Donald in Mathmagic Land Premieres
As I have stated before, A commonly-held misconception is that EPCOT Center was conceived only after the impracticalities of a vast corporately-controlled city were discovered and therefore the Center was created, not as the culmination of Walt's dream but as compensation for it. In fact, the origins of EPCOT Center not only run concurrently to the community of tomorrow but could also be argued vastly precedes it.
While its conception could be traced back to FANTASIA in 1940, The Embryo of EPCOT Center is most certainly 1959’s Donald in Mathmagic Land.
There are simply not enough superlatives things to say about this seminal short subject. Directed by Hamilton Luske. Donald Duck explores Mathmagic Land — a fantasy land composed of such things as square root trees and a stream running with numbers where The Spirit of Adventure, voiced by incomparable Paul Frees, teaches him the many uses of mathematics in art, architecture, and Nature as well as chess and sports such as football.
Among its many distinctive qualities, Mathmagic Land features highly imaginative Art Direction by Stan Jolley, styled by none other than John Hench himself and executed (among others) by later Imagineer Collin Campbell. Of particular interest is the mathematical forest Donald is found hunting in at the start of the film which features number-shaped trees with literal square roots, streams of digits and atomic flowers all with a bold use of analogous color schemes that was decades a head of its time.
And one simply cannot forget the score composed by (among many other things) future EPCOT Center music director, Buddy Baker which is both subtle and memorable at the same time.
Donald in Mathmagic Land has never received enough praise for its influence on generations of individuals that either sought a career in the sciences or (at the very least) developed a deep appreciation for them. Moreover, this featurette has become the textbook example of the possibility for the Arts, Sciences, and Education to work together for mutual advantage.
The inside of Donald’s mind… and, if we’re being honest, most of ours too.
Watch the entire film upscaled by A.I. to 2K below!
On a personal note, Pythagoras’ Pentagram and the Golden Spiral in the Big Bang sequence of EPCOT | Recentered are direct references to "Donald in Mathmagic Land”!
But, wait there’s more!
E82 Locals Supporters can continue the Mathmagical journey by exploring some never before seen concepts that would have taken the film beyond the 3rd dimension!
