Africa Before Dark is an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit animated short released on February 20, 1928. This was one of many Oswald shorts long thought to be lost. In 2009, a fragment of Africa Before Dark was found and by 2015 a full copy was found in a German film archive and was shown at a screening at Disneyland on January 14, 2015.[2]
Synopsis[]
Oswald goes big game hunting in Africa. He tries to capture a tiger cub before having a run-in with a ferocious lion.
Characters[]
- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
- Elephant
- Tiger Cub
- Lion
Trivia[]
- The gag where Oswald catches the tiger cub by removing his face "mask" was previously used in the 1925 short Alice Gets Stung.
- The final gag, where Oswald escapes danger by having his elephant flap his ears to fly off a cliff (similar to Dumbo), was reused in the 1931 short The Moose Hunt with Mickey Mouse and Pluto.
- The elephant from the short would appear under the title "Elephant on a Bicycle" as a common crew member for Oswald in Disney Speedstorm.
- The gag where Oswald shoots off the feathers of an owl would later be used in the very first Silly Symphony, 1929's The Skeleton Dance.
- The way the Elephant tries to escape from the lions in the short's ending, by flapping his ears, would later be used in the 1941 film Dumbo by its title character.
Home video releases[]
Blu-ray
- Bambi: Anniversary Signature Edition
Gallery[]
.png "Africa Before Dark(2).png (378 KB)")
.png "Africa Before Dark(3).png (270 KB)")
Videos[]
Sneak Peek- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in "Africa Before Dark"
Bambi Africa Before Dark Bonus Piece