The vault theory speaks to me, especially as a fan of vintage animation. Makes you wonder how much classic cartoon footage is gathering dust or straight-up decaying while we hunt for scraps. The whole 'Disney Vault' thing has set a precedent, so why not with other lost media?

Worked in the biz. Trust me, the amount of lost pilots and scripts out there isn't some grand scheme; it's just disorganization and the relentless march of time. Something doesn't sell? It gets tossed. No grand champagne parties, just a lot of 'not my problem' from execs.

This is my first time in the subreddit, but wow this theory is wild! Have there been any cases where something was thought lost and then suddenly 'found' in a vault or something?

I like where your head's at. Wouldn't surprise me if some holy grails of lost media are locked in a vault somewhere as a power move. Still, most of the stuff we search for is probably lost due to incompetence rather than malice. Like, so much great stuff vanished because someone taped over the only copy or just threw out 'worthless old tapes'. Here's to hoping we find more than we lose.

haha, nice tinfoil hat theory there. It's a fun thought but c'mon, not every exec is some cartoon villain. Sure, maybe some 'lost' stuff is hidden away but most lost media is just that – lost. We gotta keep searching, documenting, sharing, you know the drill.

I've spent years working with archives and I can tell you it's not as simple as companies hoarding content. There's a myriad of legal, financial, and preservation issues at play. Rights to the media can be a legal nightmare: fragmented between creators, estates, and studios. Plus, maintaining old media is costly. Analog media like film and tapes deteriorate over time, and preserving them is expensive – digital conversion, climate-controlled storage, the works. It's not that they're being hoarded for fun; often it's a case of lost contracts or lack of resources. While intentional scarcity isn't unheard of for marketing purposes, it's rarely the full story when it comes to lost media.

no joke i've thought about this too. Big Media's all about creating scarcity to pump up demand. 'Crisis of the Planets' anyone? Supposed 'lost' film but probs just sitting in an exec's private theater, amirite??

lmao, 'Wake up, sheeple,' he says while probably streaming on the very platforms owned by these 'evil execs'. I bet they ARE laughing, but at posts like this.