Growing up a Disney kid and fan, I always assumed that Mickey Mouse was the character that started the empire. There’s no denying that he is the most popular and well known character from Disney. And when I first saw Oswald, I was under the impression that he was an early Mickey – similar to Mortimer. But the story of Oswald is much more interesting, and a lot more complicated.
In his new book Owsald The Lucky Rabbit: The Search for the Lost Disney Cartoons, author David A. Bossert brings Oswald back to life. His journey with Oswald became a bit of a passion project and locating all of the lost cartoons through the year.
Oswald is the character that launched Walt Disney and helped push Walt to create the animation studio we know today. But through contracts, Oswald was lost to another studio and the original film strips and animation stills scattered throughout the decades that followed. Almost a century after his creation, Oswald is coming back with some of the original films found, restored and back in the hands of the Walt Disney Studios.
The book is great for any Disney fan, and gives the readers not only a look at Oswald but also a different look at Walt Disney. With screenshots from the original films, original animation cells and posters for the Oswald shorts. Oswald is a fascinating character and after reading the book, fans may question if the rest of his cartoons will be found and over time we can only hope so!
