Walt Disney Presents: Niok (1959)

Synopsis
This episode of Walt Disney Presents pays homage to the illustations of artist Heinrich Kley, who specialized in pictures of elephants. Host Walt Disney explains that it was Kley's genius that inspired such animated sequences as the "Dance of the Hours" segment (with its ballet-dancing pachyderms) in the 1940 animated feature Fantasia and the "Pink Elephants on Parade" number in 1941's Dumbo. The remainder of the episode consists of Niok, a "People and Places" short subject originally released theatrically in 1957. Filmed in the jungles of Cambodia, this segment details the relationship between Chinese village boy Ayot Van Koen and his beloved pet, a 6-month-old Indian elephant named Niok. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide