Disney Loses a Voice, Pulls Rabbit Out of NBC's Hat (2024)

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Disney Loses a Voice, Pulls Rabbit Out of NBC's Hat? ›

Oswald who? It turns out the big-eared bunny was one of Walt Disney's first animated characters, a star in his own right before Mickey Mouse was even a gleam in his creator's eye. But Disney lost the rabbit after he found out that Universal Studios, now part of NBC Universal, owned the rights to develop the character.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was Walt Disney's first break-out cartoon star. Walt unfortunately discovered on a trip to New York to renew his contract for Oswald that the character was the property of Universal. He returned to Hollywood devastated and in need of a new character that he would completely own.

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.

Oswald was called the lucky rabbit because of the idea of rabbits' feet being lucky. In his cartoons, Oswald would pull off his own foot, rub it for luck, and then put it back. Oswald is drawn with big eyes, big ears and shorts like the ones Mickey Mouse wears Unlike Mickey, Oswald does not have buttons on his pants.

Brandy & Mr. Whiskers is an American animated television series created by sitcom writer Russell Marcus for the Disney Channel. It follows the lives of the titular characters – respectively, a pampered-yet-spunky dog and a hyperactive rabbit – who get stuck in the Amazon Rainforest together.

The only one who did not accept the distributor's contract was Ub Iwerks, aware of the deception, since Mintz stole Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from Disney and moved the production of the Oswald cartoons to his new Winkler Studio, along with Margaret Winkler's brother, George.

Oswald relished playing with and making others laugh, but despite his flaws, he has morals and always tries to do the right thing. In his current revival (specifically in the Epic Mickey series), he is a direct foil of Mickey.

In 2006, the Walt Disney Company made a deal with NBCUniversal "that included permitting sportscaster Al Michaels to contract with NBC in exchange for the return of Oswald" to Disney, allowing the company to use Oswald in content and merchandise once more, according to a Disney release.

Adding sound to cartoons wasn't entirely new, but Disney's approach was. He realized that sound effects and music should be driven by plot, not added as an afterthought. If Disney hadn't lost Oswald to Mintz and Universal, there might not have been a Mickey Mouse.

In 1925, Hugh Harman drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney, reputedly based on Disney's own designs (similar to those he included on family birthday cards). These inspired Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney.

Who is the oldest Disney character? ›

Pete is the oldest continuing Disney character, having debuted in the cartoon Alice Solves the Puzzle in 1925. He originally bore the appearance of an anthropomorphic bear, but with the advent of Mickey in 1928, he was defined as a cat. Peter Pete Sr.

2. Goofy's birthday is May 25, 1932. That's when he first appeared (as Dippy Dawg) in the cartoon short Mickey's Revue. His first appearance as Goofy was two years later in Orphan's Benefit, which also saw the debut of Donald Duck.

On February 9, 2006, The Walt Disney Company bought the rights to the character, and the 27 Oswald cartoon short films made by the Walt Disney Studio through a trade with sportscaster Al Michaels. Oswald became one of the main characters in Epic Mickey.

Disney's 'Tangled' Is the Most Expensive Animated Film Ever Made. Disney's critically acclaimed take on the story of Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), Tangled is the most expensive animated movie ever made, costing a grand total of approximately $260 million.

Walt Disney's original name for Mickey was Mortimer! However, his wife Lillian Disney felt that it didn't work for the character Walt had created and hence, she suggested Mickey!

Disney now owns the rights to Oswald again, but Oswald was overshadowed by Mickey. Did Universal ever have the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? Who owned Oswald the Lucky Rabbit before Disney? Universal owned the rights to Oswald even while Disney was making the cartoons.

It was at the Hyperion Studio, after the loss of Oswald, that Walt had to come up with a new character, and that character was Mickey Mouse. With his chief animator, Ub Iwerks, Walt designed the famous mouse and gave him a personality that endeared him to all.

Disney would keep the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. As a result Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons (1928-1938) would be distributed by Celebrity Productions (1928-1930), Columbia Pictures (1930-1932), United Artists (1932-1937) and RKO Radio Pictures (1937-1938) instead of Universal Pictures in 1928-1938.

They offered NBC Universal the prized broadcasting rights to Al Michaels in exchange for the long-lost treasure – Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. This momentous deal marked Oswald's homecoming to the Disney family, reclaiming his position as the very first character created by Walt Disney.