Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Thread

[Mason_Ireton]

Oswald, a classic and creative character of his time, while being a money helper for Walt, what's the story behind this lucky rabbit and who owns the rights to him, also is Disney gon'na put the rabbit's cartoons on the Rare Disney treasure dvd?



Update: Oswald found his way back home to Disney by striking a football deal with N.B.C and brought all of his friends with him.


We can discuss the character of Oswald and the Treasure set too.

[JiminyCrick91]

who owns the rights to him, also is Disney gon'na put the rabbit's cartoons on the Rare Disney treasure dvd?

For the rights you would seek Universal Studios Inc. So there is no chance in heck that disney could put out the shorts under there name (also some if not many were not done by him but Walter Lanz form Woody Woodpecker or his team even thou he thought most the rabbit up (with help of Lanz).)

[Mason_Ireton]

I'm kinda confused, it was Walt's creation but he had to give to a unknown Universal studio because of contract problems and being ripped off? and why can't Disney get the rights to all the Oswald property, I was looking forward to seeing his cartoons on dvd, haven't seen an Oswald cartoon at all.

[JiminyCrick91]

NO no no. It may have been partly Walt's creation but he was working at Universal studios to make cartoons for THEM he was never the owner of the rabbit so they made more after he left and did the Alice shorts.

[Mr. Toad]

Don't forget about the Winkler Oswalds inbetween the Disney Oswalds and the Lantz Oswalds.

http://www.cartoonresearch.com/winkler/index.html

Basically Walt did not own the rights to Oswald, Winkler did. Walt was only making them for Winkler. When Walt demanded more money from Winkler, Winkler fired Walt and took all his artists.

Jerrry Beck is fascinated by the Winkler cartoons. you can go to cartoonresearch.com and follow links to the animation history forum and post a question for him.

[Mason_Ireton]

Now I understand, so how come Universal doesn't release the Oswald series to dvd, it might give em a big boost of recovery from their past failed films in 2005.

[JiminyCrick91]

Well they may since they maby releasing Woody Woodypecker DVDs so maby.

[Mason_Ireton]

How many dvds would Oswald take up? I counted the Alice series and they would up 3-5 seasons dvd for the Disney Treausure, guessing Oswald would take 3-4 dvd.

[Mr. Toad]

Mason - many of the Oswald's from Walt no longer exist. Secondly, this is a real specialty market. They couldnt make enough to recoup for their big losses. What is your initial thought to seeing a Universal cartoon treasure? Does it rank anywhere close to seeing a Disney cartoon treasure? Nope. And how does Universal market it? As Walt Disney's creation? They would not do that in a million years. So they are left with the name Lantz - yeah we all know it but the general public really does not. Disney has the advantage of putting the Alice treasure right next to a Donald Duck treasure in stores. Donald will catch peoples eye and hopefully bring people in to buy the other Treasures. Universal does not have that luxury.

I think Jerry has a list of the surviving cartoons somewhere on his site. Maybe Luke does here too.

[Little Red Henski]

http://lantz.goldenagecartoons.com/profiles/oswald/

This site has a ton of info on Oswald. Universal does not care about its classic cartoons period!

[Mason_Ireton]

Thanks for the link Little Red, really appericate your help too. Course it doesn't explain why today's generation aren't familar with the character, cause he's been forced to outshine Mickey Mouse and his gang, from the way that Lanz wanted to portray Oswald instead of a humble and wholesome character that Walt created.

[Mr. Toad]

Red - thanks for the link. I got the names a little mixed up. Where I said Winkler, I should have said Mintz. Winkler was the artist that replaced Walt originally not the owner.

[Little Red Henski]

Magarete J. Winkler was Walt's distributor. Charles Mintz was her husband.

[Mason_Ireton]

So was the rabbit suppose to be the main key to golden age for Universal and to pave new highways for unexplored medium grounds for the studio?

[Little Red Henski]

I think Universal just wanted a character to sell merchandise.

[Mason_Ireton]

Why didn't they promote a character the easy way, Oswald could've been a huge impact for studios like Dreamworks, or Pixar instead of being a money rabbit, oh well since he was created in the mists of the Great Depression I don't blame Winkler for pressuring the studio to throw out Oswald's intentions as a family entertainer.

