Zorro, premiered on ABC in 1957, and was a huge production. Each episode cost $80,000, at a time when TV show budgets hovered around $15,000. Walt Disney was directly involved in the development of the series, putting his best brains to work on Zorro. Although it only lasted three seasons, Zorro was a huge success, garnering great ratings and generally sizable profits from merchandising.
Walt Disney's great production and good taste explain why this Zorro series has continued to captivate generations for seventy years. In many parts of the world, Zorro was still shown in the early 2000s on free-to-air television. Zorro is a perfect blend of comedy, adventure and suspense for all ages.
Being a weekly show from the 1950s, obviously not everything on the show has aged that well. Some of Zorro's escape scenes are exciting, others a little lazy. Sargento Garcia is usually very funny and steals the show, but sometimes he overdoes the humor and becomes cartoonish. The way Don Diego talks to all the villains, without arousing suspicion, could be better worked on. Perhaps with more eavesdropping and less direct interaction between characters. Sometimes the series sacrifices script development for adventure and comedy.
Despite minor flaws, Disney's Zorro is a timeless classic. The reconstruction of 19th century Los Angeles and Monterey, sets, costumes, is fascinating. The stories remain compelling thanks to the consistent pace and believable script. The 30-minute duration of each episode made it easy to follow. Many of the episodes involve greed, ambitions and political conspiracies, which could occur anywhere. The political plotlines favored Disney's Zorro's sense of adventure, unlike other Zorro series that focused on romance. Zorro doesn't have thousands of gadgets or an abnormal iq, just a cape and a sword, against poorly prepared police in a 19th century colony. The fencing sequences are very well choreographed and the cast is excellent. Especially Guy Williams as Zorro, Gene Sheldon as Bernardo and Henry Calvin as Sargento Garcia. They all somehow made their way into popular culture.
Disney's Zorro remains the best adaptation of the masked hero and best swordsman series of all time. It's an extremely entertaining show, even in its weakest episodes.
An unmissable series for those who enjoy the genre.
Walt Disney's great production and good taste explain why this Zorro series has continued to captivate generations for seventy years. In many parts of the world, Zorro was still shown in the early 2000s on free-to-air television. Zorro is a perfect blend of comedy, adventure and suspense for all ages.
Being a weekly show from the 1950s, obviously not everything on the show has aged that well. Some of Zorro's escape scenes are exciting, others a little lazy. Sargento Garcia is usually very funny and steals the show, but sometimes he overdoes the humor and becomes cartoonish. The way Don Diego talks to all the villains, without arousing suspicion, could be better worked on. Perhaps with more eavesdropping and less direct interaction between characters. Sometimes the series sacrifices script development for adventure and comedy.
Despite minor flaws, Disney's Zorro is a timeless classic. The reconstruction of 19th century Los Angeles and Monterey, sets, costumes, is fascinating. The stories remain compelling thanks to the consistent pace and believable script. The 30-minute duration of each episode made it easy to follow. Many of the episodes involve greed, ambitions and political conspiracies, which could occur anywhere. The political plotlines favored Disney's Zorro's sense of adventure, unlike other Zorro series that focused on romance. Zorro doesn't have thousands of gadgets or an abnormal iq, just a cape and a sword, against poorly prepared police in a 19th century colony. The fencing sequences are very well choreographed and the cast is excellent. Especially Guy Williams as Zorro, Gene Sheldon as Bernardo and Henry Calvin as Sargento Garcia. They all somehow made their way into popular culture.
Disney's Zorro remains the best adaptation of the masked hero and best swordsman series of all time. It's an extremely entertaining show, even in its weakest episodes.
An unmissable series for those who enjoy the genre.