Tag Archives: 1920s

April 30, 1928 – The Oswald Short Film, Ozzie of the Mounted, is Released to Theaters

“This cartoon, as usual, is loaded with a lot of great gags. I love Oswald during this period – he looks great. He’s got lots of personality, and he was a very appealing character.” – Animation Expert Jerry Beck

On April 30, 1928, the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short, Ozzie of the Mounted, was released to theaters. This short would actually be remade later by Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising over at Warner Brothers, which was then titled Big Man from the North. Most scenes were redone shot by shot. This short also contains the element of a mechanical animal, which Iwerks and Disney used fairly often in the Oswald cartoons.

The wanted poster of Peg Leg Pete

The short opens on a blustery winter day in front of the headquarters of the Mounted Police. Inside, the police chief is pacing the floor, puffing on his corncob pipe. The door opens, and in slides Oswald, giving the chief a salute. The chief points out a wanted poster for Peg Leg Pete, which causes Oswald to shake from fear. The chief demands that Oswald go capture Pete, so Oswald screws up his courage and sets out into the blizzard.

Outside, Oswald winds up his mechanical horse and sets out to find Pete, who is then seen out in the snow with snowshoes, skulking around. Oswald, traveling the other direction, crashes into Pete around the corner of a bar, and is flung from his horse. He looks to see who he crashed into, and is surprised to see that it’s the villain he’s been looking for. He pulls out a gun and points it at Pete, who, by standing alone, is able to intimidate the rabbit. Oswald shoots the gun, only to have the bullet bounce off Pete’s stomach and knock Oswald over.

Peg Leg Pete strangling Oswald

Pete, seeing an opportunity, begins to strangle Oswald, squeezing the rabbit’s tongue out of his mouth. As Oswald appears to be dead, Pete looks up at the audience in horror and quickly slips away, hitching a ride on a nearby dogsled. Oswald finally gets up, pulls his tongue back in, and begins to fix his mechanical horse so he can give chase. After some disastrous results, Oswald finally fixes the horse, and begins to follow Pete.

Many gags ensue on this chase, including Oswald getting stuck in a loose spring from the body of his horse, and ending up flattened when the horse pulls him into a branch. Pete ends up losing his sled team and begins to slide down a hill, out of control, until he hits a rock. Unfortunately for Pete, the rock is actually a bear, who growls and runs after Pete. Oswald, seeing the bear, also tries to flee, but is caught by the pants by the bear, who sends Oswald flying to the nearby jail. Seeing his chance, Oswald flings open the door to the jail, telling Pete to run in for safety. Oswald traps Pete and the bear in the jail, and the short ends with Oswald laughing at his villain’s misfortune.

March 19, 1928 – The Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Short Film, Bright Lights, is Released to Theaters

On March 19, 1928, the 16^th Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short film, Bright Lights, was released to theaters through Universal. The short itself is very different from the style of the Mickey Mouse shorts that were to follow: although Mickey Mouse cartoons contained the elements of stretching limbs and comical japes, the Oswald shorts were more brash in their day (as seen with Mlle. Zulu’s dancing), and the characters seem as if they were made out of clay with the way they can split themselves in two and wrap other characters’ limbs around solid objects.

The short opens with a bright light marquee parody of Vaudeville called “Vodvil,” advertising Mlle. Zulu, the Shimmy Queen, performing at a theater. The theater is packed with spectators, watching as a line of cats performs a variety of dances on stage. After a bit of the performance, most of the girls dance offstage, leaving Mlle. Zulu behind in the spotlight.

Oswald, dreamily staring at the picture of Mlle. Zulu

Outside, we see Oswald staring at a picture of Zulu, clearly smitten, with his heart beating right out of his chest. Oswald gets a shock, however, when he sees that the price of admission to the show is 50 cents, and he is saddened to realize he doesn’t have any money. He spots the stage entrance around the corner, and comes up with a plan to just walk right in. The guard stops Oswald at every turn, although Oswald is able to slip out of his grasp so he can try again. Comically, Oswald manages to tie the guard up to a lamppost with the guard’s own foot, and walks in confidently – only to be chased out a second later by other guards and thugs.

There’s a quick shot to Zulu still performing on stage, and then we go back to Oswald, who comes up with another plan to sneak inside: hiding under the shadow of a man in an oversized fur coat. The coat is taken away to reveal both the thin man inside it and Oswald. As the guard looms over the rabbit, Oswald scampers out on the stage in the middle of a performance, with the guard chasing him.

Oswald realizes that the box was not the best place to hide

Backstage again, Oswald jumps inside a box to hide, missing the clear sign on the side that says “Danger – Keep Away.” When the guard can’t find Oswald, and and continues searching in another direction, Oswald, thinking he’s won, laughs—until he discovers the cheetah in the box with him. Oswald escapes from the box, with the cheetah in pursuit, determined to eat the rabbit. Oswald once again rushes out onto the stage in the middle of a pole-balancing act and scrambles up the pole, with the cheetah jumping up, mouth wide open to catch his snack.

The performer and Oswald climb all the way up to the rafters, holding onto a backdrop for dear life. The performer, who had been holding on to Oswald’s shorts, falls as the cheetah waits for his prey. The performer is able to fly his way back up to where Oswald is dangling and grabs his foot, pulling the limb out several feet. With the use of a nearby mallet, Oswald gets rid of the performer, but realizes a bit too late that he’s lost his hold of the backdrop and falls to the stage, landing on the head of the cheetah.

Everyone stampedes out of the theater, pursued by hungry lions

The audience and orchestra run for their lives as the cheetah goes on the rampage. Backstage, the lions break free from their cage and join the chase, scaring the performers out into the empty theater. The audience is seen breaking down the door and fleeing the theater, with the lions in close pursuit. Oswald finally appears in a nearby building, with the last lion spotting him and chasing him into town.