Originally Posted By demderedoseguys Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt's first character that he lost the rights to years ago, has been reacquired by Disney. Has anyone heard anything about this? My son is a CM and in one of his training classes this was communicated to the class. Maybe this sets the stage for a new attraction.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA No offense on this whole 'We got back Oswald the Lucky Rabbit after 80 years because Diane Disney Miller wanted Iger to do it' thing, but man... Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has about as much appeal and relevance to me as bringing back Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar. Who gives a rip!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss This was reported in another thread here on LP, and Oswald's return was part of a package deal Disney cut with NBC Universal. It's a bit unclear why, but it was said Iger told Diane Disney Miller that it was something he wanted to do. I doubt Oswald will be used for much of anything, let alone an attraction attraction, as he is unrecognizable to 99% of the public.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has about as much appeal and relevance to me as bringing back Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar. Who gives a rip!<< Actually some of us do. One of my enjoyable pleasures is seeing Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar perform at TDR, and recently at WDW as well... They are part of the Disney family and should be on stage. I feel Oswald has that vintage Mickey quality to him and he "belongs" in Disney. More so than the muppets and Pixar, imho.
Originally Posted By Roger55 <<as he is unrecognizable to 99% of the public>> Just wanted to comment...I had guests in from Japan this past week, and when I told them about Oswald, they not only knew who he was, but also said he appears at Universal Studios Osaka. So I think that there are probably more people that know about Oswald than what we might think.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN I do not recall seeing Oswald the rabbit at all in Universal Japan ...and I have an AP for that park!!! I however, have seen a lot of Oswald merchandise in collectible stores in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya areas..
Originally Posted By Roger55 Maybe I misunderstood... but I thought they said USJ. Wouldn't be the first time I misunderstood something told to me in Japanese. Well, I was most amazed that they even knew who Oswald was.
Originally Posted By Boardwalkbum Horace Horsecollar is coming back!?!?!? AWESOME!!!!!!! .........sorry.
Originally Posted By FoxHound Maybe the character will get a big push in Japan, then become a hit in the US like Pokemon. Japanese Disney merchandise is pretty cool----I love going on Ebay to see the different interpretations of the characters (especially the Sega plush toys from arcade games).
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Horace and Clarabelle are excellent characters and likenesses of them (i.e. Disney Classics pieces) sold very well. Yes it is true that they are much better known to true Disney fans...but is that such a bad thing ? I have to put up with the stupid Rangers in the studios and for a while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -- throw the pure Disney fan a bone once in a while too. While I don't have a burning desire to build an Oswald ride -- a tribute walk thru attraction would be nice -- and to me the fact that he is owned by Disney again is as it should be -- and I thought a nice gesture by Iger to Diane... let's not lose all tradtions for someone else's creations just because Disney can afford to buy them... this one was actually Walt's, therefore to me it is important to Disney Co. also.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>While I don't have a burning desire to build an Oswald ride -- a tribute walk thru attraction would be nice -- and to me the fact that he is owned by Disney again is as it should be -- and I thought a nice gesture by Iger to Diane...<< The possibilities are endless here... they could re-introduced this character in cartoon shows for kids on ABC, Disney Channel, ToonDisney and the likes... and Oswald can translate well into a walkaround rubberhead suit. That would be the way to go... I just wish he could kick the Power rangers' butts off Disney property!!!
Originally Posted By Donald75 I hope we at least get an Oswald Tresures Tin with the history of this great but little known character. It is great that he is in the Disney family finally.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Is it me or does anyone else see how Mickey was drawn from the same Oswald "mold"?? I mean... Except for the ears, most every other features on Mickey's face are lifted from Oswald...
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Even in personality, it'a amazing how similar Mickey and Oswald really are!!!
Originally Posted By typhoonCM I havent seen any of the cartoon shorts, but the general design of his face and even assortment of clothing seem EXTREMELY familiar to a certain rodent.
Originally Posted By danyoung >...to me the fact that he is owned by Disney again is as it should be -- and I thought a nice gesture by Iger to Diane... let's not lose all tradtions for someone else's creations just because Disney can afford to buy them... this one was actually Walt's, therefore to me it is important to Disney Co. also.< Very well put. I can't see any commercial activity coming out of this purchase. But the stealing of Oswald by Charlie Mintz in the 20's was such an important moment in the history of the Walt Disney Company. It's as if someone came along and did a legal dance and took the Big Mac away from McDonalds. Years down the road, even long after no one was eating Big Macs anymore, I'm sure they'd love to get the rights to their own friggin' product back. And the cost on this trade was pretty low - trading Al Michaels to NBC (plus some other small sports rights). It's not as if Al were that important to the new ESPN Monday night package. And as a football watcher, it keeps Al paired with John Madden on Sunday nights - the best football announcing team out there!
Originally Posted By LuvDatDisney "No offense on this whole 'We got back Oswald the Lucky Rabbit after 80 years because Diane Disney Miller wanted Iger to do it' thing, but man... Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has about as much appeal and relevance to me as bringing back Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar. Who gives a rip!" A lot of people do. What's old often becomes new again. Retro is in. I'd love to see what they can do with Oswald. I also am a big Clarabelle and Horace fan. Everything doesn't have to be Pooh, princess or Stitch (a great new character that they are overexposing AKA Millionaire on ABC or pintrading or building hotels and timeshares.)
Originally Posted By idleHands It's my very limited understanding that Oswald is BIG in Japan. Yen out the wazoo, or something like that.
