If nothing else,Epic Mickey (and its Rebrushed remake)is of tremendous historical significance to the Disney company. It was responsible for bringing Walt’s first mainstream animated success, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, back into the Mouse House fold. Years of contractual disputes with Universal had kept the (un)lucky fella trapped in the doldrums of obscurity until 2010 – and yet, thanks to Epic Mickey and a smattering of other recent appearances, he’s got more contemporary fans than ever.
So who exactly is Oswald, and how did he come to be forgotten? What were the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Disney catalog? And what role does he have to play in the game, as the ruler of the now-ravaged Wasteland? We’re diving deep into the vault for this one, so hold onto your ears!
The historical information in this article was correct at the time of writing. There area few spoilers for the plot of Epic Mickey: Rebrushed in here, as well; just a heads-up.
Oswald’s History
How Did Oswald Rise To Stardom?
Oswald the Lucky Rabbitdebuted in 1927, the brainchild ofa financially-ailing Walt Disney and his chief animator Ub Iwerks. Walt had brought the company to the brink with a string of highly expensive, and not especially lucrative, ‘Alice Comedies’ that blended live-action footage with cartoon characters. While an ambitious project for the time, it was clear the money laid elsewhere:in ‘funny animal’ shorts, a la Felix the Cat.
In an uncharacteristic move for him (and likely due to pressure from his more business-minded brother, Roy),Walt bowed to market trends and signed a distribution deal with Universal Pictures to create a series of Oswald cartoons. The rabbit’s design took a bit of tinkering, but he got there in the end;Trolley Troubles, Great Guns, and Oh, What A Knightwere considered top-class works, and highlights of his early career.
Oswald was youthful, spunky, and irreverent – qualities that appealed to audiences of the time, and which would later prove equally bankable when applied to Mickey.
How Was Oswald Taken From Disney?
Enter Charles Mintz. This Universal producer was responsible for managing the relationship between his studio and Disney’s, and for setting the terms by which Oswald shorts could be created (and indeed, profited from). By 1928, he had begunpoaching many of Disney’s animators, foreseeing further economic troubles ahead for the company, and sought topush for a 20 percent cut to Disney’s shareof the Oswald partnership should they wish to pursue renewal.
Appalled by Mintz’s tactics, Walt attempted to shop Oswald around to other distributors, to no avail. The reason soon became apparent: Mintz drew his attention toa clause in the contract that stipulated, technically, Disney had no ownership over the Oswald character, functioning solely as a sweatshop for animation.
Faced with a choice between his rabbit or his studio, Walt walked,leaving Oswald in the clutches of Universal and Mintz.
In the Pixar movie ‘Up’,the villainis named Charles Muntz. This is a direct, and very much intentional, reference to Mintz and his swindling of the Disney corporation.
Muntz’s plan in the film is to swipe Kevin the bird – someone else’s discovery – andpass it off as his own for fame and glory. The parallels are obvious.
The rest is animation history. Walt would go on to createMickey, who swiftly crushed all competitionto become America’s de facto cartoon superstar. For the next decade or so, Universal tried tokeep Oswald afloat with a series of redesigns, but he simply couldn’t measure up to his successor, and he soonfaded into total obscurity.
Epic Mickey And Beyond
How Was Oswald Reobtained By Disney?
In the early 2000s, closer to a century since his creation than not,Disney became interested in reacquiring the rights to Oswald. Specifically,Bob Iger, who at the time was merely the company’s President rather than its CEO, was shown a pitch fora dark Mickey Mouse game that positioned Oswald as a spurned villain. There was no developer attached to begin with, but it was visually striking.
Iger was so impressed by the pitch that he becamepersonally committed to bringing Oswald home; a goal he would achieve in 2006, once he had ascended to CEO. He negotiated with Universal, and was able totrade Al Michaels, an NBC football commentator, for the Oswald IP. Much humorous discourse of the day surrounded Michaels' feelings at essentially being equivalent value to a 1920s animated rabbit.
With Oswald back where he belonged,work on the game, now titled Epic Mickey, could begin. A 2010 release window was set, andWarren Spector, ofDeus Exfame, was brought on to helm the project. The aim was to reinvent Mickey as a hero, with a grittier, edgier, more action-focused slant.
The plot was to deal withOswald’s feelings of jealousy towards the ubiquitous mouse, and the game’s concept art drew a great deal of media attention with its visions of a post-apocalyptic Disneyland.
What Is Oswald’s Role In Epic Mickey?
In Epic Mickey,Mickey is dragged to the Cartoon Wasteland, a dystopian realm crafted by the sorcerer Yen Sid and populated with forgotten cartoon characters. This off-key imitation of Disneylandwas once sunny and colourful– until a mischievous Mickey broke into Yen Sid’s workshop and accidentally ravaged the world,creating the horrifying Shadow Blot in the process.
Oswald was Wasteland’s first resident, and he installed himself as its leader, trying to make the best of a bad situation. He set up shops, ice cream parlors, rides, and more, andthe world slowly filled outwith such other faces as Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, and more variants of Pete than any Disnerd could possibly name.
This all came crashing downwith the arrival of the Blot and the concurrent Thinner Disaster, however, which wiped out all but a few of Wasteland’s residents and scarred its landscape. A desperate last stand against the Blot sawthe petrification of his lover, Ortensia,which turned Oswald’s heart sour. He stewed in bitterness and ire directed at the one he considered responsible for all his troubles: Mickey.
Over the course of the game,Mickey and Oswald learn more about one another, with Mickey eventually having to fess up about his role in the Thinner Disaster. Oswald, meanwhile, has to get over his inferiority complex, and there arenumerous metafictional references to Walt and the conflict with Universalthat led to his fall from stardom.
“I’m starting to see why he liked you more, Mickey. Most folks here would DIE for a Heart. And you just GAVE UP yours!” - Oswald
It’s an affecting tale, and one that hits especially well if you have any knowledge of animation history.
What Else Has Oswald Been In Since Epic Mickey?
Epic Mickey is widely credited withre-igniting a lot of public interest in Oswald as a character, and he’s seen steadily increasing usage since the 2010s. He was promoted to a playable character inEpic Mickey’s sequel, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, and made his Disney Comics debut in a 2015 IDW special.
On the screen, heappeared in the 2013 shortGetA Horse!, and starred inhis own 2022 cartoonproduced to mark Disney’s 100th anniversary. He puts in the occasional cameo inthe recent Paul Rudish Mickey Mouse series, and has been known to wander by in the background in the likes ofMickey Mouse Funhouse, Once Upon A Studio, et al.
Most prominently, Oswald’sa befriendable villager in the popular life-simDisney Dreamlight Valley, where he brings vintage ’20s flair to your town as part of the Eternity Isle DLC. Likewise, you may pop him behind the wheel of a supersonic gas-guzzler inDisney Speedstorm, a free-to-play racerthat combines folks from all walks of the Disneyverse for a futuristic tournament.
In a sense,Epic Mickey’s premise feels slightly outdated today, in that Oswald’s far from forgotten anymore. Long may he continue to appear in projects, becausehe’s such a special part of entertainment history, and a proud lucky feather in the conglomerate cap of Disney. Who needs Bugs when you have rabbits like this, eh?
