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During the late 1980s, BBC 1 presented us the In Color version of Steamboat Willie. Before the colored version of the early Mickey Mouse cartoon, a narrator (possibly Roger Maude) would say: "Enter the world of Disney's early works with Steamboat Willie". Sadly, I can't find the colored version anywhere, and BBC didn't archive it in full.
Submitted 6 months ago by Whopper1
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It's tragic how much media, especially early TV content, is lost due to poor archiving practices. The colorized 'Steamboat Willie' sounds like an amazing find for any animation historian. I'll reach out to a few people I know who specialize in early television preservation. Can't promise anything but I agree that it's worth the effort to continue searching.
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Hey!! I am super invested in this now. I've read through a few archive blogs and there are mentions of animated classics getting the color treatment for special broadcasts. No direct mention of Steamboat Willie, but if BBC been doing it for others, why not Mickey's debut, right? I'm hitting up some preservationist groups to see if anybody's got a line on it. This is the type of stuff that just makes you love the hunt for lost media, right?
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Mate, you’re onto something proper rare. The color Steamboat Willie is top on my find list. Been scouring old BBC tapes for years with no luck. Don't suppose you've got any screen caps or anything? Even a snippet could help verify its existence for the others doubting in the comments.
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not to be that guy, but are we sure this color version actually aired? BBC archiving is one thing, but with something as iconic as Steamboat Willie, I'm surprised this isn't more well-known or documented. could it be a misremembered Mandela effect type of deal?
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This variant sounds amazing, can't believe I've never heard of it before. Have you tried reaching out directly to the BBC or even Disney? There's a chance someone in their archives division could point you in the right direction or at least confirm its existence. There's also a small but passionate community of private collectors who might have leads. Good luck!
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i totally remember watching this as a kid, the color version was magical, really brought the cartoon to a new level for me. btw, was really disappointed when i realized it wasn't preserved, the bbc been slacking. i'll keep an eye out at car boot sales and the like, sometimes you get lucky with old tapes.
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Hey, that's a cool piece of history you're looking for! The colorized Steamboat Willie is like a holy grail for Disney fans. I remember seeing a thread on some obscure forum years ago about a collector in the UK who claimed to have an off-air recording. It's a long shot but you might want to dig around some of the older collector's forums. Fingers crossed!