, and he was surprised someone still remembered the movie! The story is pretty simple, the boys go to Disneyland to sing and want to visit the haunted mansion, which was new at the time. Donny gets lost, Jay goes to look for him, and gets lost also. Will the boys get back in time for the performance? The pictures costars EJ Peaker, whom I understand was popular in the sixties, but I had never heard of her. Kurt Russell appears as the Disney Employee, who is supposed to get the Osmonds to the show on time. This is vintage Disney, squeaky clean, and quaint. It features several good songs by the boys and Miss Peaker. My favorite is when they where riding on the double decker bus down main street, and singing Down On The Corner. I don't know where you would find a copy of this movie, but I'd sure like to see it again.

Not better off, financially, perhaps or any other number of adverbs but if you watch this episode, you can't miss it. It's wholesome. Clean. Fun, Patriotic, even. I was eight years old when this aired and yes, I watched it THEN (probably for Donny) but we DID WATCH Disney EVERY Sunday evening. It sickens me to see what Disney has become. Yes, we were better off THEN in SO MANY WAYS.

I grew up watching Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color in the 60's and will always remember certain episodes with fondness. I've seen "Disneyland Showtime" two or three times on cable reruns and love it's tour of the park and storyline,featuring The Osmond Brothers,Kurt Russell and EJ Peaker. It's typical Disney innocent fun and worth watching over and over just to see Kurt Russell sing "Sugar Sugar". The Osmond Brothers were popular when this was made and sing a few songs that were typical of their pop style. I barely remember EJ Peaker but she also sings with them. The tour of Disneyland is the main theme of this episode and it's a job well done. It brings back memories of my youth with it's fashions and nostalgic look at the early 70's. There are a few character actors involved in the storyline that make you think,"I remember that guy"! The world has changed but Disney's "Wonderful World of Color" was always a good source of fun and education for the youth of America. I was lucky to grow up in this age of innocence and wish that I could go back to see it all again. I'll always be able to in my mind and thank the Disney studios for providing families with such wonderful entertainment. I'd love to own this episode!