Dec 4, 2022

Disney Produces First "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" Short Film in Nearly 95 Years

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has created his first animated short film in nearly a century for The Walt Disney Company.

Choosing to return Oswald to his natural habitat, this one-minute short is in black and white, has no dialogue, and is accompanied by a piano score reminiscent of the silent film era. It also features striking slapstick visuals that prove that some gags are timeless.

"Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" is directed by legendary animator Eric Goldberg (Genie in "Aladdin," Phil in "Hercules") and starring Dorothy McKim ("Prep & Landing," "Find the Horse! and "Meet the Robinsons") produced the film.

"On the eve of Disney's 100th anniversary, it was a pleasure to produce our studio's first new Oswald short since 1928," said McKim.

"Our hand-drawn animation team (including hand-drawn legends Mark Henn, Randy Haycock, and Eric Goldberg, along with a great team of 2D apprentices) had a blast animating in the style of Oswald's time.

"Oswald is a very feisty rogue. We wanted to bring Oswald back, and in this short, he is literally back on the movie screen where he belongs," says Goldberg. We wanted Oswald to have a 'crush and stretch' or 'rubber hose' animation style that would honor Walt Disney's first generation of artists."

Oswald is widely regarded as Disney's first animation star. His debut was the 1927 short "Trolley Troubles," for which Walt Disney and his team produced more than 20 shorts in two years; in 1928, Walt lost creative control of the character, but in 2006, the company agreed to pay for Oswald's rights to in 2006, the company struck a deal with NBCUniversal by trading ABC sportscaster Al Michaels to NBC for the rights to Oswald.

In addition to animated shorts, Disney also introduced an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Snapchat lens that allows users to channel Oswald using ar technology.