Mickey Mouses predecessor, and the first cartoon by Walt Disney, Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit or Oswald Rabbit) is an anthropomorphic rabbit and animated cartoon character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney for funny animal films distributed by Universal Pictures in the 1920s and 1930s. Walt Disney was eventually separated from the project and went on to create Mickey Mouse. Charles Mintz, and later Walter Lantz, took over production, creating new Oswald cartoons until 1943. In 1927, because of cost and technical restrictions, Disney and his chief animator Ub Iwerks decided to end their work on the Alice Comedies series in search of new creative opportunities. Coincidentally, Universal Studios wanted to get into the cartoon business and needed a cartoon character of its own. So Disneys distributor Charles Mintz told Disney and Iwerks to create a new character they could sell to Universal. Wanting to make cartoons with an all-animated look, Disney signed a contract with Universal Studios leading to the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Universals first cartoon series. Disney chose to make the character a rabbit since there were so many animated cats (Felix the Cat, Krazy Kat) at the time. Universal was given the right to name the rabbit and it selected a name out of a hat. The first Oswald cartoon, Poor Papa, was rejected by the Universal studio heads for its poor production quality and the sloppiness and age of Oswald. Disney, together with Iwerks, decided to create a second cartoon titled Trolley Troubles featuring a much younger, neater Oswald. The short, released on September 5, 1927, officially launched the series and proved to be Disneys greatest success to date. Poor Papa was finally released a year later renamed Mickeys Nightmare. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit became Disneys first major hit in 1927, rivaling other popular cartoon characters, such as Felix the Cat and Koko the Clown. In the spring of 1928, Disney traveled to New York City in hopes of negotiating a more profitable contract with his producer Charles Mintz. But as economic problems were apparent at the time, Mintz figured Disney should settle for a 20% cut, although large turnarounds were promised if the studios finances showed considerable growth. While his fellow animators remained at Mintzs studio, Disney decided to quit his job and therefore leave the character he created. On his long train ride home, he came up with an idea to create another character, and retain rights to it. He and Iwerks would go on to develop a new cartoon in secret, starring a new character which would soon become the most successful and popular cartoon character in film history and later become the foundation of a global entertainment empire. The first Mickey Mouse cartoon to be filmed was Plane Crazy in the summer of 1928, but it was produced as a silent and held back from release. The first Mickey Mouse film with a synchronized soundtrack, Steamboat Willie, reached the screen that fall and became a major hit, eclipsing Oswald. Plane Crazy was later given its own synchronized soundtrack and released on May 15, 1928.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 01:01:36 +0000
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