Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is a series of theatrical cartoons starring its titular character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The character and the series were owned by Universal Pictures, who distributed a total of 194 cartoons featuring Oswald to theaters.
The first fifty-two cartoons were produced by Winkler Pictures under a contract from Universal, and the animation of the first half of those cartoons was outsourced to the Walt Disney Studio. In addition, the character was designed by Disney Studio employee Ub Iwerks while under the direct supervision of Walt Disney.
History
After the Alice Comedies, Disney's second animated series (after the Laugh-o-Grams) folded in 1927, Carl Laemmle approached Disney and requested a new, all-animated series featuring a rabbit. Disney and Ub Iwerks created a new character entitled "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit".
On March 4, 1927, Winkler Pictures head Charles Mintz signed a contract with Universal within the presence of its vice president at the time, R. H. Cochrane. The contract stated that Winkler would produce 26 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons for Universal during the 1927-28 season. Universal had been negotiating deals with cartoon producers for the past three months; they wanted to get back into the cartoon business after ten years of no cartoons from the company.[1]
The first Oswald cartoon, Poor Papa, was poorly received by Charles Mintz and demanded a better, younger version of Oswald. The next cartoon, Trolley Troubles, was well received, and the series officially launched.
In February 1928, Winkler signed a contract with Universal that would guarantee three more years worth of Oswald cartoons.[2][3] With the series going strong, Disney demanded a raise from Mintz, which he refused. Mintz instead told Disney that he was going to cut the budget, and if Disney did not agree to the cut, he would be cut from the production scheme. Disney refused, and most of Disney's employees left for Mintz. Only Ub Iwerks remained, and the two secretly planned out a cartoon featuring their new character, Mickey Mouse.
Disney's Oswald shorts
1927
- Poor Papa
- Trolley Troubles
- Oh Teacher
- The Mechanical Cow
- Great Guns
- All Wet
- The Ocean Hop
- The Banker's Daughter
- Empty Socks
- Rickety Gin
1928
- Harem Scarem
- Neck 'n' Neck
- The Ol' Swimmin' Hole
- Africa Before Dark
- Rival Romeos
- Bright Lights
- Oh, What a Knight
- Sagebrush Sadie
- Ride'em Plow Boy
- Sky Scrappers
- Ozzie of the Mounted
- Hungry Hobos
- The Fox Chase
- Tall Timber
- Sleigh Bells
- Hot Dog
- High Up
Gallery
