In 1982, Disney released an animated short entitled
Fun with Mr. Future theatrically in Los Angeles for one week so it could be qualified for an Academy Award. The short featured live-action scenes of an animatronic Abraham Lincoln (voiced by Phil Proctor), the host. The animated segments discussed the topic on how computers will be efficient in the future and how energy could be wasted. The short was the directorial debut of Darrell van Citters, the founder of Renegade Animation. (The studio was responsible for shows including Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, The Mr. Men Show, and The Tom and Jerry Show.)
The short was never released on home video in any format (or at least in my knowledge). The short is not uploaded online, not even segments of it. Because of its limited release and lack of availability,
Fun with Mr. Future must be the rarest Post-Oswald animated Disney short. (The short was screened at a couple of recent film festivals, but even those are as rare as the short.)
Production art can be found on the internet, but I wasn't able to find any still images from the actual short.
The Mad Scientist character was voiced by Vincent Price. (His other works for Disney include narrating Tim Burton's
Vincent--which can be found on
The Nightmare Before Christmas DVD and Blu-ray as an extra--and voicing Professor Ratigan in
The Great Mouse Detective.) Another interesting fact regarding this short is that its footage was originally going to be used in an Epcot television special which ended up being shelved.
So, has anybody seen this short or own a copy of it? I only became aware of it by seeing it in several Disney animation filmographies. I've been curious about it for some time.
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