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Disney 'holy grail' film 'Sleigh Bells' rediscovered
Mickey Mouse is Walt Disney's most popular cartoon character and a staple of almost every childhood in the western world.
But, had a business deal gone differently, would Oswald the Lucky Rabbit -- the first Disney character ever created -- have been the star of Disneyland and present in every toddler's toy collection?
A rare and long-lost silent film, "Sleigh Bells" from 1928, has just been rediscovered in the British Film Institute (BFI), which stars Oswald, the Disney star who never was.
"Sleigh Bells" was made by Walt Disney and fellow animator Ub Iwerks, but the rights to the character Oswald were owned by Universal. Following a contractual disagreement, Disney and Iwerks stopped making Oswald films and went on to create Mickey Mouse.
"There's a good argument to be made that had Walt Disney not fallen out with Universal over contracts, he would have gone on to make 100 more Oswald films and Mickey Mouse may never have been created," Justin Johnson, an Animation Programmer at BFI told CNN.
"Oswald and Mickey clearly resemble each other in terms of physical characteristics. But, even more importantly, their characters have a lot in common.
"Before Oswald, cartoon characters were pretty generic, without much personality. However, Oswald is clearly a fun and mischievous character, just like Mickey," Johnson added.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/04/europe/oswald-rabbit-film-rediscovered/index.html
Mickey Mouse is Walt Disney's most popular cartoon character and a staple of almost every childhood in the western world.
But, had a business deal gone differently, would Oswald the Lucky Rabbit -- the first Disney character ever created -- have been the star of Disneyland and present in every toddler's toy collection?
A rare and long-lost silent film, "Sleigh Bells" from 1928, has just been rediscovered in the British Film Institute (BFI), which stars Oswald, the Disney star who never was.
"Sleigh Bells" was made by Walt Disney and fellow animator Ub Iwerks, but the rights to the character Oswald were owned by Universal. Following a contractual disagreement, Disney and Iwerks stopped making Oswald films and went on to create Mickey Mouse.
"There's a good argument to be made that had Walt Disney not fallen out with Universal over contracts, he would have gone on to make 100 more Oswald films and Mickey Mouse may never have been created," Justin Johnson, an Animation Programmer at BFI told CNN.
"Oswald and Mickey clearly resemble each other in terms of physical characteristics. But, even more importantly, their characters have a lot in common.
"Before Oswald, cartoon characters were pretty generic, without much personality. However, Oswald is clearly a fun and mischievous character, just like Mickey," Johnson added.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/04/europe/oswald-rabbit-film-rediscovered/index.html
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