Disney brings back an original-Oswald the lucky rabbit

crazy4wdw

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Disney brings back an original

Sara K. Clarke and Scott Powers | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted April 2, 2007, 10:54 AM EDT

Walt Disney's first big animated star, who predates even Mickey Mouse, is coming out of the vault for the first time on DVD, as part of the seventh installment of Walt Disney Treasures.

The release will feature rarely seen footage of "Oswald The Lucky Rabbit," a Disney original.

Walt Disney created Oswald as his first successful cartoon character in the late 1920s, before he created Mickey Mouse. But Disney lost the rights to Oswald's distributor -- Universal Studios. That loss forced Disney to create a new character for a new series of cartoons, and animation historians note the striking similarities between Oswald and his successor, Mickey.

Disney reacquired Oswald early last year in what essentiallly was a trade that sent sportscaster Al Michaels from Disney-owned ABC to NBC.

The newest additions to the Walt Disney Treasures will also include Chronological Donald, Volume 3, with solo shorts of Donald Duck dating from 1947 to 1950, and the documentary Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic.

They will be available December 11, in a limited supply.
 
I love how it says Disney/ABC traded Al Michaels for the rights to Oswald. I don't get it. Sure Oswald was Walt's first commercial creation, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a hit, or even popular. If Oswald, the lucky rabbit was a success, wouldn't Universal have continued creating the shorts without Disney?

I certainly hope this doesn't mean we will see new cartoons featuring this character. This would be the worst possible way to dishonor Walt Disney. After all, it was he who said, "I hope the people never lose sight of one thing. That it was all started by a mouse." The best thing Disney could do with the rights to Oswald would be to lock it up in the vault with "Song of the South" and throw away the key.
 
Always wanted to see Oswald, since Walt had something to do with him.
 

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