Disney's Animated Classics

Oswald the Rabbit Cartoons

By 1927, Walt's film distributor suggested a change in direction to keep Walt's animated shorts fresh. This was the impetus for Walt to develop the character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald appeared in a series of 26 silent cartoons made by Walt Disney between 1927 and 1928 under contract to Winkler and Mintz. When Walt later lost the rights to the Oswald character because of a clause in his contract, he developed the Mickey Mouse character. Meanwhile, the character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was continued by Walter Lantz, with distribution by Universal Studios. Sound was later added to some of Walt's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit films, which continued to be shown as part of the series. Through a 2006 agreement between the Walt Disney Company and Universal-NBC, the rights to Oswald the Rabbit were returned to Disney.

1928: Scene from "The Ol' Swimmin' Hole"