Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I have extremely mixed feelings about the news related to the newly found Oswald cartoon Hungry Hobos. While I rejoice at the fact that a "lost" Oswald cartoon was indeed found (I would love to have access to all of the Alices and Oswalds) the estimated value which the auction house tagged it with is insane and will probably make it way more difficult to get access to and preserve all the other surviving Oswalds which may be found in the future. This is mostly a sad day for Disney history.
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6 comments:

  1. Mark Sonntag12:57 AM

    I agree Didier, if I were wealthy I'd buy it just to give it to the community. I'm still itching to see the recent Laugh-o-gram discoveries.

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  2. Anonymous12:03 PM

    Am I naive to think Disney would buy the film?

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  3. Didier Ghez12:35 PM

    Yes, you are :-)

    Joke aside, even if they did (and they won't), the main issue is that all other Oswalds and Alices which could be found would also become totally overpriced and only huge sponsors could afford them.

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  4. Anonymous1:28 PM

    So, the "Oswalds" that Disney got back from Universal a few years back, and then put on DVD is different because the copyrights were maintained by Universal, and then Disney renewed the copyrights for itself? But "Hungry Hobos", since it was thought to be lost, fell into "Public Domain", and therefore Disney would not be able to have copyright protection if they purchased it? Am I understanding this right?
    Thanks!

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  5. Kristjan Birnir4:19 PM

    Is it a way to get the auction house to lower the estimated value?

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  6. Anonymous5:46 PM

    I believe the high price will ultimately be good for these types of "lost" films. The cost of restoration and preservation is relatively high...meaning, only those with "means" can absorb those costs. The high price may also encourage others to come forward with films they find or hold in private collections.

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