Walt Disney Treasures
No way is Disney going to replace Mickey with Oswald.
There's too much invested in the Mouse at this point in time. He's Disney's corporate symbol.
(I know Christian IS kidding, but some people don't understand how much Mickey represents Disney. Same concept holds true for Spider-Man/Marvel and Superman/DC.)
However, that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney released sets of AT LEAST the Disney produced/early B & W Oswald cartoons. Oswald did appear in Universal shorts through the 1940s but was not a major character after the 1930s ended.
Whether these Oswald shorts are any good, I don't know... I've never seen one! Don't count on all the Disney-produced shorts surviving, though. Chances are that a couple of them are "lost to the ages" through film vault neglect and the deterioration of negatives and purposeful destruction of films to make space for "more worthy" films.
Chances are, whatever has survived is no worse than the early Mickey Mouse shorts.
{FYI, as far as I'm concerned, Mickey was better in color and at the height of his excellence in the latter half of the 1930s. As soon as the 40's rolled around, the character seemed to diminish and was retired at a good point in time (production-wise).}
It's a sad commentary on the state of animation today when everybody's more excited about the releases of collections of 50-70 year-old cartoons than they are about the new stuff coming out over the next year.
It speaks loads about the quality of newer animation and how far the story, art, and characterization has fallen since the Golden Age of Animation (1930s-1950s).
There's too much invested in the Mouse at this point in time. He's Disney's corporate symbol.
(I know Christian IS kidding, but some people don't understand how much Mickey represents Disney. Same concept holds true for Spider-Man/Marvel and Superman/DC.)
However, that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney released sets of AT LEAST the Disney produced/early B & W Oswald cartoons. Oswald did appear in Universal shorts through the 1940s but was not a major character after the 1930s ended.
Whether these Oswald shorts are any good, I don't know... I've never seen one! Don't count on all the Disney-produced shorts surviving, though. Chances are that a couple of them are "lost to the ages" through film vault neglect and the deterioration of negatives and purposeful destruction of films to make space for "more worthy" films.
Chances are, whatever has survived is no worse than the early Mickey Mouse shorts.
{FYI, as far as I'm concerned, Mickey was better in color and at the height of his excellence in the latter half of the 1930s. As soon as the 40's rolled around, the character seemed to diminish and was retired at a good point in time (production-wise).}
It's a sad commentary on the state of animation today when everybody's more excited about the releases of collections of 50-70 year-old cartoons than they are about the new stuff coming out over the next year.
It speaks loads about the quality of newer animation and how far the story, art, and characterization has fallen since the Golden Age of Animation (1930s-1950s).
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Disney has bought the rights to the character and the first, Disney-only produced, 26 shorts.
The early word is indeed for a DVD release, perhaps as part of another Treasures collection along with any other possible Alice Comedies...it would certainly have more selling point than "Spin & Marty" for instance.
Good to see Oswald back, but with a seemingly knowledgeable Iger running the show, and Lasseter's quality standards, I don't think we'll see anything frivolous done with the character.
As I said to James here in another message: Iger is certainly making an impression. What next, the return of traditionally hand drawn features?!? An "Oswald Movie"?!?! The mind boggles and the heart pounds for joy!
I am thrilled that Disney is going back to its roots.
The early word is indeed for a DVD release, perhaps as part of another Treasures collection along with any other possible Alice Comedies...it would certainly have more selling point than "Spin & Marty" for instance.
Good to see Oswald back, but with a seemingly knowledgeable Iger running the show, and Lasseter's quality standards, I don't think we'll see anything frivolous done with the character.
As I said to James here in another message: Iger is certainly making an impression. What next, the return of traditionally hand drawn features?!? An "Oswald Movie"?!?! The mind boggles and the heart pounds for joy!
I am thrilled that Disney is going back to its roots.
Ah, but the problem is that as many as HALF of the pre-1930s Oswald cartoons may no longer exist.
That's also the case with Felix the Cat.
Remember, a lot of these early pre-conglomerate cartoons shifted ownership over the years and many of them were lost in fires in warehouses, deteriorated to gunk, or were carelessly thrown out.
Disney is going to have to clarify exactly what they bought and what still exists. I haven't seen a list of the cartoons there were included in the Universal transaction, but I've read from at least one researcher that perhaps half the Oswald shorts have been lost for all time.
That's also the case with Felix the Cat.
Remember, a lot of these early pre-conglomerate cartoons shifted ownership over the years and many of them were lost in fires in warehouses, deteriorated to gunk, or were carelessly thrown out.
Disney is going to have to clarify exactly what they bought and what still exists. I haven't seen a list of the cartoons there were included in the Universal transaction, but I've read from at least one researcher that perhaps half the Oswald shorts have been lost for all time.
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