Subsonic Radio

Hi!
According to my local newspaper here in Chicago, the Disney Company has secured the rights to Walt Disney's old cartoon character, "Oswald the Rabbit". Some of you know that Oswald was one of Disney's original characters who he lost the rights to early in his career. The creation of Mickey Mouse might never have come about if Disney hadn't lost the rights to Oswald. The story said that the producers of the Olympics wanted to use announcer Al Michaels, who is currently under contract to ESPN, and Disney agreed to the swap for the rights to Oswald. Hope to see something of Osawald at the parks very soon!

Regards,
Delray

I didn't know this. Thanks!

Here are some news stories about it.

Jim Hill Media

Sports Illustrated

The Seattle times

This is very exciting news. I would love to see the Silent Disney-Produced Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons on DVD.

According to the Jim Hill article, Oswald is currently very hot in Japan. It will be interesting to see if we get any Oswald merchandise in the states.

Totally awesome! The weird thing will be that, if they do put Oswald in, say, a cartoon, it will surely look out of place next to the full-colored Disney characters (Oswald is in B&W)

Oswald is great! I'm sure they could find a good place for him in the parks somewhere without him looking too out of place. As for in a cartoon, they just need to bring out a DVD that only contains the old black and white cartoons. Then he would fit right in.

Even if they never use Oswald... grabbing Walt's original successful cartoon character in a deal where the principle is a football announcer? Way to go, Iger. (or whoever brokered the deal... though Mr. CEO will get credit...)

I can't wait to see what they're going to do with him. Or more importantly, if they decide to update him, will he get a voice, and if so, who?

After Oswald left Disney, he did get a voice, the first one to voice Oswald was Mickey Rooney.

Mickey voicing Oswald, very interesting.

Jim Hill Media has another article up abou Oswald.

Looks like there is little chance seeing Oswald on DVD, as so few of the Disney-Animated Oswald shorts survive to this day.

This is fantastic news!! Although odd circumstances with the trading, but let's not forget we are now able to grab a piece of history and put it back.

I cannot imagine that Al Michaels was that valuable to NBC to equal a trade for a commodity that is so valuable to Disney. It will be interesting to see how Oswald is re-interoduced to some, and unvailed to many younger Disney fans. Hopefully it is done more prominently than through merely a DVD release.

It is a great history lesson of how you can rise above any "setback" and succeed to amazing levels. Just think if Walt Disney had never been pushed out on his own.

Oswald had very little value to NBC and Michaels will have great value to them. Unless Oswald can become a super hero or some other high action figure he (sadly) won't have much appeal for younger Disney fans. But this deal is significant in that Universal almost broke Walt Disney when he lost the rights to Oswald and it was actually ABC that saved Disneyland from just being a dream on paper when they agreed to invest in the project in exchange for the Walt's Disneyland TV show. How ironic that years later Disney buys out ABC.

Conversely, Michaels had very little value to Disney/ABC and Oswald held great historic value for Disney, irregardless of whether younger viewers are interested or not.

zenmondo wrote:After Oswald left Disney, he did get a voice, the first one to voice Oswald was Mickey Rooney.

I read elsewhere that Mickey Rooney didn't do Oswald. But it's nice to have him back.