Oswald the funny rabbit

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Oswald the lucky rabbit (original name: Oswald the lucky rabbit ) is a cartoon character invented by Walt Disney and his studio in 1927 for Universal Pictures producers Charles Mintz and George Winkler . The figure is considered to be the forerunner of Mickey Mouse .

Originated under Disney

After ceasing production of the Alice Comedies series , Disney presented Oswald in 1927 after signing a new contract with Universal Studios. In the same year, his first short film, Poor Papa , was made, but it was rejected by producer Charles Mintz because the quality was too poor for him and the character seemed too old. After Oswald had received a younger appearance through Disney's chief draftsman Ub Iwerks , the first publication took place with Trolley Troubles . In the next two years Disney produced 27 short films, including Sleigh Bells . According to common practice at the time, the rights to the character were not owned by Disney, but by Universal Studios.

The character's success meant that Disney was able to expand its team bit by bit and steadily improve the animation quality. Relations with Mintz, however, were strained; from Iwerks, Disney learned that Mintz had recruited people behind his back for his own studio. When he wanted to negotiate a new contract with a higher budget with Mintz in the spring of 1928, Mintz promised drastic cuts in return, referring to the generally poor economic situation. Disney did not respond to the significantly lower offer and ended the collaboration with Mintz. He practically gave up the character he had created, while some of his former employees, including the animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising , who had been involved in the development of Oswald, from then on worked for Mintz. Disney and Iwerks, for their part, began developing Mickey Mouse , which would become the world's most famous cartoon character.

Further development

From 1929, Walter Lantz's films were produced in a specially created studio. In the same year, the first Oswald film with sound was presented, Hen Fruit . The first color appearance took place as a cameo in the 1930 film The King of Jazz . Regular production of the films ceased in 1938. Another film followed in 1943, which was to be the last.

From 1942 onwards, Dell Comics published several comics with Oswald in the New Funnies series , later also in Four Color Comics . The comics continued to appear in the early 1960s. Oswald was given two sons, Floyd and Lloyd, at his side in the stories.

2006 the rights of the character went back to the Disney company . The films were then released on DVD.

In 2010 the video game Disney Micky Epic was released for Nintendo Wii , in which Oswald plays the role of the antihero alongside Mickey Mouse. This was followed by appearances in Epic Mickey: The Power of 2 and Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion , both of which were released in November 2012.

production

The animators Ub Iwerks , Hugh Harman , Friz Freleng , Tex Avery , Les Clark , Ben Clopton , Norm Blackburn and Rollin "Ham" Hamilton were involved in the production. The original films were without sound, this was only added afterwards. A total of 194 films were produced, the last three of which were in color.

Some of the films are now considered lost. In recent years, however, a few productions from the Disney era have reappeared: Sleigh Bells (2015), The Ol 'Swimmin' Hole (2016) and Neck 'n' Neck (2018).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Reinhold Reitberger : Walt Disney. Represented with testimonials and photo documents. 160 pages, Rowohlt Verlag , Reinbek bei Hamburg 1979, 6th edition February 2010, ISBN 3-499-50226-7 .
  2. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19910825