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 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 his employees left for Mintz. Only Ub Iwerks remained, and the two secretly planned out a cartoon featuring their new character, Mickey Mouse.
Shorts[]
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trolley Troubles | September 5, 1927[4] |
| 2 | Oh Teacher | September 19, 1927[5] |
| 3 | The Mechanical Cow | October 3, 1927[6] |
| 4 | Great Guns | October 17, 1927[7] |
| 5 | All Wet | October 31, 1927[8] |
| 6 | The Ocean Hop | November 14, 1927[9] |
| 7 | The Banker's Daughter | November 28, 1927[10] |
| 8 | Empty Socks | December 11, 1927[11] |
| 9 | Rickety Gin | December 26, 1927[12] |
| 10 | Harem Scarem | January 9, 1928[13] |
| 11 | Neck 'n' Neck | January 23, 1928[14] |
| 12 | The Ol' Swimmin' Hole | February 6, 1928[15] |
| 13 | Africa Before Dark | February 20, 1928[16] |
| 14 | Rival Romeos | March 5, 1928[17] |
| 15 | Bright Lights | March 19, 1928[18] |
| 16 | Sagebrush Sadie | April 1, 1928[19] |
| 17 | Ride 'Em Plowboy | April 15, 1928[20] |
| 18 | Ozzie of the Mounted | April 30, 1928[21] |
| 19 | Hungry Hobos | May 14, 1928[22] |
| 20 | Oh What a Knight | May 28, 1928[23] |
| 21 | Poor Papa | June 11, 1928[24] |
| 22 | The Fox Chase | June 25, 1928[25] |
| 23 | Tall Timber | July 9, 1928[26] |
| 24 | Sleigh Bells | July 23, 1928[27] |
| 25 | High Up | August 6, 1928[28] |
| 26 | Hot Dogs | August 20, 1928[29] |
| 27 | The Sky Scrapper | September 3, 1928[30] |
Copyright renewal status[]
| # | Title | Reg. title | Reg. date | Reg. # | Ren. date | Ren. # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | The Ol' Swimmin' Hole | Ol' (The) Swimmin' Hole | January 17, 1928 | L24888 | Expired | N/A |
| 13 | Africa Before Dark | Africa Before Dark | February 3, 1928 | L24972 | December 27, 1955[31] | R161428 |
| 14 | Rival Romeos | Rival Romeos | February 16, 1928 | L24996 | January 24, 1956[32] | R163752 |
| 15 | Bright Lights | Bright Lights | March 1, 1928 | L25033 | January 24, 1956[31] | R163755 |
| 16 | Sagebrush Sadie | Sagebrush Sadie | March 14, 1928 | L25069 | January 24, 1956[32] | R163757 |
| 17 | Ride 'Em Plowboy | Ride 'Em Plowboy | March 29, 1928 | L25105 | January 24, 1956[32] | R163760 |
| 18 | Ozzie of the Mounted | Ozzie of the Mounted | March 29, 1928 | L25106 | January 24, 1956[33] | R163761 |
| 19 | Hungry Hobos | Hungry hoboes | March 30, 1928 | L25129 | January 24, 1956[34] | R163766 |
| 20 | Oh What a Knight | Oh, What a Knight | March 30, 1928 | L25128 | January 24, 1956[35] | R163765 |
| 21 | Poor Papa | Poor Papa | May 22, 1928 | L25296 | April 25, 1956[32] | R169190 |
| 22 | The Fox Chase | Fox (The) Chase | June 6, 1928 | L25345 | April 25, 1956[36] | R169200 |
| 23 | Tall Timber | Tall Timber | June 20, 1928 | L25408 | April 25, 1956[37] | R169228 |
| 24 | Sleigh Bells | Sleigh Bells | July 3, 1928 | L25444 | June 18, 1956[38] | R173090 |
| 25 | High Up | High Up | July 23, 1928 | L25481 | June 18, 1956[39] | R173096 |
| 26 | Hot Dogs | Hot Dogs | August 3, 1928 | L25513 | June 18, 1956[39] | R173102 |
| 27 | The Sky Scrapper | Sky (The) Scrapper | April 25, 1928 | L25192 | January 24, 1956[37] | R163772 |
References[]
- ↑ "Universal Announces Release Of "Oscar, the Rabbit" Cartoons" - Motion Picture World (3/12/1927)
- ↑ "And That's That" Column - The Film Daily (2/1928)
- ↑ "Universal Signs for 3 More Years of Oswald" - Motion Picture News (2/1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ "Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jul-Dec 1955 pt1, A-B)
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, P-S)
- ↑ Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, O-P)
- ↑ Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, H-L)
- ↑ Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, M-O)
- ↑ Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, F-H)
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, S-T)
- ↑ Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt2, S)
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt2, H-J)