In 2014 a copy of Empty Socks was discovered at the National Library of Norway by Kjetil Sørenssen and David Gerstein. The newly found version is incomplete, lacking around 30 seconds of footage. In 2007 a complete copy of Tall Timber was discovered at the Norsk Filminstitutt by David Gerstein and Gunnar Strøm. Both films were considered lost to history. Both of these films were early Walt Disney productions, made for Universal Studios, starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Although Disney had created the character, Universal owned the rights to it, so when Disney decided to leave Universal he had to create a new star: Mickey Mouse. Empty Socks was Walt Disney’s first Christmas cartoon, and tells the story of Oswald playing Santa Claus at an orphanage full of mischievous kittens. Tall Timber sees Oswald out on a trip in the woods, having hilarious encounters with the local wildlife.
These newly restored prints have not been shown in any public screenings outsideNorway until now.