Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit, Oswald Rabbit, Ozzie[8][9][10]) is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio.[11] After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.
This article is about the character. For the series of shorts, see Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (series). For the 2022 short, see Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (short).Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Trolley Troubles (1927)
Walt Disney & Ub Iwerks
- Bill Nolan (1929)[3]
- Pinto Colvig (1930)[3]
- Mickey Rooney (1930-1931)[3]
- Shirley Reed (1931, 1934)[3]
- Tex Avery (1932–1935)[3][4]
- Margaret McKay (1938)[3]
- Bernice Hansen (1938)[3]
- June Foray (1943, 1947)
- Dick Beals (1952)[5]
- Mel Blanc (1957)[6]
- Gloria Wood (1957)[6]
- Frank Welker (2010–2018)[7]
- David Errigo Jr. (Disney Speedstorm; 2023–present)
- Ortensia the Cat/Kitty/Sadie (girlfriend; wife in some depictions)
- Bunny Lou/Fanny (first girlfriend; then rejected)
In 2003, Buena Vista Games pitched a concept for an Oswald-themed video game to then-Disney President and future-CEO Bob Iger, who became committed to acquiring the rights to Oswald. In 2006, The Walt Disney Company acquired the trademark of Oswald (with NBCUniversal effectively trading Oswald for the services of Al Michaels as play-by-play announcer on NBC Sunday Night Football).[12]
Oswald returned in Disney's 2010 video game, Epic Mickey. The game's metafiction plot parallels Oswald's real-world history, dealing with the character's feelings of abandonment by Disney and envy toward Mickey Mouse. He has since appeared in Disney theme parks and comic books, as well as two follow-up games, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two and Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion. Oswald made his first appearance in an animated production in 85 years through his cameo appearance in the 2013 animated short Get a Horse! He was the subject of the 2015 feature film Walt Before Mickey. Oswald also appears as a townsperson in Disney Infinity 2.0. In 2022, Oswald appeared in a new short produced by Disney.[13] He also has a cameo appearance in Once Upon a Studio.
In January 2023, the copyrights on several of the original Oswald shorts, as well as the character, expired. Those films and the character are now in the public domain.[14]
Merchandise[edit]
Shortly after the rabbit starred in his black-and-white animated silent shorts between 1927 and 1928, he sold merchandise for Universal: a chocolate-covered marshmallow candy bar, a stencil set, and a pin-backed button.[64] In 2004 and 2005, Oswald products became popular in Japan and were primarily made available as prizes in UFO catchers[65] and as official merchandise in Universal Studios Japan, manufactured by Taito and/or Medicom, these products included puppets, inflatable dolls, keyrings, and watches.[66] Oswald made his first Disneyland appearance at Tokyo Disneyland on March 31, 2010, as an Easter float.[67] As of October 2017, Oswald has a Service Station at Disney's California Adventure (near the entrance) that only sells exclusive "Oswald The Lucky Rabbit" merchandise including Oswald ears, hats (baseball caps), shirts, t-shirts, plates, coats, cups, mugs, plush toys, key-chains, and much more.[68][69][70][71]