Rabbit Season
It’s Easter, and what better subject than Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? Created by Walt Disney and the incomparable Ub Iwerks in the 1920’s, Oswald was ‘killed’ by Charles Mintz, and was later ‘ressurected’ as Mickey Mouse. Despite recent archival efforts, and some very nifty Japanese toys, Oswald remains a big loser. Walter Lantz (bless him) pretty much diluted the character to nothing, turning the bold, Iwerks design into an average ‘cutie bunny’ type. My theory is that one should never call themselves or their creations ‘Lucky’. You’re just asking for it. It doesn’t help his loser status that the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was nicknamed ‘Oswald Rabbit’, either. Lucky rabbit, my foot.
Wow… you learn something new everyday!
Is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in the Public Domain ?
You certainly do learn something new every day! Include me in that one. Even more surprising as it would seem that Oswald appeared in series of 26 cartoons and apparently was the first Disney character to spawn its own merchandise. And I never even knew that the wabbit existed!
Wow, I had no idea of that history. Poor Oswald.
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LHO was 3 times a rabbit. 1. Lee: confederate general, south refered to as a rabbit ie: Grant going to dine on rabbit in Vicksburg. 2. Harvey: the invisible “pooka” rabbit in the broadway play “Harvey”. 3. Oswald: the lucky rabbit.
I bought a small – about 4″ tall – Oswald figure – plastic with felt ears and missing the arms and legs. It has an original sticker that says – Oswald – Corp. Universal Pictures – an Irwin Product. I find nothing anywhere about it. Any ideas?
As a fellow artist and American, I am so glad that Walt has Oswald the Lucky Rabbit back where he belongs. Granted, The Disney Corporation is not quite Walt Disney himself, but for the cyrogenics room on the 3rd floor….
It is shameful that NBC let Oswald rot for so long. It should not have taken the Al Michaels Situation to bring Oswald home. There is such a thing as nobility and honor, even in 2006 A. D., and corporations and their Constitution-trodding “high-powered” lawyers should respect the creative genius of America’s artists.
John Krikfalusi, the creator of “Ren & Stimpy”, lost all rights to them when he signed an adhesion contract with MTV/Viacom. If he ever found a decent attorney with some cahonies, maybe he could get the parts of the contract that are void as against public policy for their “adhesiveness” or one-sidedness stricken, and he could get his two little guys back.
It is time that American legislators and judges start looking out for artists and free speech in general. And we as a people, need to write our representatives and run against them when it is obvious that they are bought and sold by Viacom, General Electric, Enron, Exxon-Mobil, et cetera.
Truly,
Mike Wrathell, Artist