I just discovered that Disney had a “movie universe” decades before the MCU and I’m blown away

Back when Nick Fury showed up at the end of the original Iron Man and the Avenger Initiative was revealed, something incredible was born. Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe may not be quite at the peak it is heading towards Avengers: Infinity War And Endgameit’s still the biggest film franchise of all time. The concept of a cinematic universe emerged, which numerous studios have since tried to recreate, mostly without the same success.

And yet it turns out that decades earlier, Disney had, perhaps unintentionally, created its own “movie universe” by connecting three Disney franchises through both settings and characters. I thought I knew Disney, but this story is new to me.

The absent-minded professor has a “cinematic universe”

I was recently sent a copy of the new book Disney In Beween by Stephen Anderson. The book is a chronicle of the period between the death of Walt Disney and just before the beginning of the era known as the Disney Renaissance. It was a time of great upheaval and questionable film quality in the traditional studio. While reading it, I learned more than a little about some Disney films I had never seen, and even more about some I hadn’t seen in decades.

It all goes back to the 1961 film The absent-minded professor starring Fred MacMurray, which tells the story of a college professor who invents a flying rubber object he calls Flubber. The film was a huge success in 1961 and led to a (at the time) rare Disney sequel in 1963 Son of Flubber.

The first connection between Disney franchises would come six years later Son of Flubber. Disney would publish The computer was wearing tennis shoes. In the film, young Kurt Russell plays a college student who is electrocuted while repairing a computer and gains computer-like memory. Russell’s character, Dexter Riley, is a student at Medfield College, the same school where Fred MacMurray’s character is a teacher The absent-minded professor.

The computer was wearing tennis shoes would get two sequels of its own, Now you see me, now you don’tin which Dexter Riley creates an invisibility formula, And The strongest man in the worldwhere Riley creates breakfast cereal that grants (temporary) superhuman strength. So we’re now up to five films set in the same universe.

Herbie the love bug is also part of the same universe

In the same year The computer was wearing tennis shoes came to theaters, Disney also released an even bigger hit. The love bugthe first film about the sentient Volkswagen named Herbie, was the second highest-grossing film of the year. But it would have no direct connection to other Disney films A The connection would come later via what defines a modern film universe: the character crossover.

In 1974, Disney released the sequel Herbie is driving again. This film featured a villain named Alonzo Hawk, played by Keenan Wynn. The same actor and the same character also starred in both roles Absent-minded professor Films.

Since the 2005 film Herbie: Fully loaded starring Lindsay Lohan and the often forgotten TV movie The love bug starring Bruce Campbell (yes, that was a real thing) are considered conical continuations of the Herbie series, i.e. all six Herbie Films are part of the same universe, and the total number of films set in the AMPCU (Absent Minded Professor Cinematic Universe) is at least 11.

Although I have seen most, if not all, of these films, it has been decades since I have seen them. I certainly never noticed the connection between them, but I kind of like that Disney, either through the intent of connecting the films or, more likely, the simplicity that comes with reusing perfectly good names, technically created a cinematic universe.

If these films were being remade today, and let’s face it, they’re all up for Disney+ original films now, such connections would have been absolutely intentional. Who knows, if these remakes actually happen, Disney might do something fun with the idea and actually let the projects cross over more directly. Thanks to the MCU, we know such an idea could work.

If you want to experience the AMPCU yourself, it is mostly possible. If you have a Disney+ subscription, Son of Flubber And Now you see me, now you don’t are currently not available in the US, only two other older Disney content are still missing from Disney+, but the rest of the films I mentioned are available to watch. So have fun!

The absent-minded professor has a “cinematic universe”

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