When a 500‑Yen Quest Unearthed a Disney Treasure
Yo, picture this: a lanky high‑school lad named Yasushi Watanabe walks into a second‑hand shop in Osaka, eyes shining, and pulls out a dusty cartoon reel for just 500 yen (roughly $4.40 today). He goes home, tinkers with it, and the next thing you know—holy moly, it’s a lost gem from Walt Disney’s vault.
From Oswald to Mickey: A Tale of Lost & Found
During the roaring 1920s, Disney brewed up a bunny named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He was a big deal—oversized ears, a button nose, and an inexplicable charm. But fate (and a lawsuit over rights) drove Shane to create an even bigger icon: the ever‑iconic Mickey Mouse. The reel Watanabe snapped up actually belongs to a short film that birthed that ol’ ear‑lined hero.
Discovery Through a Paperback!
- Watanabe flips through a book on “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit” and nostalgically remembers the film he bought as a kid.
- He emails Japan’s Asahi Shimbun with his golden memory.
- The newspaper, flipping through records, confirms the reel is one of seven missing Oswald shorts.
- Dubbed in Japanese “Mickey Manga Spide” (think Mickey Cartoon Speedy), the short shows a motorbike cop racing after Oswald and a girlfriend in a car—classic cartoon chaos.
And guess what? As the trio speedily hops around valleys and streets, the characters and their shaky rides stretch and shrink, using a technique that would become a dear Disney trait. Classic “squash and stretch” right from the horse’s mouth.
Proof from the Disney Guild
Inside the Walt Disney Archives, archivist Becky Cline checked every frame and said, “We’re absolutely delighted to know this lost film is alive!” Watanabe, who’s now an 84‑year‑old anime historian, gave a heartfelt nod: “As a Disney fan for years, I’m thrilled I played part in bringing it to light.”
The Museum Journey
That once‑mighty reel is now safe at the Kobe Planet Film Archive. Meanwhile, a 50‑second snippet of the same cartoon surfaced at the Toy Film Museum in Kyoto—giving us a dual front into Oswald’s legendary mischief.
Past Discoveries That Keep the Disney Magic Alive
- 2014: Norway’s National Library unearths “Empty Socks”, the first Christmas short from Disney, discovered during an inventory near the Arctic Circle.
- 2015: Britain finds another Oswald short, which premieres for the very first time in 87 years.
So, next time you’re out hunting thrift‑store treasures, remember: that humble 500‑yen comic might be the key that unlocks a decades‑old Disney secret. Who knew junior high nostalgia could be worth a fortune in film history?
