Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (series)

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is a series of theatrical cartoons starring its titular character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The character and the series were owned by Universal Pictures, who distributed a total of 194 cartoons featuring Oswald to theaters.
The first fifty-two cartoons were produced by Winkler Pictures under a contract from Universal, and the animation of the first half of those cartoons was outsourced to the Walt Disney Studio. In addition, the character was designed by Disney Studio employee Ub Iwerks while under the direct supervision of Walt Disney.
==History==
After the Alice Comedies, Disney's second animated series (after the Laugh-o-Grams) folded in 1927, Carl Laemmle approached Disney and requested a new, all-animated series featuring a rabbit. Disney and Ub Iwerks created a new character entitled "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit".
On March 4, 1927, Winkler Pictures head Charles Mintz signed a contract with Universal within the presence of its vice president at the time, R. H. Cochrane. The contract stated that Winkler would produce 26 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons for Universal during the 1927-28 season. Universal had been negotiating deals with cartoon producers for the past three months; they wanted to get back into the cartoon business after ten years of no cartoons from the company."Universal Announces Release Of "Oscar, the Rabbit" Cartoons" - Motion Picture World (3/12/1927)
The first Oswald cartoon, Poor Papa, was poorly received by Mintz and demanded a better, younger version of Oswald. The next cartoon, Trolley Troubles, was well received, and the series officially launched.
In February 1928, Winkler signed a contract with Universal that would guarantee three more years worth of Oswald cartoons."And That's That" Column - The Film Daily (2/1928)"Universal Signs for 3 More Years of Oswald" - Motion Picture News (2/1928) With the series going strong, Disney demanded a raise from Mintz, which he refused. Mintz instead told Disney that he was going to cut the budget, and if Disney did not agree to the cut, he would be cut from the production scheme. Disney refused, and most of his employees left for Mintz. Only Ub Iwerks remained, and the two secretly planned out a cartoon featuring their new character, Mickey Mouse.
== Shorts==
# 	Title 	Release date
1 	Trolley Troubles 	September 5, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
2 	Oh Teacher 	September 19, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
3 	The Mechanical Cow 	October 3, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
4 	Great Guns 	October 17, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
5 	All Wet 	October 31, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
6 	The Ocean Hop 	November 14, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
7 	The Banker's Daughter	November 28, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
8 	Empty Socks 	December 11, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
9 	Rickety Gin 	December 26, 1927"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
10	Harem Scarem 	January 9, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
11	Neck 'n' Neck 	January 23, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1927)
12	The Ol' Swimmin' Hole	February 6, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
13	Africa Before Dark 	February 20, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
14	Rival Romeos 	March 5, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
15	Bright Lights 	March 19, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
16	Sagebrush Sadie 	April 1, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
17	Ride 'Em Plowboy 	April 15, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
18	Ozzie of the Mounted 	April 30, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
19	Hungry Hobos 	May 14, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
20	Oh What a Knight 	May 28, 1928"Comedies and Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
21	Poor Papa 	June 11, 1928"Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
22	The Fox Chase 	June 25, 1928"Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
23	Tall Timber 	July 9, 1928"Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
24	Sleigh Bells 	July 23, 1928"Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
25	High Up 	August 6, 1928"Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
26	Hot Dogs 	August 20, 1928"Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
27	The Sky Scrapper 	September 3, 1928"Universal Short Subjects" - Motion Picture News (1928)
===Copyright renewal status===
# 	Title 	Reg. title 	Reg. date 	Reg. #	Ren. date 	Ren. #
1 	Trolley Troubles 	Trolley Troubles 	June 9, 1927 	L24088	Not renewed 	-
2 	Oh Teacher 	Oh Teacher 	July 20, 1927 	L24227	Not renewed 	-
3 	The Mechanical Cow 	Mechanical (The) Cow 	September 10, 1927	M4314 	Not renewed 	-
4 	Great Guns 	Great Guns 	September 15, 1927	M4316 	Not renewed 	-
5 	All Wet 	All Wet 	September 10, 1927	M4315 	April 19, 1955Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1955 pt2, A-B) 	R149116
6 	The Ocean Hop 	Ocean (The) Hop 	September 8, 1927 	L24391	Not renewed 	-
7 	The Banker's Daughter	Banker's (The) Daughter	September 15, 1927	M4313 	Not renewed 	-
8 	Empty Socks 	Empty Socks 	November 23, 1927 	L24696	Not renewed 	-
9 	Rickety Gin 	Rickety Gin 	October 19, 1927 	L24531	Not renewed 	-
10	Harem Scarem 	Harem Scarem 	December 20, 1927 	L24785	December 5, 1955Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jul-Dec 1955 pt1, G-I) 	R160608
11	Neck 'n' Neck 	Neck 'n' Neck 	December 28, 1927 	L24811	December 5, 1955Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jul-Dec 1955 pt1, L-O) 	R160612
12	The Ol' Swimmin' Hole	Ol' (The) Swimmin' Hole	January 17, 1928 	L24888	December 27, 1955 	R161420
13	Africa Before Dark 	Africa Before Dark 	February 3, 1928 	L24972	December 27, 1955Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jul-Dec 1955 pt1, A-B)	R161428
14	Rival Romeos 	Rival Romeos 	February 16, 1928 	L24996	January 24, 1956Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, P-S) 	R163752
15	Bright Lights 	Bright Lights 	March 1, 1928 	L25033	January 24, 1956 	R163755
16	Sagebrush Sadie 	Sagebrush Sadie 	March 14, 1928 	L25069	January 24, 1956 	R163757
17	Ride 'Em Plowboy 	Ride 'Em Plowboy 	March 29, 1928 	L25105	January 24, 1956 	R163760
18	Ozzie of the Mounted 	Ozzie of the Mounted 	March 29, 1928 	L25106	January 24, 1956Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, O-P) 	R163761
19	Hungry Hobos 	Hungry hoboes 	March 30, 1928 	L25129	January 24, 1956Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, H-L) 	R163766
20	Oh What a Knight 	Oh, What a Knight 	March 30, 1928 	L25128	January 24, 1956Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, M-O) 	R163765
21	Poor Papa 	Poor Papa 	May 22, 1928 	L25296	April 25, 1956 	R169190
22	The Fox Chase 	Fox (The) Chase 	June 6, 1928 	L25345	April 25, 1956Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, F-H) 	R169200
23	Tall Timber 	Tall Timber 	June 20, 1928 	L25408	April 25, 1956Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt1, S-T) 	R169228
24	Sleigh Bells 	Sleigh Bells 	July 3, 1928 	L25444	June 18, 1956Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt2, S) 	R173090
25	High Up 	High Up 	July 23, 1928 	L25481	June 18, 1956Motion Picture Copyright Renewals (Jan-Jun 1956 pt2, H-J) 	R173096
26	Hot Dogs 	Hot Dogs 	August 3, 1928 	L25513	June 18, 1956 	R173102
27	The Sky Scrapper 	Sky (The) Scrapper 	April 25, 1928 	L25192	January 24, 1956 	R163772
==Gallery==
Oswald.jpg
Oswald Figurine.jpg
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Plush Toy.jpg
oswaldears-500x438.jpg|Oswald ears
Oswaldrabbit end.jpg
==References==
==External links==
*Oswald's page with list of Oswald shorts on The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
Category:Animated shorts