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JERRY BECK
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AMID AMIDI
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Oswald old and new
by jerry
March 14, 2009 3:15 pm


Our pal Ruben Procopio has just posted images of his sculpt for a forthcoming Walt Disney/Oswald Rabbit statue, for the Disney Classics Collection. Beautiful job, Ruben!

Meanwhile, Brew reader Tammy Tatro sent us this link to these photos of an obscure piece of vintage Oswald merchandise.

“My Dad brought over a box of my late Grandfathers old belongings and when my Mom was going through it she pulled out “a rabbit that looks like Mickey” to show my niece. Upon hearing that I looked over and grabbed it out of her hand and sure enough it seems to be a vintage Oswald The Lucky Rabbit Christmas Ornament. I have looked and looked on-line but have not seen anything like it but I think it dates circa 1929-early 1930’s. I also have no idea how much it is worth or when or where it was originally purchased.”

It’s a new one on me. Perhaps our readers can tell us more about this item.

03/14/09  5:02pm
Danny R. Santos says:

I wonder if Disney plan on reinvigorating Oswald with new cartoons other than just merchandise, I think that would be sweet.

03/14/09  6:16pm

As far as I’ve been able to ascertain, the Oswald celluloid toy by Irwin dates from the Disney period—I’ve seen several on the market over the years. Irwin also produced a stuffed animal, the earliest renditions of which looked like Oswald’s head transplanted onto a plaid teddy-bear body.

03/14/09  8:53pm
David Cuny says:

Very cool, although Oswald looks a bit like Wakko Warner than the “classic” Oswald.

03/15/09  7:15am
Tom D. says:

beautifully crafted!

03/15/09  8:43am
uncle wayne says:

Ditto to David!!

03/15/09  8:47am
Pedro Nakama says:

It’s a nice statue but shouldn’t it have Walt screaming as a lawyer is taking Oswald away!

03/15/09  10:06am
Nic Kramer says:

I believe you can buy this on the D23 site.

03/15/09  12:19pm
Saturnome says:

Splendid looking statue, I wouldn’t even add colors! They’re making a celebration of Oswald reunion with Disney and it’s great - but I kinda like Pedro Nakama idea !

03/15/09  3:36pm

The Oswald story was always one of the saddest in Disney history. Created in the 1920s by Ub Iwerks for Disney (as was Mickey Mouse), Disney was fooled into signing over the Oswald rights to a crooked producer at Universal.

The Universal producer was later fired, and Oswald’s career was managed for awhile, until it fizzled out, by Walter Lantz of Woody Woodpecker fame. The superior character of Warner Bros’ Bugs Bunny no doubt greatly overshadowed him.

But many decades later in 2006, in a strange twist of fate, something as dull as Disney letting a sportscaster out of his contract so he could go to Universal was enough to bring Oswald back home to the fold. Thank you, Al Michaels.

03/16/09  9:55am

oh goodness…i had to squeal. ruben’s Oswald is…so…CUUUUTE!

03/16/09  1:33pm
Brad Constantine says:

where’s the cigarette?

03/18/09  4:18pm
OtherDan says:

Nice job Rueben! I’ll bet it was pretty intimidating to have to sculpt Walt. I wish we could see some close-ups. The expression and gesture seem really good. If Rueben reads this: I’d love to hear the back story about how this one came up, and your process.

02/1/10  3:33pm
Susan Darrow says:

It was good to read your information. I have an Oswald stuffed rabbit ( the Micky M look alike). I also wondered about its value, and more so its history. When I first looked I could not find any information. It seems that Oswald has been given a chance to be appreciated.

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