May 14, 1928 – The Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Short Film Hungry Hobos is Released to Theaters
“This cartoon as far as we know hasn’t been seen in over half a century.” – Dave Bossert, producer, creative director and head of special projects at Walt Disney Animation Studios
On May 14, 1928, the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short film Hungry Hobos was released to theaters. The short was considered one of the “lost” Oswald shorts, but was discovered in the Huntley Film Archives in England. The company, a stock footage company, found the 16 mm film in a vault, surprising many who assumed that the short had been destroyed as many films of the time had been. The film was then bought back by Disney for $31,250, and digitally restored. It was then screened at UCLA’s Silent Film Event in 2013, with a new score for the film written by Emmy-award winning composer Mark Watters, best known for his work with the Have a Laugh series for the Disney Channel. The short itself has Oswald, along with the early version of Peg-Leg Pete riding the trains as hobos and playing checkers, with comical results.
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