I’ve been Disney fan since I donned a Davy Crockett buckskin jacket and coonskin cap when I was 3 years old, and I’ve been a fan of The Beatles since February, 1964.
It’s amazing to me, though, the number of times those two interests have crossed paths, starting out with those three nights when the Fabs first appeared on CBS’ “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Those also were the same nights that “The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh,” starring Patrick McGoohan, aired on “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” on NBC.
It took an awful lot of channel-switching, but I managed to catch most of the “Scarecrow” (which ultimately became one of my favorite Disney productions ever), while not missing any of The Beatles’ performances for Sullivan.
Through the years, there were other occasions when my interests in Disney and The Beatles came together again. After we’d subscribed to the Disney Channel (back when it was a premium offering) so that our son could see some of the classic productions from the House of Mouse, I was thrilled to find the channel using The Beatles in its effort to program for boomers at night.
That included a 1992 documentary on the making of The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” album and even a “Going Home” special featuring Ringo Starr taking one of his sons on a tour of his old haunts in Liverpool.
And, more recently, after our daughter signed us up for the Disney+ streaming service, that’s where we were able to view Sir Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles Get Back,” the long-awaited documentary assembled from the many hours of footage shot during the recording of the band’s “Let It Be” album.
And, since then, Disney+ has presented “If These Walls Could Sing,” an excellent documentary about Abbey Road Studios directed by Mary McCartney (daughter of Sir Paul), and it was on that same streaming service that I recently watched “Now and Then — The Last Beatles Song,” a documentary short about the making of the Fabs’ current hit single.
Watching my favorite band, about whom I’ve published Beatlefan magazine for 45 years, on a channel carrying the name of the movie studio I’ve followed since I was 3-years-old somehow seems just … perfect.
If you’d like to read more about my lifelong Disney fandom — and how a love of the studio’s creations now is taking hold of a third generation of my family — check out my “Growing Up Disney” piece by clicking here.