[Mason_Ireton]

This great that Oswald is welcomed back to Disney after spending 80 years at Universal, Iger has decided to bring Mickey's Stepbro back to the family. And to top it off, Oswald's recieving his very own 2 disc dvd along with a new cartoon in the works.


http://www.ultimatedisney.com/treasures.html#7


Info bout Oswald/Return to Disney


http://www.cartoonresearch.com/winkler/index.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit


What do you folks personaly feel bout this astounding milestone, have you ever wondered if Walt tried to get Oswald back during his later years (40s-60s)?

[Escapay]

Mickey's Stepbro

Wow, I never heard that term before! I always figured Oswald was more the big brother to Mickey (since they had the same father), or at least that cool older cousin that you wanted to hang out with (since he was a rabbit, and Mickey was a mouse)

have you ever wondered if Walt tried to get Oswald back during his later years (40s-60s)?

I would think by then (the 1960s, at least) Walt would have moved on, in the sense that he knew Oswald was not his in the "legal" sense anymore, and that he already had a lot going for him (animation, movies, tv shows, Disneyland , the Florida Project, etc.). It would have been a loss that he'd be partly grateful for (if not for Oswald, there wouldn't be a Mickey), but at the same time, one that he still regretted (due to the way Oswald was taken from him).

Escapay

[Mason_Ireton]

I would think by then (the 1960s, at least) Walt would have moved on, in the sense that he knew Oswald was not his in the "legal" sense anymore, and that he already had a lot going for him (animation, movies, tv shows, Disneyland , the Florida Project, etc.). It would have been a loss that he'd be partly grateful for (if not for Oswald, there wouldn't be a Mickey), but at the same time, one that he still regretted (due to the way Oswald was taken from him).

Escapay

Good point, I knew that he regretted it, but I was always curious if he bothered to bring Oswald back, Diane Miller (Walt's Daughter) said on Your Host Walt Disney's Interview, "Daddy never showed us Oswald, that was something he didn't show off to us" which really surpised moi cause I thought Walt would at least own the shorts that HE made and not the Lantz shorts.

[Escapay]

I would think by then (the 1960s, at least) Walt would have moved on, in the sense that he knew Oswald was not his in the "legal" sense anymore, and that he already had a lot going for him (animation, movies, tv shows, Disneyland , the Florida Project, etc.). It would have been a loss that he'd be partly grateful for (if not for Oswald, there wouldn't be a Mickey), but at the same time, one that he still regretted (due to the way Oswald was taken from him).

Escapay

Good point, I knew that he regretted it, but I was always curious if he bothered to bring Oswald back, Diane Miller (Walt's Daughter) said on Your Host Walt Disney's Interview, "Daddy never showed us Oswald, that was something he didn't show off to us" which really surpised moi cause I thought Walt would at least own the shorts that HE made and not the Lantz shorts.

I'm about 70% sure that when Mintz orchestrated the whole takeover of Oswald from Walt to him and Universal, that it took ownership of not just the characters (and animators who signed over), but also the actual shorts that they had already made. I don't have the Your Host DVD yet, so I haven't seen the interview. But it would make sense for Walt to not want to show them (or try and get them back). He wasn't really one to keep looking "back" all the time. I mean, yes, he'd often show the older cartoons and stuff in the Disneyland series and Mickey Mouse Club, as well as re-releasing them in theatres. But rarely would he go and "tweak" something that he wasn't happy with initially, or that he got a "better" idea for later on. I think he accepted that Oswald wasn't his, and basically figured, "Even though I have the means to get him back now, what would I do with him?" After all, by the 1960s his plate was full. Adding yet another character to the roster would be a bit much, which is likely why we saw the gradual decline of characters like Clarabelle and Horace, and of course, Mickey himself. Once their story and marketing appeal begin to wane, it's often hard to bring it back. And if Walt had recovered Oswald in the 60s, it'd have been 40 years since his last "Disney" appearance, and he'd essentially be a stranger to most people.

Escapay