| Oswald the Lucky Rabbit | |
|---|---|
| Oswald the Lucky Rabbit character | |
 Oswald, as he appears in an ad for The Film Daily | |
| First appearance | Trolley Troubles (1927) |
| Created by | |
| Designed by | Walt Disney & Ub Iwerks |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Rabbit |
| Gender | Male |
| Significant others |
|
| Children | The Bunny Children Floyd and Lloyd (adopted sons, comics only) |
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit, Oswald Rabbit, and 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.
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] The character will appear in Oswald: Down the Rabbit Hole, an upcoming horror film directed by Lilton Stewart III,[15] and starring Ernie Hudson as the titular character.[16]
- ^ "The Calgary Daily Herald". The Calgary Daily Herald. July 20, 1936. p. 15 – via Google Books.
- ^ AZPM Staff. "Walt Disney Didn't Actually Draw Mickey Mouse. Meet The Kansas City Artist Who Did". news.azpm.org. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
- ^ "1933 Interview with Tex Avery". March 28, 2008.
- ^ "Lantz Oswald on DVD". Retrieved 2017-09-30.
- ^ a b "Woody Woodpecker on Records". Retrieved 2017-09-30.
- ^ @audwas (August 11, 2019). "Yes we did" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Disney, Walt (1928), Ozzie of the Mounted
- ^ "Universal Short Subjects". Motion Picture News. 1929. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
Ozzie of the Circus
- ^ "Universal Short Subjects". Harrison's Reports. 1929. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
Hold 'Em Ozzie
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (1980). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (Rev. ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-039835-6.
- ^ Lee, David (February 9, 2024). "Today in Disney History, 2006: Disney Regains the Rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit". WDW Magazine. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" – Walt Disney Animation Studios, December 2022, retrieved December 1, 2022
- ^ "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Shorts, 'Metropolis', 'The Jazz Singer' Headline 2023 Public Domain Arrivals". January 3, 2023.
- ^ "Oswald: Down the Rabbit Hole - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "Ernie Hudson To Star In Horror Movie 'Oswald Down The Rabbit Hole'". April 10, 2024. Retrieved July 14, 2024.