Thursday, March 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
AT LAST, there is a return to old values on network television.
"The Wonderful World of Disney" returns to Sunday nights this fall on ABC.
There probably isn't a baby boomer anywhere in American who doesn't remember hunkering down in front of the humongous color console to to watch Walt Disney himself introduce such classics as "Old Yeller" (1957) and "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1961), a film that popularized the concept of flying rubber -- otherwise known as flubber.
Over the years, the title changed from "Walt Disney Presents" to "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" to "The Wonderful World of Disney."
But the format was always the same: The daily routine in a loving household is temporarily disrupted by the antics of the ill-tempered mutt named Old Yeller or the supernatural cat named Thomasina or the rambunctious seal named Sammy.
At first, the children try to hide their new pet, but the frivolous critter escapes, makes his way into town and proceeds to wreak havoc in old Mr. Hardtack's hardware store.
Then, after the paterfamilias orders that offending, four-legged (or two-flippered) friend banished from the household forever, causing the children to wail like banshees, the animal-in-question then manages to save the entire town from a flood, fire or other such catastrophe.
The film usually ends with a very colorful and lively Disney-esque parade featuring the hero animal along with the again-happy family on the centerpiece float. The parade usually ends in the middle of town, where old Mr. Hardtack promises to reward the animal with a lifetime supply of pet food.
ABC is not saying anything about the fall format of the revitalized "Wonderful World of Disney," but my sources tell me the plots will be modernized a little bit to reflect societal trends in the '90s.
Such as:
* "Swing the Blade," a poignant film about Chad and Jonas, two young Amish brothers who are uprooted by their family and moved from western Pennsylvania to East Los Angeles when their father is offered a job as the city's new police chief.
The boys, who had spent summers slaughtering sheep on the family farm, impress street gangs with their knife-wielding skills and are recruited. When the boys are arrested, Dad's job is in jeopardy, but the boys finally save the day by cleaning up the LA gang scene. The film ends with a multicultural parade.
* "The Gun in Betty Sue's Handbag," about the trials and travails of a blond seventh-grader who gets in big trouble when her prankish little brother slips mom's handgun into her purse. Betty Sue is expelled when she sets off the school metal detectors.
During a hearing before the school trustees, the she saves the day by grabbing the gun from the evidence table and stopping an unregistered sex offender who has been prowling school grounds. The film ends with a parade sanctioned by the National Rifle Association.
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