Oswald the Lucky Find
Are you stuck for what to buy a fellow animator this Christmas? Do you have a spare $30,000 – $40,000 to spend? Then look no further…
A long lost Walt Disney cartoon entitled “Hungry Hobos” has been discovered in a UK archive pre-dating Mickey Mouse. It features the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, created by Disney and fellow cartoonist Ub Iwerks in 1927 for Universal Studios.
Oswald has been described as a “proto-Mickey”. They sport the same head, ears and mannerisms. Oswald has appeared in several guises over the years, but the significance of “Hungry Hobos” was that it is part of the first series associated directly with Disney.
In 1928, Disney asked for more money but was turned down by Universal. Soon after he left the studio along with Iwerks and they developed their most famous creation, a cartoon mouse, who it is fair to say has been a bit more successful than that rabbit.
This is believed to be the only known surviving copy of the 5 minute, 21 second film which was discovered at Huntley Film Archives in Herefordshire. Archivist Amanda Huntley said: “When we checked this film we couldn’t quite believe our eyes. For an archive, finding a lost masterpiece is incredible — you just don’t think it will happen to you.”
“Hungry Hobos” hops under the hammer at Bonhams in Los Angeles on December 14th so have your chequebooks at the ready.