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Can there be such a thing as an 'unseen' Disney film? If you think you've seen it all, Disney's Unseen Treasures will surprise you. Like the scene from Snow White they said was too scary for youngsters; the original trailer for Bambi, which pitches the film as a love story for adults; and 'Clair de Lune', Fantasia's legendary lost child, rescued and brought home 56 years after it was created. The exciting programme of recently restored behind-the-scenes footage, live-action tests, animation pencil tests, trailers, newsreels and forgotten animation shorts spans the years 1930-1950. Some of these films have not been seen since their first release a half-century ago. Others were not intended to be seen by the public. And some were never even completed. If we had a trailer for this show it might go something like this:

SEE! vintage Mickey, Donald and Pluto in ephemeral films like Mickey's Surprise Party, The Volunteer Worker and A Feather in His Collar. TAKE! a trip through Walt Disney Studios—not the Burbank lot—the original Hyperion plant in 1937 while Snow White was in production. LEARN! the truth about rotoscoping behind the scenes of the Pinocchio live-action shoot. GASP! at the scene from Snow White they said was too terrifying for kids. LAUGH! as Walt Disney himself trades wits with Merlin Aylesworth, the humourless chairman of RKO Pictures in the newsreel outtake Mickey Mouse Signs Up. EXPERIENCE! firsthand how it was done in the Golden Age of animation by contrasting the pencil animation reel of Pluto's Judgment Day with the final product. MARVEL! as Wait Disney and Salvador Dali meet for Destino! REJOICE! at 'Clair de Lune', Fantasia's legendary lost child, rescued and brought home 56 years later. The way in which classic Disney animation was sold may surprise you. Walt himself pitches Snow White, while revealing nothing of the animation in this classic cartoon.

This exclusive event, which has been staged only a handful ot times around the world, is more than a simple screening. Festival guest Scott MacQueen, historian and archivist, is the man who found and restored these treasures. Over the course of two and a half hours. MacQueen complements the compiled shorts with interludes of anecdotes, insider information and behind-the-scenes gossip. MacQueen will also field questions from the audience following the screening.


AMONG THE ELVES

En Släkting Till Älvorna
MIFF 2000