<P>Been a while since I posted, but I came across something of interest today. I just got a copy of the short Spirit of '43 and in it was something I was not expecting, Scrooge McDuck. They did not give him a name at all, but there was no question as to who that character was. Now my issue is that for the 20 years that I've been buying and collecting Scrooge comics I have always known his first apperance to be in Christmas on Bear Mountain in 1947. </P>
<P>He appears with a kilt, Donalds shirt, a bonnet, glasses, sideburns, and a cane (he also has a thick scottish accent). He is a character (that appears out of a cloud of all things) and convinces Donald to save his money for his next tax payment. Clearly this character is what eventually evolved into Scrooge McDuck, but it is NEVER mentioned anywhere (even in The Disney Studio Story where the cartoon is mentioned and explained it makes no refferance to Scrooge). </P>
<P>I realize that this short is among the hardest to find, but I'm sure someone must have some information on this. Carl was still working at the studio in 1943 as far as I know (that was the same year the Mummies Ring came out), but it would have been right around the time he moved, so I do not know if he would have been involved with the short. I would like to think so since I've always thought of Scrooge as an character that was completely from the mind of Barks, but this short clearly shows that he was around before 1947 (perhaps with no name, but a scottish duck with side burns, pince-nez, a cane, and a knack for saving money is WAY too close to the visual and basic descriptions of the Scrooge Character). </P>
<P>If anyone can shed some light on this please post. Also if anyone wants a copy of this short (I also have Education For Death, another Disney WWII short) please email me directly. I will NOT sell them, but anyone who wants to send me a blank CD-R and some stamps can have a copy on VCD- again email me directly. They are very decent copies and looked fine on a big screen TV. </P>
<P>Also I'll attach a pic of my computer screen showing the character (for some reason the mpeg compresion will not let me do a normal screen capture).</P>
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