Golden Oak Ranch
Encyclopedia
The Walt Disney Company
’s Golden Oak Ranch is a movie ranch
that serves as an interior and exterior filming location
. The ranch is off of Placerita Canyon Road in Canyon Country, California
, less than an hour north of Los Angeles
; its entrance is about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Placerita Canyon Road's intersection with
State Route 14
.
land grant. It was named in honor of Francisco Lopez, the man credited with discovering gold in California, years before the discovery that precipitated
the California Gold Rush
.
Walt Disney
bought the 315 acres (1.3 km²) ranch in 1959 for $300,000. Subsequent purchases of adjacent land grew the area of the ranch to 827 acres (3.3 km²).
In October 2009 Disney announced plan to construct a 12 stage production facility on 56 acres (226,624.2 m²) at the ranch. Expected to generate more than 3000 jobs during construction and more than 2800 permanent full and part time jobs, the facility is projected to contribute $533 million annually in economic activity. Construction is slated to begin in 2013.
, a popular segment of The Mickey Mouse Club
and parts of Zorro. The first movie shot at the ranch was Toby Tyler
. Most of the exterior scenes in Old Yeller
were filmed here. The town featured in Roots: The Next Generations
was also built on the Golden Oak Ranch. Segments of Pete's Dragon
were shot on this location as well, as were The Apple Dumpling Gang
, Treasure of Matecumbe, The Muppet Movie
, The Electric Horseman
, Little House on the Prairie
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and Colonel Sanders commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken. A covered bridge spans the man-made stream featured in Follow Me, Boys!
and episodes of Bonanza
and The Greatest American Hero
. The exterior house featured in the original 1961 film The Parent Trap was also shot on the ranch as was as the Peabody farm from the Universal film
Back to the Future
. It was also used for the filming of Alonzo Hawk
's dream sequence
in Herbie Rides Again
. In 1985, Big Top Pee-wee
was filmed here and part of Short Circuit
was filmed here as well. According to Phil Abraham
, parts of "The Hobo Code" (a first season episode of Mad Men
) were filmed here (specifically, the scenes of
Don Draper
's childhood).
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
’s Golden Oak Ranch is a movie ranch
Movie ranch
A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated to being used as a site for the creation and production of motion pictures, and television productions...
that serves as an interior and exterior filming location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
. The ranch is off of Placerita Canyon Road in Canyon Country, California
Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California
Canyon Country is a community and district within the town of Santa Clarita, located in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States....
, less than an hour north of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
; its entrance is about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Placerita Canyon Road's intersection with
State Route 14California State Route 14
State Route 14 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, largely in the Mojave Desert. The southern portion of the highway is signed as the Antelope Valley Freeway. The route connects Interstate 5, or Golden State Freeway, near Santa Clarita and with U.S. Route 395 near...
.
History
The ranch is on land that was part of the Rancho San FranciscoRancho San Francisco
Rancho San Francisco was a land grant in present day northwestern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, California. It was of by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Antonio del Valle, a Spanish army officer, in recognition for his service to the state of Alta California...
land grant. It was named in honor of Francisco Lopez, the man credited with discovering gold in California, years before the discovery that precipitated
Sutter's Mill
Sutter's Mill was a sawmill owned by 19th century pioneer John Sutter in partnership with James W. Marshall. It was located in Coloma, California, at the bank of the South Fork American River...
the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
.
Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
bought the 315 acres (1.3 km²) ranch in 1959 for $300,000. Subsequent purchases of adjacent land grew the area of the ranch to 827 acres (3.3 km²).
In October 2009 Disney announced plan to construct a 12 stage production facility on 56 acres (226,624.2 m²) at the ranch. Expected to generate more than 3000 jobs during construction and more than 2800 permanent full and part time jobs, the facility is projected to contribute $533 million annually in economic activity. Construction is slated to begin in 2013.
Examples of use
The ranch was used to film the episodes of Spin and MartySpin and Marty
Spin and Marty was a popular series of television shorts that aired as part of ABC's Mickey Mouse Club show of the mid-1950s produced by Walt Disney. There were three serials in all, set at the Triple R Ranch, a boys' western-style summer camp. The first series of 25 eleven-minute episodes,...
