Harem Scarem: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Disney, 1928) – Genga

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This rare black-and-white archival footage presents "Harem Scarem," a lost Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon from January 9, 1928, created by Walt Disney and animated by Hugh Harman and Rollin Hamilton for Universal Studios—nearly a century ago—offering a nostalgic glimpse into early animation history, now partially preserved as "Genga" sketches. The silent film follows Oswald, the mischievous black rabbit with expressive ears, as he crosses a Moroccan desert on a stunt camel, battles a large bird, attaches its wings to the camel for a speedy arrival at the Oasis Bar, falls for a hula-hula dancer, and rescues her from a kidnapping sheik in a wild chase, all set against simple, whimsical backgrounds typical of the era. Though the original cartoon is largely lost, surviving animation drawings compiled by Disney in 2012 for a D23 promotional featurette reveal its slapstick humor and exotic charm. A haunting window into 1920s animation’s golden age, this preserved fragment—marking one of Disney’s early works before Mickey Mouse—grips cartoon enthusiasts, animation historians, and nostalgic viewers, offering a timeless peek at a lost classic frozen in time.

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