Wednesdays with Walt

Music has always had a prominent part in all of our products from the early cartoon days. I have had no formal musical training. Credit for the memorable songs and scores must, of course, go to the brilliant composers and musicians who have been associated with me through the years. – Walt Disney

Watching More Disney Documentaries

This weekend I watched The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story, a documentary about one of the most famous and prolific songwriting teams, Bob and Dick Sherman, who were responsible not only for dozens of Disney hits but for several non-Disney songs as well. If you've been to Walt Disney World or seen a classic Disney movie, you've probably heard a Sherman brothers tune. Here's a sampling of some of their most famous work:

• Film scores for Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Aristocats, Snoopy Come Home, and many others.


• Billboard chart-topping hits such as "Tall Paul", "You're Sixteen", and "Let's Get Together."


• The score of the Broadway smash Overe Here!, which was the largest-grossing orignal Broadway musical of 1974.


• Songs for numerous Disney Parks attractions, including "It's a Small World", "In the Tiki Room", and "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" (Carousel of Progress).

The Boys,which debuted in 2009, features interviews with dozens of famous faces from film and music, including Roy E. Disney, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Randy Newman, John Williams, and Angela Landsbury. The complicated and often strained relationship of these two musical genius brothers is on full display here, courtesy of their sons Gregory Sherman and Jeffrey Sherman--cousins who rarely had the opportunity to play together as children, despite the fact that they lived only a few miles from each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie...perhaps more than any of the Disney documentaries I have previously watched. Perhaps it's because I'm a music person at heart. Or maybe it's because of all the famous faces who shared their insight. But I think it's mostly because their story is just so compelling--the complexity...their personality differences...the way that, even after years of being more or less estranged, the brothers greeted each other as if nothing had transpired between them. Fascinating!

In case you're wondering, Bob Sherman now lives in London...he moved there several years ago after the death of his wife. But Dick Sherman maintains his close ties to Disney, and was a featured performer at the Destination D event at Disney World this past weekend.

I give The Boys two thumbs way up and encourage you to check it out when you have a chance.