, a popular segment of The Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
and parts of Zorro. The first movie shot at the ranch was Toby Tyler
Toby Tyler
Toby Tyler is a Disney film released on January 21, 1960 by Buena Vista Distribution Company, based on the 1880 children's book Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus by James Otis Kaler....
. Most of the exterior scenes in Old Yeller
Old Yeller (1957 film)
Old Yeller is a 1957 Walt Disney Productions film starring Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire and Beverly Washburn, and directed by Robert Stevenson. It is about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. The story is based upon the 1956 Newbery Honor-winning book Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. Gipson...
were filmed here. The town featured in Roots: The Next Generations
Roots: The Next Generations
Roots: The Next Generations is a 1979 television miniseries that continues the story of the family of Alex Haley from the 1880s, and their life in Henning, Tennessee, to the 1960s, with Haley researching his family history and his travels to Africa to learn of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte...
was also built on the Golden Oak Ranch. Segments of Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical film from Walt Disney Productions and the first Disney film to be recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system...
were shot on this location as well, as were The Apple Dumpling Gang
The Apple Dumpling Gang (film)
The Apple Dumpling Gang is a 1975 Disney film about slick gambler Russel Donavan who is duped into taking care of a group of orphan children who eventually strike gold during the California Gold Rush....
, Treasure of Matecumbe, The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
, The Electric Horseman
The Electric Horseman
The Electric Horseman is a 1979 adventure and romance feature film starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda and directed by Sydney Pollack. It was the third time Redford and Fonda starred together in a feature film, having previously teamed on The Chase and Barefoot in the Park .-Plot:Sonny Steele ...
, Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 American action/comedy/horror film about a Valley girl cheerleader named Buffy who learns that it is her fate to hunt vampires. The original script for the film was written by Joss Whedon, who later created the darker and more acclaimed TV series of the same name...
and Colonel Sanders commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken. A covered bridge spans the man-made stream featured in Follow Me, Boys!
Follow Me, Boys!
Follow Me, Boys! is a 1966 family film released through Walt Disney Pictures, based on the book God and My Country by MacKinlay Kantor. It was the last production released before Walt Disney died of lung cancer...
and episodes of Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
and The Greatest American Hero
The Greatest American Hero
The Greatest American Hero is an American comedy-drama television series that aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour movie pilot on March 18, 1981...
. The exterior house featured in the original 1961 film The Parent Trap was also shot on the ranch as was as the Peabody farm from the Universal film
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
. It was also used for the filming of Alonzo Hawk
Alonzo Hawk
Alonzo Hawk is a recurring villain in three Walt Disney movies: The Absent-Minded Professor , Son of Flubber , and Herbie Rides Again . In the two earlier movies , his name is apparently Alonzo P...
's dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
in Herbie Rides Again
Herbie Rides Again
Herbie Rides Again is a 1974 comedy film. It is the sequel to The Love Bug, released six years earlier, and the second in a series of movies made by Walt Disney Productions starring an anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
. In 1985, Big Top Pee-wee
Big Top Pee-wee
Big Top Pee-wee is the 1988 American family comedy sequel to the 1985 film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, Penelope Ann Miller, Valeria Golino, and Kris Kristofferson. The original music score is composed by Danny Elfman. The film is marketed with the tagline...
was filmed here and part of Short Circuit
Short Circuit
Short Circuit is a 1986 comedy science fiction film starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg and directed by John Badham. Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton, and G. W...
was filmed here as well. According to Phil Abraham
Phil Abraham
Phil Abraham is an American film and television cinematographer and director. He worked on all six seasons of The Sopranos, initially as a camera operator, then as a cinematographer and eventually as an episodic director...
, parts of "The Hobo Code" (a first season episode of Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
) were filmed here (specifically, the scenes of
Don Draper
Don Draper
Donald "Don" Draper is a fictional character and the protagonist of AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by 2008 Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm. Until the third season finale, Draper was Creative Director of Manhattan advertising firm Sterling Cooper...
's childhood).
External links
- Disney's Golden Oak Ranch from the website of a former Disney employee and author of The Wonderful World of Disney Television (1997, ISBN 0786863595)
- Cinchset.com Panoramic views of the Golden Oak Ranch compiled from rare films and Walt Disney's, Adventures of Spin and Marty, 1955)