日本的动画史学家发现自己手里捏了七十年的动画就是迪士尼爸爸最早的电影短片之一。陪伴了大朋友小朋友们这么多年的米老鼠原型竟!然!是!只!兔!子!(破音)
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Lost Disney'Oswald' film found in Japan
(Oswald the LuckyRabbit was Disney's first character)
An anime historian had the cartoon for 70 years before he realised it was one of seven lost films. The two-minute short features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a precursor to MickeyMouse. Yasushi Watanabe, 84, bought the film from a toywholesalerin Osaka when he was a teenager, paying only ¥500 (£3.45 at current exchange rates). Originally called Neck & Neck, the 16mm cartoon was tagged with the name Mickey Manga Spide(Mickey Cartoon Speedy), and remained in Mr Watanabe's personal collection for 70 years.
precursor
a person or thing that comes before sb/sth similar and that leads to or influences its development
n. ~ (of/to sth)先驱;先锋;前身
Eg. Error is often the precursor of what is correct, but conceit is the prelude to a fall.
wholesaler
someone whose jobis to sell large quantities of goods to stores or small businesses
n. 批发商
The significance of the film only became apparent when he read the book, Oswald the LuckyRabbit: The Search for the Lost Disney Cartoons, written by long-term Disney animator David Bossert and published last year. "As I've been a Disney fan for many years, I'm happy that I was able to play a role," he told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, which confirmed with the Walt Disney Archive that the cartoon was one ofa handful oflost Oswald films.
handful
the amount of sth that can be held in one hand
n. ~ (of sth) 一把(的量);用手抓起的数量
a small number ofpeople or things
n. ~ (of sb/sth) 少数人(或物)
Eg. Mr Hung is one of a handful of Vietnamese aficionados(n.狂热爱好者) trying to revive tastes for this epicurean(adj.享乐主义的) and elusive(adj.难以捉摸的)beverage.
(Another missing Oswald film, Sleigh Bells, was found in the BFI archives in 2015)
Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1927, and it was Disney Studios' first character to have its own series. A total of 27 cartoons were made, butthe anthropomorphic rabbit became the centre of an intellectual property dispute, with Universal Studios wrestling the rights to the character in 1928. In response, Disney began work on a new lead character: one that would eventually be known as Mickey Mouse. As for Oswald, it was left in animationpurgatoryuntil Disney CEO Bob Iger bought back the rights in 2006.
anthropomorphic[ˌænθrəpəˈmɔː(r)fɪk]
considering something such as a god, animal, or object as having human features orqualities
adj.人格化的;拟人化的
Eg. It seems tome that the idea of a personal God is an anthropomorphic concept which I cannot take seriously.
dispute
a serious disagreement, especially one between groups of people that lasts for along time
n.争论;辩论;争端;纠纷
Eg.The absolute truth of this may bein dispute(有争议), but the very nature of globalisation brings with it risks to local economies.
to say that something such as a fact is not true or correct
v. 对…提出质询;对…表示异议(或怀疑)
to argue about something
v.争论;辩论;争执
wrestle
to struggle to deal with sth that is difficult;to take, pull, or hold something with difficulty
v. 奋力对付;努力处理;全力解决
purgatory
an unpleasant place or experience;any place or state of suffering
n. 暂时的苦难;受难的处所(或状态);惩戒所;折磨;磨难
a place or state in which the souls of dead people suffer for the bad things they did when they were living, so that they can become pure enough to go to heaven
n. 炼狱
Eg. Everyone rejoices in the delights of this paradise, but I feel as if I am visiting purgatory.
"What's particularly good about this story is that it shows the spread of these films across the globe," Jez Stewart, the BFI's animation curator told the BBC. "How the filmspropagatedacross the world and where they end up is almost as interesting as the film itself."
curator
a person whose job is to be in charge of the objects or works of art in a museum or art gallery , etc.
n. 馆长,负责人
Eg. This university is trying to seek out a suitable person for the position of library curator.
propagate
to spread ideas,beliefs, etc. to a lot of people
v. 普及,传播;宣传
Eg. It waswidespread, and was being propagated by the following day's newspapers.
In 2015, another lost animation featuring Oswald was found in the BFI's archives. Stewart says these discoveries are important, but only part of the picture when it comes to early animation. At the same time as Oswald was being made in the US, for example, Bonzo the dog was havingsurrealadventures on UK screens.
surreal
very strange; more like a dream than reality, with ideas and images mixed together in a strange way
adj.离奇的;怪诞的;梦幻般的;超现实的
Eg. Taxpayers trying to cope with such surreal situations need to understand how they came to be.
surrealistic
used about thingsthat seem very strange because they combine images or ideas that are notusually related; connected with surrealism
adj. 超现实主义的
Eg. Unfortunately they were all of a surrealistic quality and the impression they created was usually unfavorable.
"I think it's a shame that it sometimes takes a lost film to be found to draw attention to the films that are there.
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