Appearing as Himself

Broadcast in 10 December 1994 on the ABC television network.

This two-hour retrospective, introduced by Michael Eisner and hosted by Kirstie Alley, featured a behind-the-scenes look at Disney Studios, Disneyland, and Disney World, with interviews and commentary by a multitude of current and former Disney stars.

James MacArthur was featured in the segment covering Kidnapped and Swiss Family Robinson. Following is a transcript of that portion of the program:

Kirstie Alley: Disney was drawn to the greatest adventure stories in world literature. In a Robert Louis Stevenson tale of high seas adventure, the studio explored a classic childhood fear: being kidnapped.

<scene of David realizing he’s being kidnapped>

James MacArthur: Walt always seemed to see things through the eyes of a young person. I mean, he was a very smart man, but he had this wonderful gift of retaining the quality of youth, and being able to relate to young people.

<scene of David admitting to Alan Breck that’s he afraid before a battle scene from Kidnapped>

James MacArthur: Fear is nothing to be ashamed of -- it’s just how you handle it. And I think Walt ... again, he knew from his perspective. He knew that a young person who can admit that he’s afraid has strength.

Kirtie Alley: Disney’s most popular adventure of all put a family of castaways on an island full of pirates and wild animals. Back in the 60s, millions of kids dreamed of being shipwrecked with Swiss Family Robinson.

<scene of shipwreck from Swiss Family Robinson>

James MacArthur: In Swiss Family Robinson, the ostrich race was wonderful. I mean, we had the ostrich, the elephant, the donkey. Talk about a fun day of filming. Flying every which way, I’m riding along, giggling away because I’m getting ahead of everybody. And all of a sudden, the donkey stopped, and I did this flip. Well, that wasn’t in the script, but it wound up in the picture. And it’s still there to this day.

<scene of ostrich race from Swiss Family Robinson>

James MacArthur: It was a glorious time.