walter lantz

Description

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit or Oswald Rabbit) is an anthropomorphic rabbit and animated cartoon character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney for funny animal films distributed by Universal Pictures in the 1920s and 1930s. As Oswald grew in popularity, Oswald was taken away from Walt Disney, along with most of his animators, which forced him to eventually create Mickey Mouse. Charles Mintz, and later Walter Lantz, took over production, creating new Oswald cartoons until 1943. During his days under Disney, Oswald was one of the first cartoon characters that had personality. Not only were gags used, but his humor differed in terms of what he used to make people laugh. He presented physical humor, used situations to his advantage, and frustration comedy best shown in the cartoon The Mechanical Cow. He would make use of animal limbs to solve problems and even use his own limbs as props and gags. He could be squished as if he was made of rubber and could turn anything into tools. Sadly the one thing he could never use because of a overwhelming fear was banana peels. His distinct personality was inspired by Douglas Fairbanks for his courageous and adventurous attitude as seen in the cartoon short Oh, What a Knight. In 1927, because of cost and technical restrictions, Disney and his chief animator Ub Iwerks decided to end their work on the Alice Comedies series in search of new creative opportunities. Coincidentally, Universal Studios wanted to get into the cartoon business and needed a cartoon character of their own. So Disney's distributor Charles Mintz told Disney and Iwerks to create a new character they could sell to Universal. Wanting to make cartoons with an all-animated look, Disney signed a contract with Universal Studios leading to the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Universal's first cartoon series. Disney chose to make the character a rabbit since there where so many animated cats (Felix the Cat, Krazy Kat) at the time. Universal was given the right to name the rabbit and they selected a name out of a hat. The first Oswald cartoon, Poor Papa, was rejected by the Universal studio heads for its poor production quality and the sloppiness and age of Oswald. Disney, together with Iwerks, decided to create a second cartoon titled Trolley Troubles featuring a much younger, neater Oswald. The short, released on September 5, 1927, officially launched the series and proved to be Disney's greatest success to date. Poor Papa was finally released a year later but, named Mickey's Nightmare. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit became Disney's first major hit in 1927, rivaling other popular cartoon characters, such as Felix the Cat and Koko the Clown. In the spring of 1928, Disney traveled to New York City in hopes of negotiating a more profitable contract with his producer Charles Mintz. But as economic problems were apparent at the time, Mintz figured Disney should settle for a 20% cut, although large turnarounds were promised if the studio's finances showed considerable growth. While his fellow animators remained at Mintz's studio, Disney decided to quit his job and therefore leave the character he created. On his long train ride home, he came up with an idea to create another character, and retain rights to it.. He and Iwerks would go on to develop a new cartoon in secret, starring a new character which would soon become the most successful and popular cartoon character in film history and later become the foundation of a global entertainment empire. The first Mickey Mouse cartoon to be filmed, Plane Crazy, was produced as a silent in the summer of 1928 aalthough not released until it got a soundtrack after the first Mickey Mouse film with a synchronized soundtrack, "Steamboat Willie", reached the screen that fall, became a major hit and eclipsed Oswald. Characters?? There are all to many to list here and do them any justice. If you can think of a character that has its origins in American Anima...