Beginning Endings...

Could it all have started with a rabbit...





Eighty-five years ago today, Walt Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit makes his cartoon debut...

"Trolley Troubles" would be the first of over twenty shorts featuring the iconic first animated creation of Disney (The Alice Comedies don't count since she's not animated). Walt would eventually lose the rights to this character, forcing him to create another character from scratch on a long train ride back to California that turned out to be a mouse...

A very, very famous mouse.

It's all hard to believe that a strange deal involving Al Michaels would lead to him coming home, but it almost reads like an improbable fairy tale. Then again, fairy tales are pretty synonymous with Disney, so let's honor Oswald. He truly is a lucky rabbit.

Wouldn't it be nice to see him in something today? Like a new short or a new special? He's been waiting a long time to be animated again. And he's still very popular, if you've tried to get some of those very elusive/exclusive rabbit ears you have experience with his celebrity. But imagine him up on the silver screen again as you sip your soda and eat that popcorn.

Imagine that...

Lucky Rabbit Ears...

Are you marketing guys paying attention...






You're looking at one of the most asked for items in Buena Vista Street...

And it's not for sale. It's not even available. But the Cast Members working at Elias & Company as well as other stores/shops like Oswald's gas station have been telling guests we don't have any. Not that they're out of stock, but they don't have any Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Ears.

This is actually a giveaway item that the makers of Epic Mickey 2 were handing out to people at E3. Little did they know they'd create such a demand for something. These are now collector's items that are selling for between $80 and $400 on ebay right now. And still people are asking where they can buy them.

It doesn't help seeing all those people walking around the park wearing them. It makes people think they can be purchased there. And if all those Cast Members keep telling their managers, and those managers tell their higher ups, then we might see some of these available in the parks sometime in the near future. It's not like the Mouse doesn't like to make money on something.

Especially when so many people are willing to spend the cash so they too can walk around the park wearing a pair...

Rabbit Season...

Eighty-one years ago today, Walt Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit makes his first cartoon...

Walt would eventually lose the rights to this character, forcing him to create another character from scratch that turned out to be a mouse...

A very, very famous mouse.

But let's honor Oswald today. Now that he's back at home with the Mouse, perhaps we'll see him take a more active role in the company?