Winkler and Lantz Oswalds Now Orphans:

I have come to highly respect the opinion of Mark Kausler when it comes to all matters dealing with Animation History and animated film.

I was overjoyed when I first heard the news that Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was returning to Disney. It seemed so right coming on the heels/heals of the Pixar / Disney deal.

But what does it mean for the other Oswalds, the ones created at the Winkler and Lantz studios? The deal was for the underlying rights to Oswald i.e. the rights to the Disney/Iwerks Oswalds. That leaves the Winkler and the Lantz Oswalds up a tree.

Universal, all those years with full rights to the character of Oswald, has done nothing with him, zero. Now with only limited rights to the Winkler and Lantz Oswald cartoons, as Mark put it, what are the chances that they will do anything with the orphan Oswalds? Yeah, that is what I think too.

Since Mark has the only known copy of a Lantz 1930 Oswald entitled Mars that is in need of preservation that kind of leaves the unlucky rabbit out in the cold yet again.  ¶ 7:19 AM