- Medfield College
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Medfield College is a fictitious university used as the setting for several films by The Walt Disney Company. Among them are the two 'Professor Brainard' movies, The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963); and the 'Dexter Riley' trilogy: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975); as well as the The Absent-Minded Professor remake, Flubber (1997).
The town of Medfield, the location for Medfield College, was the setting for another Disney film, The Shaggy D.A. (1976).
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Inspiration
Medfield College is named after the town of Medfield, Massachusetts. According to town historians, friends of Walt Disney lived there, and Disney would visit them on occasion, landing his plane on a private airstrip on their property. Portions of the airstrip are still present today. The cornerstone of Medfield Middle School, formerly Medfield High School, has a quote from Walt Disney inscribed on it: "Our greatest natural resource is in the minds of our children."
Fight Song
The fight song of Medfield College, composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, is heard during the beginning credit sequence of The Absent-Minded Professor.
Filming locations
The Medfield College scenes in both The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber were filmed on the campus of Pomona College in Claremont, California.[1] Some of the football field scenes in Son of Flubber were filmed at Burbank High School, as evidenced by a banner reading Burbank High School seen in the background.
The Medfield College scenes in the three above-mentioned Dexter Riley films were filmed on the Disney Studios backlot in Burbank, California.
Some Medfield College scenes in the 1997 Flubber remake were shot at San Jose State University.
Similar institutions
Similar to Medfield is Midvale College, a fictitious university used as the setting for the two 'Merlin Jones' films by Walt Disney: The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, (1964) and its sequel, The Monkey's Uncle (1965).[2] Merrivale College is the name of the fictitious university that appears in the 1973 Disney film, The World's Greatest Athlete.[3]
References
- ^ Balchunas, Michael Pomona College Magazine, "The Duke on the Quad and other Hollywood tales on the Pomona College campus," Spring 2005.
- ^ Turner Classic Movies "Overview for The Monkey's Uncle"
- ^ The New York Times, February 5, 1973 Screen: 'Greatest Athlete': Disney College Farce Is at the Music Hall By A. H. Weiler "The athletes of Merrivale College depicted here can't avoid tripping over their own feet, which, for no convincing reason, drives our coach to go on an African safari."
External links
- Pomona College Magazine: The Great Sagehen Sports Quiz
- 2719 Hyperion: Addressing the Many Worlds of Disney Entertainment Wednesday, March 31, 2010 "Freeze Frame: Medfield College = The Disney Studios"
Categories:- Fictional universities and colleges
- Medfield College films
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