#popculture27: Walt Disney Creates Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

The animation master’s first successful character, made for a different studio—and how his own studio acquired him.

Before Disney, the company, became an entertainment juggernaut, there was Walt Disney, the animator. In 1927, a year before his most famous creation captured the world’s imagination, he achieved his first big success was with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

He may not have become as big as the mouse or the duck, but in recent years, he’s made a comeback.

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Pre-1989 Disney and its revival

Like most people, I grew up with the Disney cartoons and live-action material. I’d see The Wonderful World of Disney on TV Sunday nights, and movies like Pete’s Dragon or The Black Hole.

I recall the revival of the Disney brand while in art school, beginning with The Little Mermaid in 1989. In college, Disney came to preview Beauty and the Beast and show us behind-the-scenes footage. They emphasized visual storytelling and creating character through actions, using gestures and body language to communicate ideas and thoughts.

As an illustrator, this meant much. I tried to apply these lessons to my own work—much the same way Walt Disney himself must have.

Walt Disney’s beginnings

The budding cartoonist served in World War One as an ambulance driver. Afterwards, he returned home to Kansas City to do commercial illustration.

Then he took up cel animation. He partnered with the local Newman Theater to create “Newman’s Laugh-O-Grams” with Fred and Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising, and Ub Iwerks.

By 1923, the 21-year-old Disney had moved to Hollywood. With his brother Roy, he founded what is today the Walt Disney Company, and made more cartoons.

Iwerks joined him a year later. Disney created Oswald with him.

Oswald’s creation

In 1927, Disney worked with producer Charles Mintz. When Universal Pictures decided to get into the animation game, Mintz wanted to pitch a character to them that would be more profitable than the ones Disney had made to that point.

Universal founder Carl Laemmle suggested a rabbit. The name Oswald was a random choice.

The first Oswald cartoon was “Poor Papa,” a five-minute tale of Oswald dealing with an ever increasing family. Iwerks animated this one. An artist of German ancestry, Iwerks worked on Laugh-O-Grams and later, the Alice Comedies, a mixture of animation and live-action, before co-creating Oswald.

Mintz and Universal were not impressed with “Papa.” They delayed its release a year. The next Oswald cartoon, “Trolley Troubles,” was better received. Universal released it on September 5, 1927.

Much like the mouse with his steamboat a year later, the cartoon deals with getting Oswald’s conveyance going and keeping it in motion. Disney described him as “peppy, alert, saucy and venturesome.” Oswald wasn’t particularly lucky. He was quick-tempered and aggressive, but playful.

Later, Disney and Mintz argued over salary. Universal owned the intellectual property rights to Oswald and Mintz got many of the animators to work directly for him. Disney had hoped for more money, but Mintz threatened to start his own studio and produce Oswald and other cartoons without Disney unless he took a pay cut.

Disney, with Iwerks still in his corner, responded by creating a new character—Mickey Mouse. He had greater success with him.

Disney historian David Gerstein has described the difference between Oswald and Mickey thus:

You might say that Mickey’s personality is a bit less inherently funny, but you still have just as much fun with him by putting him in incredible jams. Oswald, let’s put it like this: imagine Mickey if he were a little more egotistical or fallible, or imagine Bugs Bunny if he talked the talk but wasn’t as good as walking the walk.

Oswald’s evolution

Mintz did open his own studio, the one later known as Screen Gems. He made Oswald cartoons with former Disney co-workers.

Oswald’s look changed over the years, and as sound became standard in movies, he developed a voice. Bill Nolan was the first to provide it, with 1929’s “Race Riot” (not what you think; it’s about horse racing). Pinto Colvig followed.

Mickey Rooney, the former child star who would become a major film star as an adult, also voiced Oswald, in 1930-31, when he called himself Mickey McGuire. Fun fact: Rooney once claimed Mickey Mouse was named for him. In his 1991 autobiography Life is Too Short, he said he met Disney at Warner Bros. and befriended him, leading Disney to name his new character for him. This has been debunked.

Oswald appeared in shorts and films until 1952. After the President Kennedy assassination, the name Oswald wasn’t too popular anymore, so the character was put on the shelf.

It wasn’t until 2006 that the Disney Company acquired Oswald—and it involved, of all things, a sportscaster.

Al Michaels and Oswald

Since 1977, Al Michaels was a mainstay at ABC Sports, covering baseball, football, the Olympics, and more. He may be best known for his play-by-play of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” game, when the US Olympic hockey team upset the Soviets.

Pay attention to this next part.

In 1995, Disney bought ABC (and ESPN). In 2004, NBC bought Universal. A year later, ABC lost the broadcast rights for NFL football to NBC. That same year, notable football commentator John Madden also moved to NBC. Michaels had expressed an interest in working again with Madden, with whom he worked in 1975 at CBS. (You following all this?)

Disney CEO Bob Iger engineered a trade with Universal in 2006. Among other things, Universal got Michaels, who did indeed join Madden on NBC’s Sunday night NFL broadcasts.

In return, Disney acquired the rights to Oswald.

The Oswald revival

Iger’s interest in Oswald grew from seeing a design document for what would become the 2010 video game Epic Mickey. Oswald appears in it as a rival to Mickey. The game spawned two sequels and a remake, Epic Mickey Rebrushed, which came out last fall.

In 2013, Oswald appeared in his first Disney cartoon in 85 years, “Get a Horse!” Since his acquisition, he has appeared in various Disney theme parks, films and documentaries.

Last month, Disney+ announced a forthcoming Oswald TV series.

The 1927 Oswald works fell into the public domain in 2023.

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Also in 1927:

• Filmation co-founder Norm Prescott is born.

• Tintin co-creator Albert Uderzo, who also co-wrote and co-directed a number of Tintin animated movies, is born.

• The animated short film series Inkwell Imps, featuring Koko the Clown, debuts.

• The studio of animator Pat Sullivan releases 26 Felix the Cat shorts.

• The Jazz Singer popularizes sound in motion pictures.

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Have you seen any Oswald cartoons? Leave a comment and let me know!

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