Disney+ viewers baffled by ‘weird’ 1970s adverts on streaming service
Viewers have speculated the adverts were inadvertently ripped from an old VHS recording
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Some overseas Disney+ viewers have noticed bizarre advertisements from the 1970s that somehow made their way onto the streaming service.
An hour-long programme from 1977 entitled The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World was discovered in the Disney+ catalogue by artist and former Nine Inch Nails collaborator Rob Sheridan.
The special contains interstitial advertisements for products such as Shake n’ Bake, and the programme itself appears to be a glorified advertisement for the famous Disney theme park.
Sheridan wrote on Twitter: “If you have Disney+, search for The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World TV special from 1977, which appears to have accidentally been digitised from a VHS TV recording, complete with analog glitches and all the original weird Seventies TV commercials.
He added: “I wish all archival TV streaming content up through the 90s was presented with the original commercials and badly dubbed from VHS, it’s such a more authentic cultural preservation.”
Others replied to Sheridan’s tweet, expressing bemusement with the “weird” advertisements.
Quite why the programme (and vintage advertisements) made it onto the streaming service has not been officially explained, so Sheridan’s explanation seems plausible.
The quality of the video of The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World is lacking, and shows signs of coming from an old tape recording.
However, it’s possible that the vintage advertisements were deliberately included by Disney for their nostalgia appeal.
The special does not appear to be currently available to stream as part of Disney+’s UK catalogue.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments