As far as Disney Characters are concerned, “Steamboat Willie” is my favorite. I’m not sure what he is really called, but I’ve always called him “Steamboat Willie” which is the monochrome Mickey Mouse. There is a close second favorite and that is Oswald, The Lucky Rabbit.
Oswald was Walt Disney’s first cartoon character. Disney co-created Oswald with Ub Iwerks when Disney worked with Universal studios to distribute silent cartoons. This was the age before Mickey Mouse. Through Oswald, Disney learned much about the art of animation, developing characters, and dealing with the business side of animation. It was through negotiations over the character of Oswald that led Disney to walk away from Oswald and create Mickey Mouse in 1928.
I find Oswald, The Lucky Rabbit an interesting character and a testament to Walt Disney’s youngest years. I see Oswald as the bridge between successful and greatness. This is why Oswald is meaningful to me because I think create our versions of Oswald all of the time. Oswald is what teaches us the skills and the develops our talents for the future. However, if we hang on to Oswald too long we will never reach our full potential. We can still love Oswald and may be able to take back control one day, but right now he is a symbol of the progress between being simply successful or our achieving greatness.
The Walt Disney Company reacquired Oswald, The Lucky Rabbit in 2006.
Rodney Olsen says
What a great story. I’d never heard of Oswald before but I guess if it wasn’t for Oswald I would have never heard of Mickey either.