Disney starts off the vacation season with a few Goofy ideas

For parents and kids who don’t have the Disney Channel, despair not. Memorial Day will be your chance to catch up with an armload of classic Disney ‘toons and some features on a Disney-owned local channel.

KCAL, which airs “The Disney Afternoon” daily, will present a marathon of Disney flicks, including the feature films “The Black Hole” and “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad,” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Regular afternoon programming that follows includes four cartoons.

Work by the studio’s renowned “Nine Old Men,” who produced much of the classic animation from the ‘30s to the ‘60s, will be represented in the animated features and cartoons of Disney Day Off.

“Since kids will be home on the holiday, they have something to watch in traditionally non-kid viewing times,” says Randy Reiss, executive vice president of Walt Disney Studios. “Normally, if children are home then, there’s nothing for them to watch. This way, they’ll be entertained.

“They’re gentle stories with a humorous twist,” Reiss adds.

Included in “Disney Day Off” will be a series of vacation cartoons featuring Mickey, Donald and Goofy; Donald’s stints in the military; Chip ‘n Dale; “Tale Spin”; “Darkwing Duck” and “Goof Troop.”

“Disney Day Off” airs Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on KCAL. For ages 2 and up.

MORE FAMILY SHOWS

Race for Life: Africa’s Great Migration (Monday 8-9 p.m. ABC) will present one of the greatest spectacles of the natural world, the annual migration of a million-and-a-half wildebeest across the Serengeti Plains. The herd travels 500 miles south from Kenya’s Masai Mara to Tanzania and then back again. The film looks at the treacherous journey and the other animals that the wildebeest encounter. For ages 8 and up.

Just how far will a teen go to impress his parents? Will he jeopardize his health? CBS will rebroadcast CBS Schoolbreak Special’s “The Fourth Man” (Tuesday 3-4 p.m.), which looks at Joey, a small but bright 16-year-old (Peter Billingsley) who goes out for track hoping to catch the eye of his former football-star dad. When Joey’s track times aren’t improving as quickly as he’d like, he tries steroids. It’s not until he collapses on the field that his parents realize how far he is willing to go to please them. Adrienne Barbeau plays his mother and “Baywatch’s” Nicole Eggert is his girlfriend. For ages 10 and up.

Youngsters seem to have a preoccupation with movie monsters, and with all the special effects available today they certainly get to see their favorites in (the-delete) theaters and on television. Hollywood FX Masters’ “Feature Creature Effects” (Wednesday 8-8:30 p.m. The Learning Channel) looks at Hollywood’s greatest special effects and how the experts create the creatures and bring them to life. Stop-motion animation is examined in “The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad,” “The Clash of the Titans” and “Ghostbusters.” Animatronic animals are also (shown?) depicted. For ages 7 and up.

Disney Channel Discovery presents the feature film “White Wolves” (Saturday noon-1:30 p.m. Disney Channel) about a high school hiking club on a two-week adventure in the Cascade Mountains. When their teacher and leader is injured, it is up to the five students to take him to safety and find their way out. A mysterious white wolf aids them. Ami Dolenz stars. For ages 8 and up.