Talk:A Whale of a Tale/@comment-27490497-20151228115728

Disney Studios treatment of 'Whale of a Tale' composer Al Hoffman and lyricist Norman Gimble is one of the shameful episodes of the studio's history.

When 20,000 LEAGUES came out in 1954, a mistake was made in the movie's Opening Credits - they left out the names of both 'Whale of a Tale' composer Al Hoffman and lyricist Norman Gimble. At that time in film history - It was standard practice to give credit to both a song's composer & lyricist in a movie's opening credits. This was more than just a meer oversight -- the melody of the song was a major component of the picture - it was used by the movie's soundtrack composer Paul J. Smith (as 'Ned's theme') 19 times during the film. Both men protested early on in the release of the film - to the Disney Studio but to no avail; the picture's credits were not revised.

Hoffman and Gimble were told by the studio that in future releases of the movie, the oversight would be corrected. Nine years later in 1963, Leagues was given a major re-release and still - the credits still not revised to add their names. Al Hoffman complained publicly this time in an interview that appeared in The Hollywood Reporter; he said that Disney had treated he and his partner poorly and the experience was something that still angered both men throughout the passing years.

20,000 Leagues has subsequently been released in different formats: VHS video, Laserdisc and Special Edition DVD, plus has gone through two Restorations/Remasterings - and none of these has fixed the credits of the film. To this day, both men's credits have yet to appear on 20,000 Leagues.