Freeze frame, my poster collection, part 18…

Today we look at some of the Oswald replica posters in my collection. One day I hope to get my hands on an original. But for the time being I’ll settle for these.

Are there any classic cartoon characters that you’d like to get a poster of? I’d like to read about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, part 3...

It is rare for a character to maintain their original design. Whether we are talking about a comic book or a cartoon there are very few characters that have stayed visually consistent. It is possible that Otto Messmer's Felix the Cat is the one that has undergone the fewest changes since his debut in 1919. Almost every cartoon character in the Disney library has had a visual makeover through the years. Some were subtle, a change in wardrobe or voice, others were a bit more radical. The same could be said for those characters from MGM, Universal and Warner Bros. Of all the cartoon characters that ever was none changed as much as Oswald.

Within the span of a few years the character went from silent movie star to talking anthropomorphic rabbit. His look was radically different from year to year. The confusion this created may have cost him fans along the way. Even the studios producing the films sometimes couldn't find consistency on the posters they created.

The seeds for a radical makeover were planted around 1935. Up until then the changes in Oswald had been subtle. Over the span of five years he was given shoes, a shirt and even a voice. His head changed shape and his pie-eyes became widened with eyebrows added for emphasis. This look was consistent in the films and comic strips featuring the character. The first strips were published by DC, making the Lucky Rabbit one of their first star characters. This was a decade before Superman or Batman had been created! Yet something happened in 1936, Lantz was trying his hand at producing the comic strips and submitted a few samples that were never published. The look of Oswald had changed drastically. He suddenly looked more like a traditional rabbit. His shorts were gone and replaced by overalls. It was a mix of something new and a nod to the early wardrobe created by Ub Iwerks. The rare scans are courtesy of James Halperin . Contrary to what some people think Walter Lantz and Walt Disney held no ill will for each other. They were in fact good friends. Disney trusted that Lantz and Carl Lammle would treat the Oswald with respect so long as Universal held onto the rights. It was Charles Mintz and his dealings that Disney did not care for.

Walter Lantz wouldn't actually get the rights to Oswald until 1940 but he was still in charge of the character before then. Universal trusted his direction and his team. Mintz was seen at failing to recreate the success of Disney after stealing his character and staff. Universal fired Mintz once they realized that Oswald and / or Mickey Mouse could have been theirs if only the partnership were handled differently. Lantz in turn would run with Oswald for decades, yet couldn't quite manage to recreate the level of success that Mickey Mouse enjoyed no matter how hard he tried.

Rather than follow the mouse Lantz eventually decided to give the rabbit a makeover. The previous redesigns were co-created by Bill Nolan but the comic strip and animated makeover were owed mainly to Lantz. Oswald was a rarely seen in animation past the mid-1930s. He didn't really appear in any prominent short until the color musical Egg Cracker Suite in 1943. It was a rift on the Disney Silly Symphonies and was the last time Oswald would get a starring role. Oswald never really quite recaptured his star power. Not in animation nor in comic books. It didn't stop Lantz from directing. In fact it probably spurred him to create his own library of characters. Some of which would eventually prove to be more popular than Oswald.

 

Andy Panda debuted in 1939. The young panda bear was naive but quite lovable. A year later Woody Woodpecker debuted and the true star of the Lantz films was born. Others would join him as well, Wally Walrus (1944), Buzz Buzzard (1948) and Chilly Willy (1953) just to name a few. These characters helped carry the Lantz studios on throughout the years. Oswald lingered in the background for a long time. His stint in comics lasted until the late '50s but was left to reprints in foreign markets for the rest of the 20th century. It wasn't until the new millennium that Oswald would be reintroduced to audiences. Find out how this happened in the next blog. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The evolution of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, part 2...

Many Disney fans are familiar with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit these days but not long ago he was an obscure trivia answer. The most recognizable version of Oswald the Rabbit was actually created by Ub Iwerks. His proportions, scale and size were standardized within a year.

What the current-generation of Disney fans might not realize was how much Oswald changed in the span of a few years. In the original poster art and designs for Oswald Ub had planned a taller, lankier character. His head was more egg-shaped and often featured whiskers on his face and claws on his feet.

Oswald was visualized as having suspenders in some early pieces. These elements were paired down and Oswald became shorter and rounder in the process. The whiskers eventually went away. By the end of 1927 and the start of 1928 the look that most fans are familiar with finally took shape. Yet it was also about then that Disney had lost the rights to the character. Lantz took over and spared no time in remaking the character.

The post-Disney Oswald cartoons were notable for the lack of consistency. The quality of the animation suffered greatly. Animator Bill Nolan had worked for Disney and was one of the artists that left. He was a very prolific artist as well and was capable of producing almost as many frames of art as Ub Iwerks. Yet the one thing he lacked was the visual consistency of Ub. The lines for Oswald were sloppy, his movement lacked fluidity. Nolan was nowhere near the draftsman that Ub was. Nolan worked with Walter Lantz and helped redesign Oswald over the years. The shape of the head and eyes changed again. The costume did as well. The runaway success of Mickey Mouse meant that all of the following characters had to poach many of Mickey's design elements. Oswald soon found himself wearing shoes and sporting a shirt and even buttons on his shorts.

Despite the visual makeover fans were not flocking to Oswald as they once were. The cartoons lacked the creative spark that Disney had. They also lacked the quality and consistency that Ub offered. Oswald spoke in the Universal films but his voice changed from picture to picture because different animators took turns recording the character. Even Pinto Colving (the eventual voice for Goofy) did some voice work for the character. Oswald was losing ground to Mickey Mouse and his friends. Lantz would continue changing the character to try and fit the times. All of the lessons that Ub discovered while creating a cartoon rabbit would have to be relearned by Waner Bros. a decade later when they created a character called Bugs Bunny.

Realistic animal shapes did not lend themselves easily to animation. The artists had to take a lot of liberties in order to make the characters work in the medium of film. Luckily for Warner Bros. some of the animators working on Bugs had first cut their teeth animating Oswald. These artists learned very quickly not get too used to one school of design. Lantz was not finished changing the look of Oswald. In the next blog we will look at how far the character had changed from his first appearance. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!