In
2011, international auction house Bonhams sold a rare 16mm print of a lost
silent-era Oswald The Lucky Rabbit cartoon, Hungry Hobos (1928). The buyer was
never disclosed at the time, but the Walt Disney Company has since obtained the
film, restored the print to pristine condition, and is ready to present it
again after an 85 year absence.
The
film will get its first truly public screening Saturday June 8th with a new
score composed and conducted by Mark Watters. It will be accompanying Buster
Keaton’s 1923 feature, Our Hospitality.
Oswald
The Lucky Rabbit was the star of Walt Disney’s cartoons for release through
Universal Pictures in 1927-28. Contact disputes with producer Charles Mintz led
a reluctant Disney to depart from Universal and Oswald, create Mickey Mouse…
and the rest is history.
In
2006, Robert Iger negotiated a deal with NBC/Universal, trading the services of
sportscaster Al Michaels for intellectual property rights to Disney’s Oswald.
The studio has since tracked down 14 of the original 26 Disney cartoons.
Thirteen of the shorts appeared on the DVD set Walt Disney Treasures – The
Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit released in 2007.
The
company has since licensed vintage images of the lucky rabbit on T-shirts and
other theme park collectibles, as well using Oswald to co-star in the video
games Epic Mickey and Epic Mickey 2.
Disney’s
digital restoration of Hungry Hobos was first screened last September 2nd
at the Telluride Film Festival. It was not announced publicly that it would show
at that industry gathering, nor noted in their program book. The screening at
Royce Hall is the first screening announced and open to the public – and the
first with a full musical score.
For
more information click here.
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