The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) celebrates 100 years in 2023, and in honor of that milestone, Disney Animation has released a new “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit” animated short.
About Oswald
The character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is Walt Disney’s first animated star, introduced to moviegoers in 1927 with the short “Trolley Troubles.”
Walt and his animators created 26 animated shorts featuring Oswald until 1928 when Walt lost creative control over the character.
Oswald remained lost to TWDC until 2006 when Disney CEO Bob Iger made an unprecedented deal with NBCUniversal that allowed sportscaster Al Michaels to contract with NBC in exchange for the return of Oswald to his home (now Iger needs to work his magic on Universal again to get back Marvel rights in Orlando).
Today, more than 94 years since the last Oswald cartoon, Disney Animation has created this new short for the start of “Disney 100 Years of Wonder” celebration which marks 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company.
The Short
This new Oswald The Lucky Rabbit short is directed by animator Eric Goldberg and produced by Dorothy McKim.
“On the eve of Disney’s 100th anniversary, it was such a joy to create the first new Oswald short from our studio since 1928,” McKim said in a statement. “Our hand-drawn animation team—including our hand-drawn legends Mark Henn, Randy Haycock, and Eric Goldberg, as well our wonderful team of 2D apprentices—had a ball animating in the style of Oswald’s era.”
Take a look at the finished story, which clocks in at a little over a minute:
SnapChat
If you want to have more fun with Walt’s favorite rabbit, Disney has also launched a global Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Snapchat lens that allows users to channel Oswald using AR technology.
I don’t have the social media app, but if you try the lens, let us know how you like it.