Everything starts with rabbit, but not Mickey

The empire of Walt Disney begin with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

From Tokyo to Toronto, millions of the earth would recognize Mickey Mouse as the icon of their childhood. But have you known that if a business deal had not blown away in the 1920s, would Disney’s most iconic character have turned out to be a rabbit called Oswald?

The multi-billion Disney empire is famous for their strictness towards the protection of their copyright issues, however 85 years ago he had a rather chastening experience.

He had learnt an experience of business around a battle over a rabbit.

Walt Disney had been producing the Alice Comedies, a series in which a little girl filmed in live-action entered a cartoon world and interacted with the characters.

“The Alice Comedies had gain a big success enough, but by 1927 Walt had tired of the live-action/animation format and ended the series so that he could make a new series of all-animated films," says author and film historian JB Kaufman.”

At that time, the animation market was full of cats. There was Felix the Cat, Krazy Kat, the cat in Walt's own Alice pictures, and a few others. They decided on a rabbit instead.

Here comes the born of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

The "lucky" part referred to the superstition around rabbit feet. In one of the early films, Oswald pulls off his own foot and rubs it for luck.

The choice of Oswald as a name came because Walt allowed the Universal executives to choose it. The story goes that they pulled names out of a hat, Kaufman says.

In 1927, Universal had hired Walt Disney Studios to create 26 animated shorts starring Oswald. The first, Poor Papa, prompts a redesign. Trolley Trouble, featuring a much improve Oswald, is well received in its theatrical release.

Oswald came before his "half-brother" Mickey, but the similarities are obvious.

"They are not too far apart in their physical characteristics, but I think in personality they were more alike in the beginning," says Becky Cline, the director of the Walt Disney Archives.

Oswald and Mickey shared some same specialities as brothers.

"Mickey was a little more naughty and frisky then than he was now. Mickey is more of a gentleman than Oswald was. Oswald was kind of a rogue. He was a lothario."

Despite initial success, Oswald was not to prove a long-term asset for Walt. Within a year, Oswald's distributor Charles Mintz had forced Walt out and taken over the rights to the series.

Not one to dwell on disappointment, the Disney creator moved on from the blow. Diane Disney-Miller, Walt's daughter, says he was spurred to create Mickey. He had said "to Hell with all the lousy Oswalds. When we develop Mickey, we'll lick 'em with quality," she recalls.

Biographers have suggested Walt did not have a natural head for business, but the then 26-year-old learned a bitter lesson from the Oswald episode. From that point on there were no more middlemen.

“We have finally met” from Mickey to Oswald

After being snatched away from Walt, Oswald still enjoyed success.

The Disney studio had made 26 pictures with Oswald. Over the following year an interim crew produced 26 more. Then Walter Lantz took over the series and, over the next 10 years, produced more than 150 Oswalds of his own.

Then there was a drift into obscurity. While Mickey imagery proliferated, Oswald was forgotten by many.

The Walt Disney Corporation bided it’s time for 78 years. Then it got Oswald back.

In February 2006, Disney chief executive Bob Iger swap the rights of Oswald with Universal. The rights to Oswald were regained in exchange for sending sport commentator Al Michaels to NBC.

As Walt's first character, Oswald still had special significance for one of the world's most powerful brands.

Oswald is remarketed again in Disney’s merchandize.

"There is always a market for new things. Oswald is so old, he's new again," says Jerry Beck, animation historian, author and blogger .

"He represents that optimistic era of early animated cartoons, but doesn't come with the 'family friendly' baggage of Mickey Mouse. We have no expectations for Oswald, so the studio can use him in new ways."

Wanted to know more how Disney make Oswald to shine again? Click here to read more on their marketing strategies!