Animated Views April Fools Archive

[GeorgeC]

Disney Buys Back Rights to Oswald Rabbit!

In a stunning announcement in the wee hours of Friday,

Disney has announced that it has bought the exclusive worldwide rights to Walt Disney's lost creation, Oswald Rabbit.

Plans have been announced to release 2 boxed sets of the surviving, fully restored Oswald the Rabbit cartoons produced between the 1920s and 1940s.

Furthermore, in the fall the character will be added as a costumed escort at Disney parks in the United States and Japan.

There are also plans to launch a new theatrical series of Oswald the Rabbit animated shorts. Plans are to have the first new cartoon debut in fall 2006...

Oswald the Rabbit was Disney's most famous theatrical creation prior to Mickey Mouse. In a controversial move, Disney's late 1920s distributor, Pat Powers, used a clause in his distribution contract with Disney to take over the character and set up his own animation studio with employees he'd hired away from Walt Disney. Shortly afterwards, Universal Studios assumed control of the character from Powers and assigned Walter Lantz's animation unit to produce Oswald cartoons. Oswald cartoons continued to be made into the 1940s when Lantz decided the character's fading popularity no longer warranted further production. Few Oswald cartoons have been seen in circulation in recent years outside of public domain video collections although the character has enjoyed a merchandizing revival in Japan...

Story developing at the NewsMaxim.com...

[GeorgeC]

Word has broken out that the legal logjam that has prevented Warner Bros. Home Video from releasing the popular theatrical Popeye animated series on DVD has been resolved...

In a press announcement, WB Home Video reps revealed that the King Syndicates Features legal department had all died of mysterious bacteriological infections and that KFS executives decided it was cheaper to resolve the dispute with WB effective immediately instead of hiring new legal counsel...

News developing at KFSisSTUPID.com...

[GeorgeC]

In a surprising turn of events,

Cartoon Network has decided to cancel contracts for production of new "What A Cartoon" spin-offs, burn all Hanna-Barbera TV film prints made after 1968, cancel all new-production Adult Swim programs except for The Venture Bros., and neuter Scooby-Doo for good after airing the final animated Scooby-Doo movie, "Scooby-Doo's Old Yeller."

(Gee, I wonder how that movie ends? )

Power-Puff Girls will be replaced by Justice League/Justice League Unlimited re-runs at 8:00 weekdays. The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy will be replaced by half-hours of Tom & Jerry at all currently scheduled "Grim" airings. Batman and Superman will re-run back to back 5:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST weekdays with an 10:00 PM EST hour block on Saturdays. Fleischer Superman shorts will also be rotated into the Batman/Superman block consisting of the 1990s Batman and Superman animated series.

Midnight Black & White will return with new episodes featuring Popeye, Betty Boop, and other classic black-and-white theatrical animated shorts that haven't aired on TV in decades. Uncut Popeye shorts from the Fleischer and Famous Studios libraries will air for an hour starting at 11:00 PM EST weekdays. Betty Boop will also get her own half-hour show debuting at 1:30 AM weekays.

Looney Tunes will start re-airing weekdays at 9:00 PM in hour-long blocks with additional 2-hour long blocks from 4:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST on Saturdays and Sundays.

The remainder of the Cartoon Network schedule will consist of other Fleischer and Famous Studios shorts, Disney classic shorts licensed to air for the first time on non-Disney channels, Columbia Screens Gems shorts, UPA shorts, TerryToons featuring Heckle 'N Jeckle and Mighty Mouse, and the HarveyToons.

In another stunning move, new anime licensing has been chopped in favor of airing Japanese animated series that are 20 years or older and that are actually good shows. It's widely anticipated that Cartoon Network will snatch up the rights to re-air the classic Speed Racer, the original Astro Boy and its color remakes, Unico the Unicorn, and Kimba the White Lion.





More news developing at CartoonNetworkwouldntknowqualityifitbititinthebutt.com

[GeorgeC]

John K declared LEGALLY SANE!

I can't think of joke-lines for this one...

It's just too fantastic to be taken as an April Fool's joke...

It's so UNREAL...

[Christian]

I wish it were true.

[Christian]

He seemed relatively normal the one time I saw him in person.

[Ben]

Links??

[Ben]

Links??

[Ben]

BTW, it wasn't Powers who took Oswald away - Walt hadn't even met him yet - it was Charles Mintz, married to Margeret Winkler, whom Walt had his distribution contract.

Personally, I'd only be interested in the Walt-era cartoons and not the later Mintz/Lantz efforts...

[Jens]

Well, from the moment I saw something about sequels as a TOP STORY, I knew it was an april fools joke Anyway, it was a funny and interesting story you made up! I actually like it in some ways

[Christian]

I could almost see it happening.

[Jens]

Yes, me too! That's the thing... They would create new merchandise for this new character and everything If it wouldn't be April 1, I would believe it

[Ben]

April Fools? Moi?

What EVER do you mean?


Actually, if/when Disney does announce this, it would still be a Top Story, since making a sequel to Snow White is pretty big - and sad - news!

[PatrickvD]

If this joke inspires our lovely friends at Disney to actually make this film, I will haunt the person who wrote it down and... cry... for now, good joke, almost bought it

[PatrickvD]

I hope he's gonna be CGI