Oswald in the new hand-drawn story;
WHAT MANY BELIEVE started with a mouse, actually began with a rabbit. Oswald The Lucky Rabbit to be precise, who in his 95th year is starring in a new, hand-drawn Disney short. But just who is this long-forgotten bunny?
It all began in 1927, when Walt Disney and animator Ub Iwerks created Oswald as a grouchy middle-aged dad in his debut film Poor Papa for Universal Pictures. The studio baulked, demanding they make the character “young and snappy-looking, with a monocle”. Disney and Iwerks started afresh with a new cartoon, Trolley Troubles, and Oswald was reborn a cheeky slapstick artist in the tradition of the 1920s’ biggest animated star, Felix The Cat.
What set Trolley Troubles apart was the film’s dynamic animation; Felix operated only in two dimensions, mimicking the visual language of the comic strip. Disney and Iwerks instead took their cue from live-action cinematography, using a fast-moving camera and a wide range of perspectives to showcase Oswald’s misadventures.