Walt Disney — “MICKEY MOUSE” — Rare Original Japanese Kinema Junpō No.339, 11 August 1929 | Renée Adorée Cover | Exceptionally Bright Colour Fold-Out Advertisement

Rare original Japanese cinema publication retaining its early Mickey Mouse / Powers Cinephone colour fold-out advertisement at page 16

THE MOVIE TIMES / Kinema Junpō, No.339

11 August 1929 — Japan
Cover: Renée Adorée

A rare piece of early Japanese Disney publicity: an original issue of Kinema Junpō, No.339, published on 11 August 1929, featuring Renée Adorée on the cover and retaining its striking Mickey Mouse / Powers Cinephone colour fold-out advertisement at page 16.

Preserved within the complete magazine, this double-sided advertising insert brings together early Mickey Mouse imagery, bold Japanese and English typography, and contemporary promotion of the sound-film technology associated with the character’s earliest success.

The particular distinction of this example is the exceptional brightness of its internal colour printing. Saturated pink and yellow, contrasted with deep blue and dark outlines, give the advertisement a remarkable visual presence. Although the magazine shows minor wear along the spine and light age-related wear to its covers, it remains in excellent overall condition for its age, with all pages present and intact.

The cover and Mickey Mouse advertisement in this copy

1) Original Renée Adorée cover

The issue retains its original blue-printed cover featuring Renée Adorée, identified by the printed caption beneath the portrait.

The English masthead records “THE MOVIE TIMES,” “Aug. 11, 1929” and “No.339.” The publisher’s imprint below identifies The Movie Times Pub. Co., Ltd., Hibiya, Tokyo, and states that the magazine was published every ten days.

The original rear cover carries a substantial blue-printed Paramount Pictures advertisement, promoting a forthcoming programme that includes The Four Feathers, Thunder Bolt, Dangerous Curves, Close Harmony and The Man I Love. Together, the covers preserve the broader film-advertising context in which the Mickey Mouse insert appeared.

2) Page 16: early Japanese Mickey Mouse advertising

The principal attraction is the original colour Mickey Mouse / Powers Cinephone fold-out advertisement, retained within the magazine at page 16.

The main panel depicts Mickey playing an oversized saxophone, seated at a piano and standing with his hands on his hips. Musical notes, strong diagonal forms and shadowed Japanese lettering animate the composition, while the English heading announces:

“WALT DISNEY’S MICKEY MOUSE — Synchronized Sound Cartoons.”

The accompanying English text identifies the Powers Cinephone system. Japanese copy announces the arrival of imported cartoons and promotes further new releases, presenting Mickey as a contemporary attraction at the beginning of his international screen career.

The advertiser’s description of the films as “Japan’s first and foremost sound cartoons” captures the promotional language of this early period. The agency panel at the foot of the page identifies the Far East representative of Powers Cinephone and gives its address in Edomachi, Kobe.

Opening the fold-out reveals an adjoining Cinephone advertising panel incorporating a printed reproduction of a Western Union telegram, set within a geometric composition of yellow, pink and deep blue. Musical notes and stylised lettering continue the visual theme across the opened insert.

The reverse is also printed in colour, with a substantial advertisement addressed to cinema proprietors. It promotes Powers Cinephone sound-film equipment, surrounded by musical staves, notes and bold diagonal typography. Its sales message is explicit: the question is no longer whether cinemas should show talking pictures, but which apparatus they should choose.

This is therefore more than an isolated character image. It preserves an integrated advertising presentation linking Mickey Mouse, synchronised sound and the commercial adoption of talking pictures in Japan.

Historical context: Mickey Mouse reaches Japan

The New York premiere of Steamboat Willie took place at the Colony Theatre on 18 November 1928. This issue of Kinema Junpō, dated 11 August 1929, appeared less than nine months later.

The advertisement belongs to that formative period, when Mickey’s sound cartoons were being promoted internationally and sound-film equipment was itself a major selling point. Its emphasis on music, performance and synchronisation reflects the attractions being presented to contemporary audiences and exhibitors.

The Powers Cinephone name provides a direct connection to the technology used for Disney’s early Mickey Mouse sound cartoons. Here, the character’s appeal is presented alongside the practical equipment through which sound films could be shown.

The insert promotes the Mickey Mouse cartoon series and the Cinephone system, rather than identifying a single individual short as its subject. Its significance lies in preserving early Japanese trade publicity in its original, precisely dated publication.

The advertisement’s vivid colour, folding format and accompanying equipment promotion make it a particularly engaging record of the intersection between animation, cinema technology and Japanese graphic design in 1929.

Rarity: Japanese Disney publicity from 1929

Original Japanese Mickey Mouse advertising from the 1920s is difficult to source, particularly when seeking a specific magazine with its important colour insert still present and intact.

We located this example through a specialist source in Japan, where it was the only copy available. It is offered as the complete original magazine, retaining its covers, text pages and folding advertisement—not as an extracted advertising sheet or a modern reproduction.

Its particular appeal rests on the combination of early date, original publication context, substantial fold-out format and exceptionally bright colour.

For collectors of early Disney material, animation history, Japanese cinema and pre-war graphic design, it offers both a visually striking object and a contemporary record of Mickey’s promotion in Japan.

Condition

Excellent overall condition for its age, with all pages present and intact and exceptionally bright internal colour printing.

• Covers: original front and rear covers retained, with light age-related toning, scattered spotting and minor handling wear.

• Spine: minor wear, including localised rubbing, creasing and fraying, with small losses to the spine covering towards the ends.

• Mickey Mouse / Cinephone advertisement: the original double-sided colour fold-out remains intact within the magazine. The pink, yellow and dark-blue printing is exceptionally vivid, with the original folding structure preserved.

• Presentation: complete magazine, retaining its original publication context and accompanying period advertising.

The contrast between the lightly aged outer covers and the exceptionally bright colour insert is a particular strength of this example.

Details

• Country: Japan

• Publication: Kinema Junpō / The Movie Times

• Issue: No.339

• Publication date: 11 August 1929

• Japanese calendar year: Shōwa 4

• Cover subject: Renée Adorée

• Publisher: The Movie Times Pub. Co., Ltd., Hibiya, Tokyo

• Language: Japanese, with English headings, titles and advertising text

• Format: complete original cinema magazine with a double-sided colour fold-out advertising insert

• Featured subject: Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse

• Associated sound system: Powers Cinephone

• Key feature: early Mickey Mouse colour advertisement at page 16, opening into additional Cinephone promotional material

• Additional material: printed Western Union telegram reproduction, illustrated sound-equipment advertising and Paramount rear-cover advertisement

• Condition: excellent overall for its age; all pages present and intact; minor spine wear and light cover ageing; exceptionally bright internal colours

• Collecting interests: early Disney, Mickey Mouse, animation history, Japanese cinema, sound-film technology, Art Deco-influenced advertising and 1920s printed ephemera