‘The Parent Trap‘: Caught in the Act Featurette: A delightful, fun- and fact-filled ‘making of’ documentary featuring new interviews with, as well as Mills and Swift, the film’s stars Maureen O’Hara and Joanna Barnes.

Swift states that he “had no idea how to shoot twins when I came on this show” … and neither did the special effects team. They were scared that the effects wouldn’t work, but as his daughter Leslie explains, Ub Iwerks solved the problem by experimenting with a new film technique then called ‘sodium vapor’, now known as blue/green screen. Disney Legend Bob Broughton, also on the Parent Trap effects team, comments that after the initial success of Iwerks’ work, the amount of traveling matte and split screen shots for the film was doubled.

A “brilliantly empowering movie for children” according to Mills, the original Erich Kastner novelette that was the basis for The Parent Trap was brought to Walt’s attention by Bill Dover of the Studio story department. It was given to Swift as a vehicle for rising Disney favorite Mills. He adapted the story, changing the setting from Germany to America, and wisely avoiding delving to deeply into the ‘divorce/splitting up the children without telling them’ back-story.

Music Magic: The Sherman Brothers Featurette: Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman discuss their first major feature for Disney, The Parent Trap. They were hired to write the film’s title song, but the preferred title, His and Hers, was already taken by Paramount. Thus begun a string of songs with such titles as “For Now, For Always”, “Petticoats and Bluejeans”, “Let’s Get Together” and “Whistlin’ at the Boys”. Walt loved the songs (all ended up either in the film or on the soundtrack album), but none was good enough as “the title of the picture”. Walt, finally having enough of it, settled on “The Parent Trap”, which became one of the Sherman’s most infectious songs.

Let’s Get Together Featurette: A music video of the Sherman Brothers’ song, which was a pop hit for unwitting singer Hayley Mills. Cute, but why not a Disney Twins! featurette, with Huey, Dewey and Louie, the Tweedles, Mickey Mouse in The Prince and the Pauper, Hot Lead and Cold Feet … ?

Lost Treasures: In Who’s the Twin?, meet Susan Henning-Schultz, the unknown star of The Parent Trap. She was Hayley Mills’ body double for the scenes that didn’t require special effects to Xerox the star. Henning was the same dress and shoe size as Hayley, and they bore such a striking resemblance to each other that even their own mothers got them confused. Naturally, the two became close friends during filming, and still keep in touch today. While you are watching the film, you can spot several instances when Henning’s face is clearly seen, something I never noticed before it was pointed out to me here. Although she signed away her rights to be billed in the final film, she has nothing but fond memories from the making of the film. In honor of her professionalism and dedication to the project, Walt Disney himself awarded her a ‘Duckstar’ (a Donald Duck-shaped Oscar, one of only three ever given) for the “Best Unseen Performance by an Actress”.

Galleries: Production Stills (includes on set blue screen shots and familiar photos, but of Hayley with her double), Production Art (Costumes (mostly Maggie) and Storyboards (of the campout sequence)), Biographies (of O’Hara, Keith, Mills, Barnes, grandpa Charles Ruggles and Swift), Advertising (Posters (“It’s a look-alike, ring-a-ding laff affair!”), Lobby Cards (a very battered-looking Brian Keith “caught in a merry marital mix-up!”), Merchandise (comic strips, sheet music, soundtrack albums), Documents (stationary, advertising art) and a Screenplay Excerpt (toggle back and forth between the script and the completed scene of “The Discovery”; note that the more obvious early inferences to the two being sisters were left unsaid in the final film.).

Production Gallery: Musical montage of (all black and white) production stills, set to a swingin’ instrumental of the title song.

Trailers and TV Spots: Includes an early teaser for The Parent Trap, touting Hayley Mills’ recent Oscar win for Pollyanna. “Meet the duplicate daughters who cause double trouble for their problem parents” when “Walt Disney springs … The Parent Trap!” in the original preview, which repeatedly uses the Hayleys’ “Surprise!” line and gives away almost the entire film.