The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City: Part 1 (18 Oct. 1970)
"Disneyland" The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City: Part 1 (original title)

Mayor Philbrick is trying to help Maggie Hargrove push through a proposed art museum...which will be built where the zoo currently exists. To help the zoo fail, Philbrick assigns Mitch ... See full summary »

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers:

Charles A. Goodrum (novel), Joseph L. McEveety

Stars:

Hal Holbrook, Joe Flynn, Cecil Kellaway

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Hal Holbrook	...	Mitch Collins
Joe Flynn	...	Major Philbrick
Cecil Kellaway	...	Old Al Casey
Wally Cox	...	Becker
Mary LaRoche	...	Nancy Collins
Michael-James Wixted	...	Noah Collins
Anne Seymour	...	Maggie Hargrove
Michael McGreevey	...	Ralph
Christina Anderson	...	Jen Collins
Annie McEveety	...	Rosemary
Penny Marshall	...	Mayor's Secretary
George N. Neise	...	Councilman Thompson
Ian Wolfe	...	Rev. Hodgins
Harriet E. MacGibbon	...	Mrs. Westerfield
Bill Zuckert	...	Policeman

Storyline

Mayor Philbrick is trying to help Maggie Hargrove push through a proposed art museum...which will be built where the zoo currently exists. To help the zoo fail, Philbrick assigns Mitch Collins, an accountant, to run the zoo. But contrary to expectations, Mitch propelled by his son Noah's enthusiasm, turns the zoo around and with the help of Morgan City's children, he just may save it from the mayor's plans.

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Plot Keywords:

accountant | children | family relationships | father son relationship | based on novel

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | Family | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1970 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording) Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Good, clean fun - an icon of 70's innocence.

A fun, wonderful icon of the early 70's and the small-town charm reflected in so many Disney movies of the era. There will never be any awards for these charmers and no critical acclaim, as they are probably considered fodder for kiddies, but like other such films of the genre ("That Darn Cat", "Snowball Express", "The Boatniks", "Superdad", etc.) they are loaded with a slew of recognizable faces (in this case Hal Holbrook, Joe Flynn, Wally Cox...even an uncredited small part from The Partridge Family's Danny Bonaduce). Michael-James Wixted is charming with his convincing innocence and cross-reference accent, while Flynn and Cox play the kind of characters they usually do in these types of films - all adding up to silly fun.

This particular film was one of those NBC "Wonderful World Of Disney" Sunday night TV movies that came and went and are suddenly available to be seen on The Disney Channel, so take a no-brainer break and watch this one with (or without) the kids.