Where’s Oswald?

Nearly everyone in the world recognizes Mickey Mouse, even more so than Santa! But have you ever heard of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit?  Mickey Mouse is looking pretty good for being an octogenarian and Mickey fans know that he made his debut in the cartoon Steamboat Willie. But did you know Oswald came before Mickey and paved the way for this famous rodent? 

Disney Brother Studio was one of the many holdings of Universal Studios that produced animated short films for the newly popular “moving pictures” industry. Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created a mischievous character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit who remarkably looks identical to early Mickey Mouse minus the bunny tail and round ears instead of long ears! This character was a hit in 1926 and 1927 and played with first run movies.

Over twenty episodes were created, and Oswald was the first Disney character that had related merchandise such as stencils, candy and buttons.

When the contract with Disney was up, Universal announced that they had the rights to Oswald and all the workers that supported the animated figure. Disney could stay if they took a pay cut. Disney refused and created his own animated character and hired new employees to create animated short films. Iwerks and Disney stayed up all night trying to come up with a new main character to replace Oswald.  Amazingly, this mouse looked remarkably similar to Oswald and his original name was Mortimer.  The first two shorts were not well received but Mortimer became Mickey and starred in Steamboat Willie, the first animated film that had synchronized sound and music. It was an instant hit.

Disney struck upon the popular aviator Charles Lindbergh and made Mickey a pilot in “Plane Crazy.” Mickey was on his way! Disney created merchandise featuring Mickey and created a fan club for children called the Mickey Mouse Club and the rest, as they say, is history.

Oswald actually returned to Disney in 2006 from acquired assets and has appeared in video games. The Oswald films have been recorded to DVD for new generations to enjoy. If you would like to know what Oswald looks like you will need to look him up on your favorite search engine because I cannot pay royalty fees to use his likeness! I tried to find vintage Oswald merchandise, but it was very hard to find since there was very little made and still around. You can find pins and some merchandise from his return in 2006 and some of it brings a good price. Happy Collecting!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for over 40 years and is a licensed REALTOR and estate liquidation specialist.  You can contact her through the Houston Home Journal or via email at jcfalen@gmail.com