Hungarian drawing from Disney archives

A drawing by a Hungarian artist, Fedinánd Horváth, has been recovered from the Disney archives 74 years after it was made. The 1938 sketch depicts Mickey Mouse having a nightmare under the influence of too much laughing gas.

As animationmagaine.net describes the drawing, Mickey experiences a psychedelic nightmare after he visits the dentist and takes in too much laughing gas. The website quotes Disney Archives director Becky Cline, who says the overdose sends Mickey into a “nightmarish world inhabited by living teeth, dental floss, a psychotic dentist’s chair and a vengeful pair of dental pliers.”

Another character, Pete also appears in the nightmare scenario. It culminates with Mickey being put on trial led, of course, by a judgmental wisdom tooth, who charges Mickey with tooth neglect.

The surprisingly dark drawing, a never-before-seen image of Mickey, was recently discovered in a folder in the animation research department, where it had remained hidden since 1938.

Ferdinánd Horváth (1891-1973) moved to the United States in 1921 after spending much of World War I in Russian prison camps. It was six years later that he started working at Disney where he contributed character designs, backgrounds, story ideas and gags to over sixty shorts including 'Father Noah’s Ark', 'Mickey’s Circus', 'The Band Concert', 'The Old Mill', 'Woodland Cafe' and 'The Cookie Carnival'.

He also made important contributions to the studio’s first feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Later, Horváth worked at Columbia’s Screen Gems studio and George Pal’s Puppetoons studio.