I was thrilled to receive the Walt Disney Treasures - The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
for Father's Day.Mini Review:
We watched the entire collection on Sunday and Monday. The boys loved the cartoons and my oldest even thought that Steamboat Willie (on the bonus disc) was a great cartoon. The documentary on Ub Iwerks, The Hand Behind the Mouse, was very enjoyable. I had seen it on Ovation, before, and I thought it really highlighted all of the artistic and technical advances that Ub brought to the Disney Studios.
Many of the Oswald cartoons are still missing and a few of the ones featured on the disc are 16-mm prints or borrowed negatives from collectors and cartoon museums.
Didier Ghez, at the impressive Disney History blog, recently posted about the lost silent Disney cartoons. Here is the list of missing Oswald titles:
- Poor Papa
- The Bauher's Daughter
- Harem Scarem
- Rickety Gin
- Neck ' N ' Neck
- Empty Socks
- The Ole' Swimmin' Ole
- Africa Before Dark
- Sage Brush Sadie
- Ride 'Em Ployboy!
- Hungry Hoboes
- Sky Scrappers
- Sleigh Bells
- Hot Dog
That is a lot of missing history!
Although they were all silent, Disney has added a score to each short that enhances the mood and adds to the story. If you are a fan of animation or want to get a look at Disney's first star, then you need to pick up this DVD.
The above image features a sampling of the only existing pencil drawings of Sagebrush Sadie, on of the missing Oswald cartoons.
1 comment:
As I found when I finaly got one of the Mickey Mouse in Black and White volumes (#2), the best way to see how influential Ub was with Disney is to compare the shorts made by him vs. the tripe that came out for a year or so after his departure. Mickey 'toons become just awful.
Ub probably tops my list of favorite specific Disney animators. His style has even been influencing my own art. From about 1927-1929 his work is gold.
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