Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. 1966

Lt. Robin Crusoe USN is a 1966 comedy film released and scripted by Walt Disney. The film stars Dick Van Dyke as a U.S. Navy pilot who becomes a castaway on a tropical island. Some filming took place in San Diego, while a majority of the film was shot on Kauai, Hawaii.

The film was based on Daniel Defoe's classic novel Robinson Crusoe, an idea that Walt Disney came up with himself[citation needed]. This is the only film in which Disney received a writing credit.
While flying a routine mission for the U.S. Navy, an emergency causes Lieutenant Robin Crusoe to eject from his F-8 Crusader into the ocean. Crusoe drifts on the ocean in an emergency life raft for several days and nights until landing on an uninhabited island. Crusoe builds a shelter for himself, fashions new clothing out of available materials, and begins to scout the island, discovering an abandoned Japanese submarine. Scouring the submarine, Crusoe discovers an astrochimp named Floyd, played by Dinky.

Using tools and blueprints found in the submarine, Crusoe and Floyd construct a Japanese pavilion, a golf course, and a mail delivery system for sending bottles containing missives to his fiancee out to sea.

Soon after, Crusoe finds that the island is not entirely uninhabited when he encounters a beautiful island girl, whom he names Wednesday. Wednesday recounts that due her unwillingness to marry, her chieftain father, Tanamashu (Akim Tamiroff), plans to sacrifice her and her sisters to Kaboona, an immense effigy on the island with whom he pretends to communicate.

The day Tanamashu arrives to the island, Crusoe uses paraphernalia from the submarine to combat Tanamashu, culminating in the destruction of the Kaboona statue.

After the battle, Crusoe and Tanamashu make peace. But when Crusoe makes it known that he does not wish to marry Wednesday, he is forced to flee to avoid her wrath. Pursued by a mob of irate island women, Crusoe is spotted by a U.S. Navy helicopter and he and Floyd narrowly escape with their lives. Large crowds turn out for their arrival on an aircraft carrier deck, but Floyd steals all the limelight.
Cast

Dick Van Dyke as LT Robin Crusoe
Nancy Kwan as Wednesday
Akim Tamiroff as Tanamashu

Release

Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. premiered on June 29, 1966. Because the U.S. Navy cooperated in the film by allowing the producers to film on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, Walt Disney arranged the world premiere of the film to be shown on the ship to its crew as the only guests.

The film had its theatrical release on July 29, 1966. It was paired with the live-action short Run, Appaloosa, Run![6] Upon its initial release, critics gave mostly negative reviews of the film. However, because of Dick Van Dyke's popularity, the film proved to be a financial hit grossing over $22 million at the box office.It was re-released to theaters in 1974.

In 1986, the film saw its first home video release on VHS. On April 12, 2005, the film was
released on to DVD. There are currently no plans of the film being released onto blu-ray.

Directed by Byron Paul
Produced by Ron W. Miller
Bill Walsh
Walt Disney (uncredited)
Written by Walt Disney
Don DaGradi
Bill Walsh
Daniel Defoe (novel)
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Nancy Kwan
Music by Robert F. Brunner
Cinematography William E. Snyder
Editing by Cotton Warburton
Studio Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
Release date(s) July 29, 1966
Running time 110 min.
Country United States
Language English
Box office $22,565,634