Attempted Bloggery: Ub Iwerks

Showing posts with label Ub Iwerks. Show all posts

Monday, November 12, 2018

Mickey Goes Bananas

Mickey Mouse turns ninety this month! The last place I expected to see this milestone noted was on a bunch of Dole bananas. But stickers don't lie.

The earliest cartoon short with Mickey Mouse was "Plane Crazy" (1928), and that seems to be the origin of the Mickey Mouse we see on the label. It was actually Mickey's second animated short subject, "Steamboat Willie," that was the first Ito be released on November 18, 1928. These early incarnations are not the bland, well-behaved Mickey we have come to know, but he does already show some spunk. What is also on display here is Disney's "udderly" bad taste, some casual cruelty to animals, and what today we would term Mickey's harassment of Minnie while airborne.

Walt Disney's "Plane Crazy" (1928)

Animated by Ub Iwerks

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Monday, August 18, 2014

The Return of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

One thing I never foresaw was the return of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to the Disney fold. The popular animated character was created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney in the 1920's. When Disney was fired from Universal, he and Iwerks had to come up with a new character. That character, of course, is Mickey Mouse, clearly a descendent of Oswald, and the rest is history.

Disney buffs have long been aware of Oswald, but he's been forgotten by the general public for decades. The Walt Disney Company obtained the rights to Disney's Oswald cartoons in 2006, and the rabbit was included in the 2010 Epic Mickey video game, introducing him to a new generation. The company has thus preserved an important part of Walt's legacy and somehow given it a bit of contemporary relevance.

During my visit to the Disney World resort last week, I noted that amid the thousands of mouse ears, there were a handful of elongated rabbit ears. There was some choice Oswald merchandise as well.