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The short film, with a running time of about six minutes,
will be shown in early December as part of a program including
other Disney shorts from the 1930s to the present day, the
British Film Institute (BFI) National Archive said on Tuesday.
"Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was invented by Walt Disney in 1927 and
was loved for his mischievous and rebellious personality. A
number of other films do survive but 'Sleigh Bells' has been,
until now, a lost film, unseen since its original release," the
BFI said in a statement.
It said a print of "Sleigh Bells" had been discovered in the BFI
National Archive by a researcher browsing the online catalog of
the archive's holdings. Walt Disney Animation Studios used what
is thought to be the sole surviving print to make a new
preservation masterprint and digital copies, it said.
"We're thrilled to be collaborating with the BFI National
Archives in the restoration of the 'lost' Oswald short, 'Sleigh
Bells', and to be sharing this delightful animated discovery
with audiences in the UK as part of this special Disney holiday
program," Andrew Millstein, President of the Disney animation
studios, is quoted in the statement as saying.
Walt Disney and his colleague Ub Iwerks drew the animations for
the Oswald character, and later went on to create Mickey Mouse
following a contractual disagreement with Universal, for whom
they had created the Oswald films, the statement said.
(Reporting by Michael Roddy; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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